We’re sad to report that Edward Herrmann has passed away at the age of 71.
According to Deadline, Edward Herrmann passed away in New York this morning of brain cancer. About one year ago, Herrmann was diagnosed with a "Stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor."
When you think of Herrmann's 40+ year acting career, the words "durable", "eclectic", and "classy" may come to mind. A Bucknell University graduate, Herrmann cut his teeth in theatre before making his credited feature film debut in 1973's The Paper Chase. Later that same decade, Herrmann portrayed two iconic real-life characters in TV movies: United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1976's Eleanor and Franklin and 1977's Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years and New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig in 1978's A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story.
Herrmann stayed busy throughout the early to mid-1980's, guest-starring on the "Heal Thyself" episode of M*A*S*H, starring as the titular character in Harry's War, and playing memorable roles in Reds, Annie (in which he reprised his role as FDR), and The Purple Rose of Cairo, followed by a recurring role as Father Joseph McCabe on St. Elsewhere.
The late 1980's saw Herrmann make a glorious foray into the horror genre, playing Dr. Maxwell Stoddard / Litton in "The Mole" episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the charming video store manager Max in The Lost Boys. The latter role immortalized Herrmann in the eyes of many horror hounds, his earnest smile and seemingly sweet romance with Dianne Wiest's Lucy humanizing his secretly villainous, fanged character.
Following his stellar turn in The Lost Boys, Herrmann more than maintained his reputation as a prolific, multidimensional actor with an Emmy-winning guest star run on The Practice and a key role in the prison drama series, Oz. From 2000 – 2007, Herrmann played perhaps his most widely recognized role, that of Richard Gilmore, the wealthy father of Lorelai (Lauren Graham), on Gilmore Girls. More recently, he portrayed Reverend Cartwright in the reboot of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Our thoughts go out to Edward Herrmann’s family and friends.
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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