# West Wing question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755 "2004-10-12T02:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/1 "2004-10-12T02:03:59Z")
What happened to Mrs. Landingham? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/2 "2004-10-12T02:32:52Z")
Mrs. Landingham was killed in a car accident. She had just bought her new car - her very first brand new car. The West Wing guys wanted her to bring it back to the White House so they could kick the tires. She was killed driving back to show it off. StG ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/3 "2004-10-12T02:43:17Z")
If I tell Mrs. Plant that and you are whoosing me, _I’ll_ be dead and not in an auto accident. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/4 "2004-10-12T02:49:48Z")
**StG** is joking. She was really eaten by a pack of wild dogs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/5 "2004-10-12T02:53:06Z")
Ok, I was kidding. [Here](http://westwing.bewarne.com/landingham.html)’s her “bio” from the West Wing Continuity Guide: > [@](#): > > Killed when her brand new car was hit by a car with a driver under the influence ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/6 "2004-10-12T02:56:32Z")
Wild Dogs I’ll buy. The Republicans probably wouldn’t pass the Democrat’s federal leash law. 🙂 Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/7 "2004-10-12T02:56:31Z")
Her death was as described and at the funeral in the National Cathedral, Bartlett asked to be alone for a bit and he cursed out God - in Latin. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/8 "2004-10-12T03:05:22Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Bartlett asked to be alone for a bit and he cursed out God - in Latin. The last part of that episode was how my Step Daughter introduced me to the show, although we didn’t start watching it for a bit after that. Bartlett mentions a tender. In another episode he is speaking with the radio operator of a ship in distress. Does the ship sink? Did they kill Fitz Mrs. Landingham _and_ yjr kid on the ship? Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/9 "2004-10-12T03:16:22Z")
Poor Ainsley Hayes is hanging out with Horatio Caine and probably envys the dead. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/10 "2004-10-12T11:29:51Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Poor Ainsley Hayes is hanging out with Horatio Caine and probably envys the dead. Nah, she’s solving crimes in Miami. Don’t know why they killed off Mrs. Landingham (contract dispute, Adam Sorkin wanted to, etc), but it made for some fascinating scenes in that episode. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/11 "2004-10-12T12:41:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The last part of that episode was how my Step Daughter introduced me to the show, although we didn’t start watching it for a bit after that. > Bartlett mentions a tender. In another episode he is speaking with the radio operator of a ship in distress. Does the ship sink? Did they kill Fitz Mrs. Landingham _and_ yjr kid on the ship? > Dammit. The ship _presumably_ sinks; Sorkin seems to have a penchant for leaving the resolution of certain situations to the imagination of the viewer. If I recall correctly, that show ended with Bartlet vowing to stay on the line with the young radio operator “until the end”. I don’t recall the details of that episode or its placement in the show’s chronology–I suppose it may have been the same ship Bartlet references in his diatribe in “Two Cathedrals”. Death or the possibility of death indeed seems to be a recurring theme on _The West Wing_. Each of the seasons has ended with the death of a character or a character’s life in danger. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/12 "2016-09-20T04:47:45Z")
Bumped. Why is the episode called “Two Cathedrals.” One is the National Cathedral, obviously; what is the other? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/13 "2016-09-20T07:02:10Z")
The White House, almost certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/14 "2016-09-20T08:09:51Z")
> [@Santos\_L\_Halper](#): > > **StG** is joking. She was really eaten by a pack of wild dogs. > > 🙂 Wait, didn’t she eat a pack of wild dogs, and the indigestion did her in? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/15 "2016-09-20T08:56:02Z")
Stunning news from Michigan, as former Oval Office secretary Mrs. Landingham was chopped into little bits by the propeller of a commuter plane. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/16 "2016-09-20T12:12:28Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Why is the episode called “Two Cathedrals.” One is the National Cathedral, obviously; what is the other? Well, don’t discount that there can be metaphorical cathedrals. Cathedrals are places you go to for guidance and understanding, so a father or big sister is a cathedral in that sense. In his father’s cathedral young Jed finds pettiness and abuse, but in his surrogate big sister Mrs. Landingham’s cathedral he finds direction and support. Since this episode is Jed wrestling with whether he’ll run again, the question is will he go to his father’s cathedral and just shut up and admit defeat, or will he go to Mrs. Landingham’s and fight the good fight? If you want a more mechanical answer, Jed is first introduced to Mrs. Landingham immediately after his father is telling him a cigarette butt was found in the school chapel, and it’s strongly implied that it was Jed’s cigarette. Then the last time Jed is with Mrs. Landingham in the National Cathedral he’s once again been putting out his Kools on the floor. So you’ve got two cathedrals (let’s pretend the school chapel was inside a cathedral) bookending Jed’s time with Mrs. Landingham. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/17 "2016-09-20T15:28:25Z")
Kathryn Joosten’s career took off after West Wing. She won 2 Emmys for Desperate Housewives a few years later. > **[Kathryn Joosten](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Joosten)** > > Kathryn Joosten (born Kathryn Rausch; December 20, 1939 – June 2, 2012) was an American actress. Her best known roles include Dolores Landingham on NBC's The West Wing from 1999 to 2002 and Karen McCluskey on ABC's Desperate Housewives from 2005 to 2012, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2005 and 2008. > Joosten was born Kathryn Rausch in Chicago, Illinois to Dutch-German parents. Her first career was as a psychiatric nurse at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, living in nearby Lake... She made the most out of a small role on West Wing. Amazing how many people remember Mrs Landingham. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/18 "2016-09-20T15:57:15Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Well, don’t discount that there can be metaphorical cathedrals. Cathedrals are places you go to for guidance and understanding, so a father or big sister is a cathedral in that sense. In his father’s cathedral young Jed finds pettiness and abuse, but in his surrogate big sister Mrs. Landingham’s cathedral he finds direction and support. > > Since this episode is Jed wrestling with whether he’ll run again, the question is will he go to his father’s cathedral and just shut up and admit defeat, or will he go to Mrs. Landingham’s and fight the good fight? > > If you want a more mechanical answer, Jed is first introduced to Mrs. Landingham immediately after his father is telling him a cigarette butt was found in the school chapel, and it’s strongly implied that it was Jed’s cigarette. Then the last time Jed is with Mrs. Landingham in the National Cathedral he’s once again been putting out his Kools on the floor. So you’ve got two cathedrals (let’s pretend the school chapel was inside a cathedral) bookending Jed’s time with Mrs. Landingham. Could be - thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/19 "2016-09-22T15:03:23Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > he’s once again been putting out his Kools on the floor. And now I’m going to hear Eddie Murphy’s voice in my head for the rest of the day… ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755/20 "2016-09-26T18:32:59Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#): > > The ship _presumably_ sinks; Sorkin seems to have a penchant for leaving the resolution of certain situations to the imagination of the viewer. If I recall correctly, that show ended with Bartlet vowing to stay on the line with the young radio operator “until the end”. It’s not that morbid. Bartlet’s last line is “I’m going to stay right here as long as the radio works, OK.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/west-wing-question/268755.md?page=2)