Percy Fitzwallace
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| Percy Fitzwallace | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing character | |
| First appearance | A Proportional Response |
| Last appearance | Gaza |
| Cause/reason | Death |
| Created by | Aaron Sorkin |
| Portrayed by | John Amos |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Fitz, Admiral Sissy-Mary (Nancy McNally) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Seasons 1-5) |
| Title | Admiral |
| Nationality | American |
Admiral Percy "Fitz" Fitzwallace, played by John Amos, is the fictional Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the television series The West Wing.
A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Fitzwallace wears the insignia of a Surface Warfare Officer and, as of 2002, had been in the military for 38 years. Fitzwallace is also a veteran of the Vietnam war.
A number of episodes hint that the working relationship between President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Fitzwallace was initially strained; in a fifth-season flashback set before Bartlet and Fitzwallace have met, Bartlet blames Fitzwallace for starting a war in the Philippines and plans to immediately fire the admiral upon becoming president. In the early season-one episode "A Proportional Response", Bartlet remarks to naval doctor Morris Tulliver (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) that Fitz and the other Joint Chiefs dislike him for his lack of military experience. Fitzwallace, however, later denies this, and throughout the course of the show is a close advisor to the President.
In the episode "Stirred", White House Senior Staff suggest that Fitzwallace might be a feasible vice presidential candidate in the 2002 election, when the electoral math showed that Vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson) would not guarantee a win in Texas and Florida. It was believed that Fitzwallace's status as a military man and defense hawk would be an electoral strength, along with the calculation that a black running mate would increase black turnout for the Democrats and win North Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia for Bartlet. However, the staff were unsure of Fitzwallace's party affiliation and whether he would accept. Ultimately, President Bartlet ruled that Hoynes had to remain the vice president.
Like National Security Advisor Nancy McNally (Anna Deavere Smith), Fitzwallace vacillates between being hawkish and dovish on the exercise of military force, opposing a move against Iraq during what was perceived as an assassination attempt on Bartlet, but later proposing an invasion of Qumar in response to a terrorist threat. Fitz is the strongest proponent of assassinating Abdul ibn Shareef (Al No'mani), the Qumari Defence Minister who is also a terrorist leader.
Fitz retires almost immediately after the resolution of the Zoey Bartlet (Elisabeth Moss) kidnap crisis at the beginning of season five and is replaced as chairman by General Nicholas Alexander (Terry O'Quinn). At the end of season five, Fitz is killed by a roadside bomb during a diplomatic mission to Gaza.
Fitzwallace has a wife whom he has been with for 32 years as of "The Dogs of War". In that episode, she is referred to as Laura, but that is later retconned and she is renamed Gail, appearing in "Gaza" when Percy is killed.
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