John was the only son of a lower middle-class family. His father, John Speshock, was a truck driver. His mother, Mildred, was a homemaker and an occasional waitress. He grew up near Paterson, New Jersey, but left at age 16 to attend the Professional Children's School. In 1963, he landed a recurring role on The Patty Duke Show (1963). After that ...
December 16, 2005, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Height
5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Profession
Actor
Education
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Professional Children's School, New York University
Nationality
American
Parents
Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, Cynthia Spencer, Countess Spencer
Awards
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Obie Award for Performance
Music Groups
Bellbottoms, 2 Kindsa Love, Wail, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash, Pussy Galore, The Honeymoon Killers
Nominations
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance
Movies
The Rock, The Negotiator, Presumed Innocent, Black Rain, Sea of Love, WarGames, Cop Land, Ravenous, Albino Alligator, Twilight, Hiding Out, Green Card, Cold Around the Heart, Far from Home, In the Arms of a Killer, Simple Justice, From the Files of Joseph Wambaugh: A Jury of One, Café Society, When...
[Upon winning an Emmy for his role in The West Wing] I've never wanted to do anything but act. It saved my life, it's the reason I get up in the morning, it's my opiate. The prize for me was always getting the next gig so I could do this wonderful thing that I love. So this, my friends, is deliciously redundant.
2
They [his parents] wanted me to be educated -- a doctor or a lawyer. They weren't happy that I chose the arts. They wanted me to have a good life. It's ironic that I made the leap in a different way.
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Fact
1
John's paternal grandparents, John Speshock and Anna Yetsko, were Czech immigrants. John's maternal grandparents, Michael Benzeroski and Mary Motsko, were of Ukrainian-Rusyn descent.
2
A self described Liberal, one of his heroes was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
An only child of a working-class family (his father was a truck driver who never finished grammar school and his mother was an occasional waitress), both of his grandfathers were alcoholics.
6
Art sadly imitated life for John in the end. His The West Wing (1999) TV character, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, had a history of alcoholism and suffered a heart attack. John, who was himself a recovered alcoholic (since 1989), died of a heart attack four days before his 59th birthday in December of 2005.
7
Toured with the legendary Gloria Swanson playing her blind son in a stage production of "Butterflies Are Free" in 1970.
8
Received excellent stage reviews and a Drama League Award for his vivid reincarnation of the late Dan White, the assassin of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Councilman Harvey Milk, in "Execution of Justice" in 1986. Earlier, he won an Obie Award for his portrayal of a returning Vietnam vet in the off-Broadway play "Still Life" in 1981.
9
Attended the Professional Children's School in New York City as a teen. Among the other students at the time was Liza Minnelli.
10
As a child, he won several 4H awards for the tomatoes he grew. He was an avid gardener. He also collected art & antiques, and was involved in both the New York and L.A. AIDSWalk, which benefits local clinics and AIDS patients.
11
Before he was known to television audiences, John was well-known in New York for his brilliant stage performances throughout the 70s and 80s.
12
January 2000 - John lived with his long-time girl friend, actress-choreographer Patricia Mariano.
$700,000
