'West Wing' star dies at 58 of heart attack

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Spencer, who played a tough and dedicated politico on "The West Wing" who survived a serious illness to run for vice president, died of a heart attack Friday. He was 58.

Spencer died at a Los Angeles hospital, said his publicist, Ron Hofmann. He would have been 59 next week.

Spencer played Leo McGarry, the savvy and powerful chief of staff to President Jeb Bartlet (Martin Sheen), on the NBC series. In a sad parallel to life, Spencer's character suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White House job.

The character recovered and was picked as a running mate for Democratic presidential contender Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits; the campaign against Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) has been a central theme for the drama this season.