John Spencer, 58; Actor Best Known for Emmy-Winning Role on TV's 'The West Wing'

John Spencer, an actor who received an Emmy Award for portraying the flawed but efficient chief of staff who anchored the large ensemble cast on NBC-TV's "The West Wing," died Friday morning. He was 58.

Spencer died after suffering a heart attack, said Ron Hofmann, his publicist. He said the actor had fallen ill at home and died at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"We're shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of our friend and colleague," Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme, executive producers of "The West Wing," said in a statement. "John was an uncommonly good man, an exceptional role model and a brilliant actor."

On the Emmy-winning hourlong drama that began airing in 1999, Spencer's character, Leo McGarry, is running for vice president on the Democratic ticket with Rep. Matthew Santos, played by Jimmy Smits.

Art sadly imitated life for Spencer. His "West Wing" character was chosen as a running mate despite a recent heart attack and a history of alcoholism. The actor openly acknowledged that he had struggled with alcohol addiction since high school

In a statement, Smits said, "I am honored to call John Spencer a friend, and his death is a loss that will be felt for a long time to come. Working with him was a privilege

The death of an actor while a series is still in production challenges the producers and writers to find a logical plot line for the character's sudden absence. "The West Wing" will have to deal with the loss because the fictional election is central to the story line.

David E. Kelley, a writer and executive producer on "L.A. Law" when Spencer joined that show in 1990, was too upset to speak but issued this statement: "We are all deeply saddened."

James Mangold, who directed Spencer in the 1997 film "Cop Land," said he first noticed the "brilliant" actor when he played a street-smart attorney on "L.A. Law" on NBC.

"He was a kind, sweet, funny man

Spencer was born John Speshock on Dec. 20, 1946, the only child of a working-class family. Most sources give his birthplace as New York City, but some say New Jersey.

His mother, Mildred, was an occasional waitress and homemaker who dropped out of school in the eighth grade. His truck driver father, John, never finished grammar school.

"They wanted me to be educated, a doctor or a lawyer. They weren't happy that I chose the arts," the gravelly voiced Spencer told the Chicago Tribune in 1992. "They wanted me to have a good life. It's ironic that I made the leap in a different way," he said.