Ron Silver RIP

PullMyFinger!

Very under-rated actor

Silver was featured in such diverse films as Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Timecop (1994), and as Muhammad Ali's boxing cornerman Angelo Dundee in Ali (2001). From 2001 to 2002 and 2005 to 2006, Silver portrayed presidential campaign advisor Bruno Gianelli on The West Wing.

Wacker

That's a shame. He was fantastic in the West Wing. He had one of the greatest voices that I've ever heard. I'd buy a recording of him reading the phone-book.

L31mr0d

he had one of those faces that when you'd see him you'd be like "I know him? what was he in? dammit this is going to bug me!"

For some reason I always remember him from the movie "The Arrival" with Charlie Sheen. A pretty decent sci-fi I might add with an interesting premise, I was going to spoiler it, but I thought I'd just leave it out as the highlights of the movie are its twists and reveals.

PullMyFinger!

Hollywood Reporter;

Veteran actor Ron Silver, best known for stand-out roles in Ali and The West Wing, died on Sunday in his home town of New York after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer.

The gifted character actor made his big screen debut in 1976 anthology movie Tunnel Vision alongside John Candy and Chevy Chase, showing a dry wit and sly sense of comic timing that would be a feature of his 35 year career.

Well-known on the big screen for roles such as Timecop's villainous Senator McComb, Reversal Of Fortune's defense attorney Alan Dershowitz and Ali's cornerman Angelo Dundee, Silver also made his mark on television. Perhaps best among his TV roles was his terrific performance as Jed Bartlet's election strategist Bruno Gianelli in The West Wing. Unafraid to ruffle feathers, Silver's slick svengali lent season three a chunk of dramatic bite.

Fittingly, Silver saw himself as a politician as much as an actor, although in a case of life-not-imitating-life, he switched allegiance from Democrat to the Republican Party not long before joing The West Wing. An outspoken advocate of free speech and artists rights, he co-founded the Creative Coalition, an advocacy group for entertainers. Silver would later claim that his switch to the GOP cost him work in liberal Hollywood.

Silver's TV career also included roles in Veronica's Closet, Chicago Hope and NBC miniseries Billionaire Boys Club, for which he received an Emmy nomination. His stage appearances included a Tony-winning turn in a 1988 staging of David Mamet's Speed-The-Plough.

bnt

Here's a scene from The West Wing in which President Bartlet is rehearsing his "re-elect me" speech. Never mind the snake, Bruno (Ron Silver) makes a small but crucial contribution to the process after the 2:00 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwDQKwBmJbI

JP Liz

RIP

I remember him mostly from Veronica's Closet

JohnK

A great actor, I'll miss seeing him around.

slave1

shame, good character acting in the WW

PullMyFinger!

Fittingly, Silver saw himself as a politician as much as an actor, although in a case of life-not-imitating-life, he switched allegiance from Democrat to the Republican Party not long before joing The West Wing. An outspoken advocate of free speech and artists rights, he co-founded the Creative Coalition, an advocacy group for entertainers. Silver would later claim that his switch to the GOP cost him work in liberal Hollywood.

Maybe thats why we didnt see this great actor as much. Shame.

CyberGhost

RIP! very underrated indeed.

Richard Dower

He's on RTE 1 right now, he's playing an excellent Jewish character in post war America. RIP...very underrated actor.

MagicMarker

Great actor, loved him in The West Wing.