It's still odd to think about Ron Silver, who died of cancer earlier this week, being gone. I mean, sure, cancer can hit anyone at any age, but it's odd to see it happen to someone in a fairly recent show, and one that I watch a lot of (thank you, DVD sets). I felt the same thing when another West Wing cast member, John Spencer, died a few years back. That was even more shocking because he was still on the show at the time.

West Wing creator/writer Aaron Sorkin pays tribute to Silver in Time. He says that Silver was not only the type of actor who was very generous ("someone who's there for the piece and not for himself"), but one that would make the other actors laugh and get into a good mood between takes.

I never quite understood why his character, Bruno, would become a Republican later in the show and help the opposing team. I didn't really buy that. Nothing to do with Silver's acting at all, he was great, I just remember Bruno's impassioned speeches about being a Democrat when he was working for President Bartlet. Sure, it's possible that the character of Bruno could be looked at as a "do anything to win, work for any team" kind of guy in it for the power and the win, but Bruno was a Democrat when the show started and it was odd to see him go to the GOP in the last season. Though I guess it mirrored Silver's real-life in some ways.

He was nominated for an Emmy for the role, and he truly deserved it.