Ron Silver: 1946-2009

I had wondered why I hadn’t seen this politically active actor lately. Sadly, I now know why.

Actor and political activist Ron Silver has lost his battle with esophageal cancer. He was 62.

The award-winning stage actor passed away on Sunday following a lengthy battle with the disease, and was surrounded by his family, according to friend and colleague Robin Bronk.

He says, "Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him this morning.

"He had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years and his family is making arrangements for a private service."

To be honest, I hadn’t seen many of Silver’s movies. The only role of his I’m really familiar with is his part as the power hungry Senator in the Jean-Claude Van Damme flick Timecop.

But Ron Silver’s name really resonated with me back in 1993 during President Clinton’s inauguration. He was kvetching about some Air Force jets flying overhead during that wonderful celebration of a young charismatic leader taking office (Yes, lefties viewed Clinton as “The One” long before their love affair with Barack Obama). Silver quickly caught himself in that knee-jerk reaction. “But then it came to me, hey, those planes are ours now”, Silver said. “Those are our planes.”

Eight years later, Silver went through yet another epiphany. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01, he became an ardent supporter of President Bush’s war on terror. In fact, Silver even spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. He also made a solid appearance in the documentary FahrenHYPE 9/11, a film dedicated to refuting and responding to the distortions made by bitter propagandist “filmmaker” Michael Moore in Fahrenheit 9/11.

Roger L. Simon wrote a poignant piece on the loss of his friend.

Silver is survived by his son, Adam, and daughter, Alexandra.

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