Character

Ted Marcus

commanding transactional theatrical influential

Ted Marcus is a wealthy Los Angeles–based political donor who hosts high‑profile fundraisers at his Bel Air mansion and exerts direct leverage over elected officials. He conditions financial support on public political gestures and uses cancellation or promise of access as bargaining chips. In the processed material he abruptly cancels a presidential fundraiser and demands a public repudiation of HR 973, pressuring the President for symbolic reassurance to his constituency. Marcus operates via on‑site associates and a cohort of donors, shaping political optics through theatrical, transactional interventions.

7 appearances

Also known as: Theodore Marcus, Mr. Marcus, Marcus, Ted

Ted Marcus's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

7 moments

S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Sunscreen Banter to Donor Whip

Absent and latent; represented as potentially aggrieved or mobilizable — a looming pressure rather than an active participant.

Not physically present, but invoked by Josh as a potent external stakeholder whose preferences could convert a legislative move into a fundraising and reputational crisis for the administration.

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

C.J.'s Gate: Ropes, Rules, and the Price of Access

Not on stage — represented as the complacent, controlling funder whose presence is felt through ceremony and price rather than actual lines of dialogue.

Though not physically present in the shot, Ted Marcus is invoked as the host whose name anchors the event; C.J.'s mention makes him the locus of the day's financial and …

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Rosebuds and Donors: Josh's Crush Runs into Campaign Pressure

Not directly shown; implied expectant and potentially demanding given his pattern of conditioning support.

Ted Marcus does not appear but his telephone call is reported by Donna; his name immediately redirects Josh's priorities from personal to political, indicating his leverage as a donor.

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Marcus's Ultimatum — Ten Minutes for Silence

Not present physically; characterized in reporting as aggrieved and willing to withhold support if publicly disappointed.

Ted Marcus is offstage but functions as the originating force of the ultimatum; his preferences and threats are summarized by Josh and drive the staff's tactical discussion even in his …

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Ten Minutes and a Threat: Donor Ultimatum Meets Zoey's Vulnerability

Absent physically but politically assertive — represented as demanding and opportunistic through Josh's report.

Ted Marcus is not physically present but is invoked by Josh as the donor who has secured private access; his presence is felt as leverage and a looming political obligation …

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Bartlet Refuses to Publicly Veto — Demanding Trust Over Donor Theater

Assertive but anxious; seeks immediate symbolic gratification for his supporters and, when challenged, retreats into a conciliatory, uneasy trust.

Ted Marcus presses for a public veto threat as theatrical reassurance to donors, invokes his microphone and his house's discontent, and then recedes—acknowledging Bartlet's argument and offering a verbal concession.

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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.

Drawing the Line — Bartlet Refuses the Pose

Initially assertive and performative, then chastened and conciliatory; anxious to satisfy his guests while unwilling to be publicly seen as outmaneuvered.

Ted Marcus asserts donor leverage — invoking a 'large microphone' — and demands a public veto threat; when confronted with Bartlet's strategic refusal and moral force, he backpedals, expresses trust, …

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