John Aylward Dies: ‘ER’ & ‘The West Wing’ Actor Was 75

Denise Petski
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

John Aylward, an actor best known for his portrayals of Dr. Donald Anspaugh on ER and former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on The West Wing, died this week at his home in Seattle. He was 75.

Aylward’s death overnight Monday was confirmed by his wife Mary Fields to his longtime agent, Mitchell K. Stubbs. He had been in declining health, according to Fields.

More from Deadline

“I was shocked. He was a wonderful actor and a phenomenal human being,” Stubbs told Deadline. “He was a dream client, a friend and a dream person.”

Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2022: Photo Gallery

Born and raised in Seattle, Aylward appeared in dozens of television series over the course of his more than four-decade career, but he is perhaps best remembered for his role as Dr. Donald Anspaugh in ER. Aylward joined the NBC series in the third season in the heavily recurring role and appeared in more than 70 episodes over 12 years. ER co-producer Carol Flynt first offered him an audition after seeing him in a 1996 production of Psychopathia Sexualis at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, for which he won the 1996 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance.

Aylward’s Anspaugh was a surgeon and a leading hospital board member who served in several leading positions at County General. He was the one Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) went to when he wanted to switch his specialty from surgery to emergency medicine. At first taken aback, calling the move a potential break of Carter’s contract, Anspaugh eventually agrees, citing Carter’s will to help his patients and treat them as human beings.

John Aylward, Bradley Whitford, Jimmy Smits, Dule Hill and Martin Sheen in ‘The West Wing’ - Credit: Everett Collection
John Aylward, Bradley Whitford, Jimmy Smits, Dule Hill and Martin Sheen in ‘The West Wing’ - Credit: Everett Collection

Everett Collection

Aylward also is known for his 2005-06 role as former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on NBC’s The West Wing, adviser to Matt Santos’ presidential campaign, and head of President-elect Santos’ transition team.

Aylward was a series regular on the short-lived 2000 NBC drama The Others and appeared in guest or recurring roles in scores of other series, beginning with Northern Exposure in 1990. He followed with roles on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Ally McBeal, The X-Files, Everwood, The Practice, Judging Amy, Boston Legal, Alias, Without a Trace, Brothers & Sisters, and more recently Shameless and Yellowstone. He also appeared in TV movies The Escape (see photo above), With a Vengeance, Stamp of a Killer, among others. His final television appearance came in 2020 in a recurring role in Briarpatch.

On the film side, his credits include The Crazies, Water for Elephants, A Million Ways to Die in the West and most recently the 2020 film The Way Back.

He also was the voice of Dr. Arne Magnusson in the video game Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.