Leo McGarry

Leo McGarry
The West Wing character
John Spencer as Leo McGarry
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"The Cold"
Created by	Aaron Sorkin
Portrayed by	John Spencer
Information
Full name	Leo Thomas McGarry
Gender	Male
Occupation	United States Secretary of Labor (pre-season 1), White House Chief of Staff (seasons 1-6), Counselor to the President (season 6), Vice Presidential Candidate (season 7), Vice President-elect of the United States (season 7)
Spouse(s)	Jenny McGarry (divorced 2000)
Children	Mallory O'Brien
Relatives	Josephine McGarry (sister), Elizabeth (sister)
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Nationality	American

Leo Thomas McGarry is a fictional character played by American actor John Spencer on the television serial drama The West Wing. The role earned Spencer the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2002. McGarry's character, the former United States Secretary of Labor, begins the series as the White House Chief of Staff. He is President Josiah Bartlet's best friend and a father figure to the Senior Staff, particularly White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman and Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn.

In crafting the character of Leo McGarry, series creator Aaron Sorkin said he envisioned John Spencer in the part but had not imagined he would be available. Although he had recently decided he did not want to do another TV drama series due to the long hours, Spencer was so impressed by the pilot script that he took the part. Like the character, Spencer was a recovering alcoholic, and said he found he could relate to McGarry because "Leo's in recovery, too."

In an earlier draft of the pilot script, dated February 6, 1998, McGarry is called "Leo Jacobi" and is described as being aged 55 and "professorial".

Leo McGarry is from Chicago, Illinois born in 1948, though he seems to have some family connection to Boston, Massachusetts. He is of Irish and Scottish ancestry, and has at least two sisters, Elizabeth McGarry and Josephine McGarry, Ph.D., the latter serving as a school district superintendent in Atlanta. He divorces from his wife of several decades, Jenny, in late 2000 as his workaholic attitude is shown to take a toll on his personal life, with McGarry admitting that he considers his job in the White House more important than his marriage. He and his ex-wife have one daughter, Mallory O'Brien, who teaches fourth grade. McGarry is a recovering alcoholic and Valium addict. His father was also an alcoholic, who committed suicide.