Bartlet4America News Archive

Calif. Assembly Mourns TV Character

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — "The West Wing" isn't exactly reality television, but it's real enough for Assemblyman Kevin Shelley.

The San Francisco Democrat adjourned the California Assembly session Thursday in memory of Mrs. Landingham, the fictional president's secretary on the Emmy-winning political drama.

The secretary, played by Kathryn Joosten, died in Wednesday night's episode when a drunken driver hit her car. Joosten, however, is alive and in good health, an NBC spokeswoman said.

Before adjourning the session, a straight-faced Shelley called Mrs. Landingham a "great American" whose "contributions to the nation were too numerous to count."

The announcement caught many legislators by surprise.

"Nobody could tell if she really died or fake died," said Terri Carbaugh, a Shelley aide.

The lawmaker, who lives in Sacramento during the week, calls his wife during commercial breaks to discuss plot twists, he said.

"It was tragic. She was crying, I was upset. It was terrible," Shelley said.

"At first everyone was stunned but then they were rolling in the aisles. Several said that they really appreciated that," he said.

Shelley has even told his aides that he wants his office to be more like the White House featured in the show, in which Martin Sheen plays the president.

"It was definitely for fun," said Carbaugh.

NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks said Kathryn Joosten, who played the president's secretary on the series, was in good health despite her character's demise.

"She's well. Her character is not so well," Marks said, adding that Wednesday's show had provoked lots of reaction among viewers.

"This episode has drawn a tremendous of amount of water cooler conversation," Marks said.