Actor Ron Silver died 15 March 2009 in his sleep; he had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years. Born 2 July 1946 in New York City, he won a Tony Award in 1988 for his role in David Mamet’s Speed the Plow. He began his acting career in 1971 on the New York stage, and was nominated for two Emmy Awards, for supporting actor in a miniseries for his role in Billionaire Boys Club (1987) and for guest actor in a drama for his role in The West Wing (1999).
In addition to a full acting career, Silver was a political activist, working for liberal Democratic causes. After 11 September 2001, however, he very publicly declared his political switch to outspoken support of President Bush, and he spoke on behalf of the President at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Art imitated life in his West Wing role, where he was first introduced as a political strategist supporting liberal President Josiah Bartlet’s re-election campaign. He returned at the series’ end working for the Republican Party.
Silver’s genre roles include appearances in: Xenophobia (2008), The Wisher (2002), Ratz (2000), Heat Vision and Jack (1999), Skeletons (1997), Shadow Zone: The Undead Express (1996), The Arrival (1996), Timecop (1994), Lifepod (1993), Eat and Run (1986), Lovesick (1983), Silent Rage (1982), and The Entity (1981).
Silver and his wife, Lynne Miller, divorced in 1997 after 24 years of marriage. They have one son and one daughter.
Variety has a longer retrospective on his life on this page.