Actor Ron Silver has passed away at the age of 62 after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer.

Ron had many dramatic roles, but my favorite was always his playing the bad guy (as Ron Silver, an actor who was also the head of N.A.S.A.) on Ben Stiller’s aborted TV Series “Heat Vision and Jack.”

I was also fond of Lifepod, a TV-movie he directed and starred in.  It was a science-fiction reworking of Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat.

As an activist, Ron swung wildly from being a major liberal in Hollywood to speaking at the Republican convention in 2004, a changeover which happened after September 11th.  That can’t have been an enjoyable transformation in Tinsel Town, yet Ron seldom complained.

I have tremendous respect for the man, and I’m saddened by his passing.  RIP, Ron.

Update: Breitbart’s obit for his friend.