Walk Of Fame Star Honoring Bradley Whitford Unveiled

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Wednesday honoring Bradley Whitford for a television acting career best remembered for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman on "The West Wing," which brought him three Emmy nominations and one victory.

"The West Wing" castmates Martin Sheen and Dulé Hill joined Whitford in speaking at the ceremony at 6104 Hollywood Blvd., near Gower Street. Cast members Josh Malina, Mary McCormack, Ron Ostrow and Richard Schiff were also among those in attendance.

Whitford accepted the honor by first recognizing that Wednesday was the birthday of his wife, Amy Landecker, whom he jokingly credited for "your ongoing efforts to support me in public."

"The best thing about a life spent telling stories is the people you get to tell them with," he said. "I want to thank every writer, director, producer, every cast and crew member I've ever had the privilege to work. And here's to a future where real human beings continue to get up a little too early in the morning and work long, hard days to make stories together — stories to make us laugh, make us cry, make us think — and most importantly, at this moment in this disorienting digital age, to remind us all of what it means to be a human being."

The ceremony came 15 days before the release of the fourth season of the Netflix political thriller "The Diplomat," in which Whitford portrays the husband of President Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney).

Whitford received an outstanding guest actor in a drama series Emmy nomination in July for what was then a recurring role. He has since been promoted to being a cast member.

Whitford's star is next to Janney's. The two were castmates throughout the run of "The West Wing" from 1999-2006 on NBC.

The star is the 2,858th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the initial 1,558 stars.

Born Oct. 10, 1959, in Madison, Wisconsin, Whitford lived in Wayne, Pennsylvania, from when he was 3 to 14 years old, growing up in a Quaker household. Whitford's family returned to Wisconsin and he graduated from Madison East High School in 1977.

Whitford received a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University, majoring in English and theater, and a graduate diploma from the Juilliard School.

He made his television debut in 1985 in the seventh episode of the CBS action crime drama, "The Equalizer," playing one of three drunken, baby- faced goons who try to rape a hitch-hiker (Dana Barron) and end up killing her boyfriend (Tom Isbell) when he tries to fight them off.

The episode's guest cast also included future "Married ... With Children" star Ed O'Neill as a doctor.

Whitford made his film debut in the 1985 thriller "Doorman," playing a doorman targeted by a killer who has already killed two New York City doormen.

Whitford's other film credits in the 1980s and 1990s included "Adventures in Babysitting" "Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise," "Presumed Innocent," "Young Guns II," "Awakenings," "Scent of a Woman," "A Perfect World," "Philadelphia," "The Client," " Billy Madison" and "Bicentennial Man."

He also had a major role in the 2011 horror comedy "Cabin in the Woods."

His television appearances during this time included "NYPD Blue," "Ellen," "The X-Files," "Touched by an Angel" and "ER."

Whitford earned his second Emmy nomination in 2016 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for "Transparent" and third in 2019 for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for "The Handmaid's Tale."

Whitford made his Broadway debut in 1990 in "A Few Good Men," written by future "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin. He is set to star as Lt. Col. Nathan Jessep, played in the film version by Jack Nicholson, in the first Broadway revival of "A Few Good Men," set to open Oct. 29.

City News Service