Actor Ron Silver, shown in August 2004, speaks at the evening session of the first day of the Republican National Convention in New York. Silver died in New York City after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer. (Joe Cavaretta/Associated Press)

Award-winning actor and activist Ron Silver, whose career spanned stage, television and film, died Sunday at 62.

The former West Wing cast member and co-founder of the entertainment industry advocacy group Creative Coalition had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years.

New York-born Silver, who won a Tony Award in 1988 for his turn in David Mamet's Hollywood-skewering play Speed-the-Plow, was also a multiple Emmy Award nominee. His television credits ranged from early work like Rhoda and Billionaire Boys Club to popular series such as Chicago Hope, Law & Order, Crossing Jordan and The West Wing — for a recurring role as a White House strategist.

Silver's film resumé included roles in Ali, Reversal of Fortune and Silkwood.

Engaged in activism

In 1989, Silver co-founded the non-partisan social and political advocacy group Creative Coalition with colleagues including Alec Baldwin, Christopher Reeve and Susan Sarandon.

"I think there's almost an obligation [to engage in activism]," Silver said in a 1991 interview. "Many of us are very well compensated for work which a lot of people would love to do. And we also have a lot of leisure time in between jobs.

"They say that Hollywood is sex without substance, and Washington is substance without sex, so maybe the marriage of the two is mutually intriguing."

A longtime Democrat, he made an about-face and became a vocal supporter of former U.S. president George W. Bush following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Speaking at the 2004 Republican National Convention, he referred to himself as a "9/11 Republican."

In interviews and on his blog, Silver said his conservative shift had a negative effect on his career in liberal-leaning Hollywood.

"I can't point to a person or a job I've lost, but this community is not very pluralistic," Silver said in an interview with the Associated Press in 2004, the same year he narrated the film Fahrenhype 9/11 — which attempted to debunk the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

Silver is survived by his son, Adam, and daughter, Alexandra, (by his ex-wife, Lynne Miller).