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July 24, 2002
Lowe To Exit 'West Wing'
Zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - President Bartlet will need a new speech writer.
NBC announced Wednesday that Rob Lowe will be leaving "The West Wing" next March. No comment was made about the reasons behind the departure, but NBC Entertainment President, Jeff Zucker, says that Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, would be written out of the show next season.
"Rob has been a huge and great part of the program," Zucker told reporters at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena. "We're fortunate that he's going to be with us for virtually the entire year and after that, Sam Seaborn will move on to other things."
The actor was nominated last year for an Emmy for best actor in a drama series, but was one of the only regular cast members of "The West Wing" not nominated this year. Martin Sheen got a nod for best actor in a drama, while Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Dule Hill, Stockard Channing, Janel Moloney and Mary-Louise Parker were nominated in supporting categories.
Published reports cited anonymous sources that the departure was due to a salary dispute. Lowe reportedly makes around $75,000 an episode, the same amount since he began the series in 1999. Since then, fellow cast members have seen their salaries increase. Janney, Shiff, Spencer and Whitford negotiated a raise last year, upping their salaries to $70,000 an episode, while Martin Sheen's recent contract renegotiation saw his salary triple to $300,000 per show.
When the show debuted, Lowe was the most famous regular character. Martin Sheen was originally supposed to have a minor role on "The West Wing," but as time passed, President Bartlet has seen more screen time while Sam Seaborn has seen less and less.
The snubs appear to have wounded Lowe, who released this statement, "As much as it hurts to admit it, it has been increasingly clear, for quite a while, that there was no longer a place for Sam Seaborn on 'The West Wing.' However, Warner Bros. has allowed me an opportunity to leave the show as I arrived … grateful for it, happy to have been on it and proud of it. We were a part of television history and I will never forget it."
Posted by MorganG at July 24, 2002 01:57 PM