Art imitates life according to West wing creator Aaron Sorkin!
On Friday, September 20, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted a West wing 25th Anniversary Event in the White House Rose Garden. PEOPLE were in attendance as some of the cast of the political series (minus Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney and Rob Lowe) were honored.
West wing Roles: Where are they now?
As Biden (73) approached the podium to address her guests, West wing the theme song started playing.
“We just came from the Oval, but even so [President] Joe [Biden]Joe is away hosting the leaders of Australia, India and Japan in Delaware, he wanted to make sure President Bartlet and his staff had a chance to see the Oval Office again,” she said.
Martin Sheen attended the celebration of the 25th anniversary of “The West Wing” at the White House.
Shannon Finney/Getty
dr. Biden then introduced Martin Sheen, who portrayed idealistic Democratic President Josiah Bartlet on the Emmy-winning television series.
Sheen, 84, began his speech by thanking Dr. Biden, saying that “today is a rare enough opportunity for him to once again transform into the wonderful character that changed my life and the lives of so many others.”
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It was next West wing creator and writer Sorkin, 63, who made his remarks.
“Our cast will live on as one of the best in television history,” he said.
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Aaron Sorkin attends the 25th anniversary celebration of “The West Wing” at the White House.
Shannon Finney/Getty
The series, which debuted on NBC on September 22, 1999, ran for 7 seasons until 2006 and won 26 Emmys along the way.
Sorkin shared that Lowe, 60, (Sam Seaborn); Janney, 64, (CJ Cregg); and Whitfield, also 64, (Josh Lyman) were unable to attend the White House gathering because they were on set.
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“The rest of us are apparently unemployed,” Sorkin joked, as Dr. Biden jokingly teased him, “Not yet.”
Some of the more dramatic fictionalized moments in the series included the investigation of President Bartlet for not disclosing his multiple sclerosis diagnosis, to the national security leak surrounding a secret military spaceship.
“West wing Moments happen and Dr. Biden and we saw proof of that on the morning of July 21st,” Sorkin also said, referring to the date President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race.
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THE WEST WING — SEASON 1.
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Sheen, Janney, Janel Moloney, Dulé Hill and Richard Schiff recently had West wing reunion when cast members joined together to present the award for Outstanding Drama Series at the 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 15.
While on stage, Schiff, 69, briefly opined that their show would have fared well in today’s political climate if it were still on the air.
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“Today, where stories can be pulled from the news, stories that writers 25 years ago would have found somewhat far-fetched, if not downright ridiculous,” he said.
“Our political landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, but two things have not changed: the importance of everyone being registered and voting,” Moloney, 54, added.
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