Edward Herrmann, Beloved Tony and Emmy Award Winner, Dead at 71

Tony and Emmy Award winner Edward Herrmann, known for his performance as the patriarchal Richard Gilmore on the TV series Gilmore Girls, died on December 31 following a battle with brain cancer. His death was confirmed to The Huffington Post by his manager. He was 71.

Born on July 21, 1943 in Washington, D.C., Herrmann studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art after graduating from Bucknell University. He made his professional debut in 1971 in Michael Weller’s Moonchildren. The production transferred to Broadway the following year, marking his Great White Way debut.

Herrmann received a Tony Award for his next Broadway performance as Frank Gardner in the 1976 revival of Mrs. Warren’s Profession. That same year, he earned an Emmy nod (his first of four) for portraying FDR in the TV movie Eleanor and Franklin. He would go on to play Roosevelt again in Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (garnering his second Emmy nomination), as well as in the 1982 film adaptation of Annie. Earlier this year, Herrmann emulated the president for the final time, providing voiceover work for Ken Burns’ The Roosevelts: An Intimate History.

In addition to Moonchildren and Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Herrmann appeared on Broadway in The Philadelphia Story, Plenty (for which he was again Tony-nominated), Love Letters, and, most recently, the 1998 revival of The Deep Blue Sea.

From 2000 through 2007, Herrmann portrayed grandfather figure Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, playing husband to fellow Tony winner Kelly Bishop and father to Broadway alum Lauren Graham. While the WB series marks his most long-running on-screen appearance, Herrmann’s many notable screen credits include Harry’s War, Overboard, The Lost Boys and Richie Rich, in which he sang the Gus Kahn and Harry Woods standard “Side by Side” with Christine Ebersole. He received two Emmy nominations for St. Elsewhere and won for his guest role on The Practice.

Herrmann is survived by his second wife, Star, as well as his two daughters and stepson.