Jed Bartlet and other notable TV presidents in honor of Presidents Day
Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet in NBC's "The West Wing." Credit: NBC / Kevin Foley
In honor of Presidents Day, here are five TV chief executives with notable achievements:
LONGEST-RUNNING TV PRESIDENT Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) on “The West Wing” served for seven seasons (1999-2006).
FIRST WOMAN TV PRESIDENT On the forgotten Fox sitcom “Hail to the Chief” (1987), former child star Patty Duke played President Julia Mansfield for laughs.
FIRST BLACK MALE TV PRESIDENT David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) on “24” served for three seasons (2001-04), surviving an assassination attempt and numerous other crises that needed the attention of super agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).
FIRST BLACK WOMAN TV PRESIDENT Alfre Woodard was President Constance Payton in the short-lived Katherine Heigl espionage drama, “State of Affairs” (2014-15).
FIRST HISPANIC TV PRESIDENT Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) on “The West Wing,” a Texas congressman, won an extremely close election against his Republican opponent and became president at the end of the show’s seventh season (2005-06).
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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