March 16, 2009 | 4:42 am

‘West Wing’ Actor Ron Silver Dies at 62

Posted by Jay Firestone

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Ron Silver

From CNN.com:

NEW YORK (CNN)—Actor and political activist Ron Silver, who played a recurring role in TV’s presidential drama “The West Wing,” and who also let his political views play out in real life, died Sunday after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer, according to a colleague.

Robin L. Bronk, executive director of The Creative Coalition, said Silver, a New York native, died in his sleep with his family around him.

“Nothing could hold Ron back, not even a debilitating illness. His contributions as an artist and activist will never be forgotten,” said Bronk, who runs an organization founded in 1989 by Silver, actor Christopher Reeves and other prominent figures in the arts as a political advocacy organization for the entertainment industry. more at cnn.com.

Colleague and friend, Roger L. Simon of Pajamas Media posted this in memory of Silver:

Ron had been fighting terminal stomach cancer for well over two years now as if it were some minor skirmish interrupting his otherwise important dedication to the future of this country. And what a dedication that was – twenty-four hours of every day, when they didn’t drag him into Sloan Kettering for treatment… the place Ron would call to his friends with characteristic gallows humor – Sloan Spa.

We all knew Ron had cancer and most of us, I suspect, had some idea how bad it was. The summer before last (I think it was then) I remember him telling me about his recent operation. He was out for about six hours, he told me, and when he woke up he looked at the doctor and asked her how it went. She told him she couldn’t take out the cancer. It had metastasized. The six hours were for nothing. She had to sew him back up. They gave him about three to four months to live at that point. more at pajamasmedia.com.