The West Wing: Josh Lyman, Deputy Chief of Staff

Frame from the first strip to mention Josh Lyman.
"Doonsebury" May 11, 1993.
See the whole strip.
Marty Reisler emailed us the following:
"The original Josh Lyman of the White House was actually a character in the comic strip "Doonesbury", first appearing on May 11, 1993 and appearing occasionally until Aug 1994
(http://images.ucomics.com/comics/db/1994/db940823.gif} Doonesbury of this era is portraying the early Clinton White House in a way that is not completely unlike "The West Wing".
"The original Josh Lyman is the White House deputy Cabinet Liaison and while unlike the current Josh, in that he's from Arkansas, is married and younger, there's a hint of the self importance of the WW Josh. While I couldn't find any mention of this other Josh on any West Wing sites, I am apparently not the first Doonesbury fan to notice this Josh as he is mentioned in the FAQ on the Doonesbury website."

Mr. Reisler goes on to say, "While watching a very grainy copy of the 1st WW episode I see what appears to be a comic strip on Josh's wall while Sam is explaining how he accidentally slept with a call girl. I was wondering if these were Doonesbury's. According to the Doonesbury FAQ others have noticed framed Doonesbury strips on the wall of the "West Wing" set but no specific episodes were mentioned."
Mr. Reisler sent us this link directly to the first strip published May 11, 1993.

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