Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545089
46 SUMMER 2026 CQ: What is your fondest memory of working on The West Wing? DB: I don't know if I have a particular one, but what I do remember is that our working relationship between Philip and I, Robert (Robert Cron, Men's Finished), Alyssa (Alyssa Kim, Women's Finished), and Kate Crowley (Women's Finished), who came on later, and also Frankie (Francasca Bruno, Women's Finished) and Bey Edwards (Women's Finished). We were tight, we were like a family. We supported each other because it was a really difficult show. It was surprising, for it being a suit show, that it was very demanding. A lot of that had to do with scripts coming in late, or we would just get a few scenes at a time, things like that. But fortunately, we had a really great stock of suits. Last- minute casting happened all the time, and we had the whole WB wardrobe department as well, where we could go in and get stuff, so that absolutely helped. But we were so tightly working as a group together, and absolutely loved the cast. I loved fiings with the cast, and just geing to know them. John Spencer was such a delight. And when he passed away it was, it was just heartbreaking for all of us. PH: That was the first time I said, 'This is the best crew ever.' And I've had some good crews. I'm the same, like Deb, I don't have a specific memory, but then there were lile moments. Debra had to go out to the Salton Sea because we were doing Gaza and they had to take a lile adventure. And when we were geing all the costumes together, one night, Robert showed up in a burka! CQ: The show had such a multitude of inventory. How did you track that over the seasons? How did you know when a suit could come back into rotation if it had been worn previously? DB: Everything went into stock with the tag on it and at the end of the season, we would break things down, but we always keep the tags on. And if it was multiple episodes, we would keep multiple tags on it just so we knew when it was being used. By then, each character had really extensive closets. PH: Each character had about half a bar, and we had seven cages and so on. The lowest level of seven cages; we had all the main characters, and we didn't really flush out old things unless we needed to. Like when Martin (Sheen) wanted three-piece suits; by the last season, we just made four suits for him in doubles. They were three-piece and they were two different sizes. He only had four suits the last season, but all the other ones, unless it was really old and damaged or ugly or something, we never got rid of anything. DB: Some characters from early episodes would come back, and we'd still have their closet together. So, a lot of times it was pulling stuff out or refreshing it with some new pieces. "… I just felt like we knew it was special when we were making it. I mean, it was the government you wished that you had; even people that you disagreed with could at least make compromises." PHOTOS: COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. TELEVISION —PHILIP HAYMAN