Gregory Itzin, who played the president of the United States on Fox’s hit series “24,” died today of complications from emergency surgery. He was 74.
His death was announced by his son, actor Wilke Itzin.
Itzin suffered a serious heart attack while performing Shakespeare on stage as Falstaff in 2015 and “came back only to continue to thrive in theater, film and television,” according to a family statement.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my father, Gregory Martin Itzin,” Wilke Itzin wrote on Instagram.
“My friend Greg Itzin passed away today,” 24 producer and director Jon Cassar wrote on Twitter. “He was one of the most talented actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, but more importantly, he was also an all-around great guy. He will be missed by his 24 family members who had nothing but love and respect for him. You left your mark, now rest in peace friend.”
Itzin was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in 1993’s “Kentucky Bicycle” and joined the 24 in the series’ fourth season in 2005. Initially taking on a recurring role as Vice President Charles Logan, Itzin spent the following season as president and became one of the show’s central characters.
He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance.
A native of Washington, D.C., who later moved to San Francisco and trained at the American Conservatory Theater, Itzin began his television career in the 1980s with minor roles as Grant and others in series such as Mork & Mindy, Charlie’s Angels, Fame, Dallas, Hill Street Blues, Lou Many also played similar roles in movies, including Airplane! , the best little whorehouse in Texas and the fabulous Baker Boys.
In 1989, he had a series of regular roles in the short-lived Mel Brooks-Alan Spencer sitcom The Nutt House, starring Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman. He maintained a prolific television career throughout the 1990s, appearing in numerous other productions including Matlock, Major Dad, Quantum Leap, LA Law, Picket Fences, Something Wilder, ER, and Murder One in 1995, in which he played Distract attorney Roger Garfield.
In the 2000s, Itzin had roles in Profiler, Bull, Strip Mall, The Practice, Friends, Judging Amy, and three Star Trek series (Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, and Voyager).
His signature role came in 2005 when he served as Vice President on 24, starring Kiefer Sutherland, and as President the following season. He would remain involved in the series until the end of 2010.
After 24, Itzin played recurring roles in Big Love, The Mentalist, Convert Affairs, Mob City and, most recently, NCIS.
On the film front, Itzin played Judge John A. Campbell in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012) and had roles in Las Vegas’ Altered, Afraid and Disgusted and Ides of March.
Itzin also maintains a busy stage career with numerous performances at the Mark Taper Forum, the Kennedy Center, Antaeus Theatre Company and Matrix Theatre Company.
On Broadway, he was nominated by Tony for Best Actor in 1993’s The Kentucky Bicycle, and in 2010 he returned to Broadway as Enron’s Kenneth Lay.
Son Wilke wrote, “My father is considered an extraordinary actor in the world, with a body of work that could trump the resumes of most famous actors.” “He’s been in Airplane, Old Friends, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Mork and Mindy, and of course the infamous President 24, to name a few. But what many people really know him for is his incredible performances on stage. I remember seeing him in the one-man show Shipwrecked by Donald Margulies being blown away and being in awe that the man on stage was my father. He fell in love with the theater, and even in his dying breath he could recite Shakespeare as if he had made it up.”
Itzin leaves behind his wife of 43 years, Judie, son Wilke, daughter Julia and grandson Wylder Gregory, who spent his last days in the Midwest, according to a family statement, his sister Pamela, nieces and nephews Deidre and Aaron, and nieces and nephews Claire and Cole, as well as his son and grandson.
