[StBernard] Actor Ron Silver was a man of principle

[Westley Annis]

I can remember when Ron Silver spoke at the 2004 Republican National
Convention.  I recall the moment in his speech when he said "this President
(Bush) is doing precisely the right thing" - referencing Bush's War on
Terrorism in both Afghanistan and Iraq.



You see, Ron Silver was a well-known, self-professed Hollywood "liberal" who
had an epiphany on 9/11.  Many people did...but within a few short years
forgot about that epiphany - Ron Silver never did.  As you will read in the
article, his epiphany cost him work in Hollywood, but he never minded.
Unlike the immature, irresponsible liberals in the United States today, Ron
Silver "got it" - he got it that the security of this nation was more
important to him than getting a few acting jobs.


I think what Ron Silver really got was the understanding that liberalism is
not based on any principles.  Yeah, that's right.  The next time you hear
someone who is apparently a liberal, ask them what are their principles.
Oh, they'll give you some lip service and runaround talk, bit you'll quickly
see what I mean in that they have none.  In fact, you'll see they don't even
understand what the term "principles" really mean.  But Ron Silver did.  


A true principle is something you believe in so much to the point you would
be willing to make a huge sacrafice for - even giving up your life.  Trust
me, there's nothing liberals feel that strongly about.  But Ron Silver did.
RIP.


John Scurich

 

Actor Ron Silver dies in NYC at age 62 of cancer


Published: 3/15/09, 11:05 PM EDT
By DAVID GERMAIN

(AP) - Actor Ron Silver, who won a Tony Award as a take-no-prisoners
Hollywood producer in David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and did a political
about-face from loyal Democrat to Republican activist after the Sept. 11
attacks, died Sunday at the age of 62. 

"Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early
Sunday morning" in New York City, said Robin Bronk, executive director of
the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped found. "He had been fighting
esophageal cancer for two years." 


Silver, an Emmy nominee for a recurring role as a slick strategist for
liberal President Jed Bartlet on "The West Wing," had a long history of
balancing acting with left-leaning social and political causes. 

But after the 2001 terrorist attacks, longtime Democrat Silver turned heads
in Hollywood with outspoken support of President George W. Bush over the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Silver spoke at the 2004 Republican National
Convention, began referring to himself as a "9/11 Republican" and
reregistered as an independent. 

In an interview with The Associated Press a month later, Silver said his
support for the war on terror was costing him work in liberal-minded
Hollywood. 

"It's affected me very badly. I can't point to a person or a job I've lost,
but this community is not very pluralistic," Silver told the AP. "I haven't
worked for 10 months." 

His switch to a more conservative image threatened to overshadow an esteemed
career on stage, television and film, along with his long history of
activism, which included co-founding the nonpartisan Creative Coalition, an
advocacy group for entertainers. 


"He was a talented actor, a scholar and a great believer in participatory
democracy," Bronk said Sunday evening. "He was an activist who became a
great artist and his contributions will never be forgotten." 

His big-screen credits included "Ali," "Reversal of Fortune," "Enemies: A
Love Story," "Silkwood" and "Semi-Tough." 

Besides "The West Wing," Silver was a regular or had recurring roles on such
TV shows as "Veronica's Closet," "Chicago Hope" and "Wiseguy." He directed
and costarred in the 1993 TV movie "Lifepod," a science-fiction update of
Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat." 

Silver's Tony for "Speed-the-Plow" came in 1988, a year after he earned his
first Emmy nomination, for the murder thriller "Billionaire Boys Club." 

Silver still found work despite his conservative shift, appearing in
episodes of "Law & Order" and "Crossing Jordan" and such movies as "Find Me
Guilty" and the Ten Commandments comedy "The Ten." 

He continued his recurring role on "The West Wing," joking that he faced
some taunting over his views from co-workers on the show which took place in
a fiercely liberal White House administration. 

"Often when I walked onto the set of 'The West Wing' some of my colleagues
would greet me with a chanting of 'Ron, Ron, the neo-con.' It was all done
in fun but it had an edge," Silver wrote in a Nov. 15, 2007, entry of his
blog on the Pajamas Media Web site. 

Silver's on-screen work rankled liberals, too. He narrated 2004's
"Fahrenhype 9/11," a deconstruction of Michael Moore's Bush-bashing hit
documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11." 

"Michael Moore and that faction of the party was one of the factors that did
not let me support the Democratic nominee this year," Silver told the AP in
2004. "He is a charlatan in a clown suit." 

Born July 2, 1946, in New York City, he was the son of Irving and May
Silver. His father worked in New York's garment industry and his mother was
a teacher. 

Earning a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo
and a master's degree in Chinese history from St. John's University, Silver
studied drama at the Herbert Berghof Studio and the Actors Studio. 

In the 1970s, he gradually moved from theater work in New York City into
television and film. His early credits included "The Mac Davis Show,"
"Rhoda" and "The Stockard Channing Show." 

Silver and ex-wife Lynne Miller had a son, Adam, and daughter, Alexandra. 

Whichever end of the political spectrum his activism fell, Silver viewed
such involvement as something of a duty for entertainers. 

"I think there's almost an obligation," he said in a 1991 interview with the
AP. "Many of us are very well compensated for work which a lot of people
would love to do. And we also have a lot of leisure time in between jobs.
... 

"They say that Hollywood is sex without substance, and Washington is
substance without sex, so maybe the marriage of the two is mutually
intriguing."