John Aylward, an actor best known for his portrayals of Dr. Donald Anspaugh on ER and former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on The West Wing, died this week at his home in Seattle. He was 75. Aylward’s death overnight Monday was confirmed by his wife Mary Fields to his longtime agent, Mitchell K. Stubbs. He had been in declining health, according to Fields.

“I was shocked. He was a wonderful actor and a phenomenal human being,” Stubbs told Deadline. “He was a dream client, a friend and a dream person.”

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Born and raised in Seattle, Aylward appeared in dozens of television series over the course of his more than four-decade career, but he is perhaps best remembered for his role as Dr. Donald Anspaugh in ER. Aylward joined the NBC series in the third season in the heavily recurring role. ER co-producer Carol Flynt first offered him an audition after seeing him in a 1996 production of Psychopathia Sexualis at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, for which he won the 1996 Drama Logue Awardin 1996 for Outstanding Performance.

Aylward’s Anspaugh was a surgeon and a leading hospital board member, who served in several leading positions in County General. He was the one Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) went to when he wanted to switch his specialty from surgery to emergency medicine. At first taken aback calling the move a potential break of Carter’s contract, Anspaugh eventually agrees, citing Carter’s will to help his patients and treat them as human beings.

Aylward also is known for his role as former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on NBC’s The West Wing, advisor to Matt Santos’ presidential campaign, and head of President-elect Santos’ transition team.

Aylward appeared in guest or recurring roles in scores of other series, beginning with Northern Exposure in 1990, followed by 3rd Rock From the Sun, Ally McBeal, The X-Files, Everwood, The Practice, Judging Amy, Boston Legal, Alias, Without A Trace, Brothers & Sisters, and more recently Shameless and Yellowstone. He also appeared in TV movies The Escape (see photo above), With a Vengeance, Stamp of a Killer, among others. His final television appearance came in 2020 in a recurring role in Briarpatch.

On the film side, his credits include The Crazies, Water For Elephants, A Million Ways To Die in the West and most recently the 2020 film The Way Back.

He also was the voice of Dr. Arne Magnusson in the video game Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Received a devastating call from Mary Fields, John Aylward’s wife.

This kind man and wonderful actor has left us.

Very grateful to have known and worked with you, sir.

RIP pic.twitter.com/D8KpmMQTYL

— MKS Talent Agency (@MKSTalentAgency) May 18, 2022