27 Facts About Leo McGarry

Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character of the NBC political drama series The West Wing, portrayed by American actor John Spencer.

Leo McGarry is of Irish and Scottish ancestry and has at least two sisters, Elizabeth and Josephine, the latter serving as a school district superintendent in Atlanta.

Leo McGarry, a recovering alcoholic and Valium addict, comes from a family with a history of alcoholism, including his father, who committed suicide.

Leo McGarry is a US Air Force veteran who achieved the rank of colonel and served in the Vietnam War.

Leo McGarry amassed significant wealth during his time in the private sector as a member of the board of directors of a defense contractor, Mueller-Wright Aeronautics, with his friend Ken O'Neill, for ten or twelve years.

Leo McGarry is very involved in the formation of policy and the day-to-day operations of the White House and its staff.

On more than one occasion, Leo McGarry is said to be the man who "runs the country" and is treated with great respect by people on both sides of the aisle.

Bartlet then says, "That's your Chief of Staff," not aware Leo McGarry has heard him in the next room and broken into a smile, visibly moved.

Minutes after the conversation, Leo McGarry suffers a near-fatal heart attack and collapses while walking alone in the grounds.

Leo McGarry is resuscitated, survives, and later returns to work after Bartlet's last State of the Union address in a new role as Senior Counselor to the President.

Leo McGarry maintains a board in his office that shows how many days remain for the Administration and the initiatives which have been proposed.

Leo McGarry leads an attempt to open negotiations between the US and Cuba to lift the blockade and reestablish diplomatic relations, an issue which faces significant opposition from Republicans, Democrats, and the intelligence community.

Bartlet asks Leo McGarry to run the Democratic National Convention when it seems likely to deadlock.

Leo McGarry is not overly impressive on the campaign trail, because he is not familiar with playing the role of a candidate versus an advisor.

The debate prep is a disaster, and the Santos campaign worries that Leo McGarry will be defeated by Sullivan.

On Election Night, it is said that Leo McGarry has gone up to his hotel room in Houston to take a nap before the results come in.

Leo McGarry is later found unconscious by Annabeth Schott who alerts McGarry's Secret Service detail.

Leo McGarry is rushed to the hospital, where he is pronounced dead.

Leo McGarry's death comes ninety minutes before the polls close in California and other Western states, thus giving some voters this information prior to casting their vote.

Leo McGarry's funeral is held at the Washington National Cathedral, though the funeral was actually filmed at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland.

Leo McGarry is characterized by the story he tells Josh Lyman in the second-season episode, "Noel":.

Leo McGarry appears in two of the five episodes which had been filmed, but not yet aired, at the time of Spencer's death on December 16,2005.

The character's death was written in response to the death of the actor, and Leo McGarry is discovered dead offscreen in his hotel room.

The role of Leo McGarry was recast with Sterling K Brown.

The West Wing's Leo McGarry explains addiction better than anything on TV.

I'd like to take you back to a scene from the very first season of West Wing in which Leo McGarry invites a young girl into his office to discuss an issue that many of us face: addiction.

Leo McGarry's alcoholism is explored in excruciating detail, in the present and in flashbacks where he meets Bartlet for the first time.