Nevermind... found the article on CNN.com.

In reply to:

---

BURBANK, California (CNN) -- Actor Rob Lowe will be leaving NBC's popular TV show "The West Wing" after the end of the coming season because, a top trade magazine reports, he isn't pleased with his salary.

Although an official statement from John Wells Productions and Warner Brothers Television said the move was made "amicably," Daily Variety is reporting that Lowe was disenchanted over the unwillingness of producers to raise his $75,000-an-episode salary, even as they hiked co-star Martin Sheen's pay to $300,000 an episode.

Lowe released a statement saying his role as Sam Seaborn, White House deputy communications director, didn't fit the show anymore. He did not refer to the salary issues raised in the Variety report.

"As much as it hurts to admit it, it has been increasingly clear, for quite a while, that there was no longer a place for Sam Seaborn on 'The West Wing.' However, Warner Bros. has allowed me an opportunity to leave the show as I arrived ... grateful for it, happy to have been on it and proud of it. We were a part of television history and I will never forget it."

The popular program is a fictional portrayal of the life and times of a U.S. president and his administration.

Lowe's character is patterned after George Stephanopoulos, who served in the Clinton administration as the senior advisor to the president for policy and strategy and was the communications director of Clinton's '92 campaign. Stephanopoulos eventually left his White House post while Clinton was still in office.

John Wells Productions and Warner Brothers Television released a statement "regretfully" confirming Lowe's departure, which will be in March after the completion of 16 episodes.

"We appreciate his numerous contributions to the success of the series and wish him all the best in his future endeavors," the statement said.

Variety also reported that co-stars Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer and Bradley Whitford managed to get their salaries bumped to $70,000 an episode last year after a protracted negotiation.

Lowe, 38, has previously earned an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for his role. However, he was overlooked in this year's Emmy bids, which saw nominations for the show's other major cast members.

---

In reply to:

---

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rob Lowe plans to leave NBC's "The West Wing" because of a salary dispute, according to published reports Wednesday.

The actor made the decision to leave after finding out that Martin Sheen received a raise that nearly triples his pay to $300,000 an episode, Variety and the New York Post reported, citing anonymous sources.

NBC and Warner Brothers, the show's producer, did not immediately return phone messages left Wednesday by The Associated Press.

Lowe has made about $75,000 an episode since the Emmy-winning series began in 1999. The other supporting players -- Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer and Bradley Whitford -- banded together last year and negotiated a raise to about $70,000 per show in a deal that keeps them on through the seventh season.

Barring some unforeseen development, Lowe's character will be phased out in an episode to air in March, Variety said.

The 38-year-old actor previously has been nominated for an Emmy and two Golden Globes for his portrayal of White House deputy communications director Sam Seaborn. But last week, he was the only major cast member who didn't get a nomination for this year's Emmys, which will be given out on Sept. 22.

Sheen, who portrays President Jed Bartlet, was nominated for best actor in a drama; Janney, Schiff, Spencer, Whitford, Dule Hill, Stockard Channing, Janel Moloney and Mary-Louise Parker were nominated in supporting categories.

---

*sniffle sniffle* I don't want him to go! *sniffle sniffle*