Farewell Ron Silver

Earlier this week actor Ron Silver passed away after a two year battle with esophageal cancer.

Ron Silver was one of those guys who has managed to appear in hundreds of hours of movies/TV shows that you’ve seen, yet just don’t know by name. You may have seen him in shows like Chicago Hope, Law & Order, or Veronica Mars.

I know him best though from his appearances on The West Wing, and Heat Vision & Jack.

In Heat Vision & Jack, Ron Silver played Ron Silver, the actor known for his role in Timecop of whom works for NASA and will stop at nothing to stop (or kill) the shows protagonists Heat Vision & Jack.

In The West Wing, Silver portrayed presidential campaign advisor Bruno Gianelli.

The Ron Silver that existed away from the screen was a man who had a deep passion for politics. While he had spent many years as a supporter of the Democrats, in his later years he was often seen as an ardent supporter for the Republicans. Politics played such a significant part of Silvers life that very few of the obituaries published have gone without making significant mention of his political beliefs.

There was always a quality about Ron Silver that I liked. On screen, Silver had such a commanding presence that one couldn’t help but be completely enraptured with his performance. It’s a shame that the opportunity to see more of his work will now never be possible.

In reading about Silver over the past few days, there were two items that I want to share with you. The first is a short piece by Aaron Sorkin recounting working with Silver on The West Wing. The second is this video of Ron Silver talking to David Frost about politics and his own political affiliations in October 2008.