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November 12, 2002
‘West Wing’ episode to feature Dayton
By Bob Batz
Dayton Daily News
Ten copies of the Dayton Daily News that left town last week will return to the Miami Valley early next year as props on an episode of the hit NBC drama series The West Wing.
The episode, filmed in Chicago, is to air in January. The newspapers will be part of a story that has White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg, played by former Oakwood resident Allison Janney, returning to Dayton to speak at her 20th high school class reunion, when she learns her father has Alzheimer’s disease.
The episode set here will give the Emmy Award-winning political drama a stronger local flavor than it already has. Martin Sheen, who plays President Bartlet, and Rob Lowe, who plays Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn, also are former Dayton-area residents.
Copies of the newspaper will be strewn about the set during a scene at C.J.’s father’s home. The production crew will build a Dayton Daily News newspaper box, which will appear in a scene where C.J. is a passenger in a car driven by her father.
"They talked about filming the episode in Dayton, but discovered it would be cheaper to do it in Chicago," said Lora Ducat, NBC’s director of TV production clearance. "But that wasn’t so surprising because our season-opening episode was set in Indiana, but filmed in Pennsylvania."
The fact that C.J.’s father has Alzheimer’s shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to West Wing fans. "In past shows, she has alluded to the fact that her father’s memory is going," Ducat said.
Posted by MorganG at November 12, 2002 05:55 PM