Ron Silver dead at 62

Mar 16, 2009 by Ian Evans

Ron Silver, who was most recently known for his Emmy-nominated role on the drama The West Wing died Sunday of cancer at the age of 62.

Robin Bronk of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped found, said in a statement that, “Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early Sunday morning.”

The actor/activist had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years.

Silver was a Tony Award winner for David Mamet’s Speed the Plow and though he was a longtime liberal, he became a staunch supporter of George W. Bush after the September 11th attacks, even being a featured speaker at the 2004 Republican National Convention.