Edward Herrmann obit

Stage, screen actor Edward Herrmann dies at 71

He was not on the list.

Edward Herrmann, the towering, melodious-voiced actor who brought Franklin D. Roosevelt to life in films and documentaries, won a Tony Award and charmed audiences as the stuffy dad on TV's "Gilmore Girls," died Wednesday. He was 71.

Herrmann died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital of brain cancer, said his son, Rory Herrmann. The actor, who had been hospitalized for several weeks, was surrounded by family members including his wife, Star, and his three children, his son said.

"He was full of knowledge and kindness and goodness. ... He always wanted to share the great and beautiful things in life," said Rory Herrmann. That included art, music and classic cars.

The 6-foot-5 actor's favorite role was playing President Roosevelt, his son said, which he did in projects including the TV movies "Eleanor and Franklin" (1976) and its sequel "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years" (1977) and in the 1982 movie musical "Annie."

Herrmann also provided the voice for FDR in Ken Burns' documentary series "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History," which aired on PBS last year.

His urbane tones were heard on other documentaries and on hundreds of audio books including Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken." He had recently narrated a documentary on cancer, Rory Herrmann said.

He appeared frequently on the big screen, in major films including "Reds" and "The Wolf of Wall Street," and was an acclaimed stage actor whose Tony-winning performance came in 1976 for a revival of "Mrs. Warren's Profession" opposite Lynn Redgrave.

Television was also a familiar home, with appearances on "The Good Wife" and "How I Met Your Mother. His best-known role came on the 2000-07 series "Gilmore Girls," on which he portrayed the patrician father of a single mother, played by Lauren Graham.

Besides his wife and son, Herrmann's survivors include daughters Ryen and Emma. A private funeral was planned, followed by a public memorial early next week, Rory Herrmann said.



TV and filmography


Lady Liberty (1971) as Policeman (uncredited)

The Paper Chase (1973) as Thomas Craig Anderson

The Day of the Dolphin (1973) as Mike - Research Team

The Great Gatsby (1974) as Klipspringer

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) as Ezra Stiles

Eleanor and Franklin (1976, TV Mini-Series) as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, age 20-50

Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977, TV Movie) as Franklin D. Roosevelt

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story (1978, TV Movie) as Lou Gehrig

The Betsy (1978) as Dan Weyman

Brass Target (1978) as Col. Walter Gilchrist

Take Down (1979) as Ed Branish

The North Avenue Irregulars (1979) as Michael Hill

Portrait of a Stripper (1979, TV Movie) as Frank Andrews

Freedom Road (1979, TV Movie) as Stephen Holms

3 by Cheever (1979, TV Mini-Series) as Kip Lawton

M*A*S*H (1980, TV Series) as Capt. Steven J. Newsome

Harry's War (1981) as Harry Johnson

Reds (1981) as Max Eastman

The Electric Grandmother (1982, TV Movie) as Father

Death Valley (1982) as Paul Stanton

A Little Sex (1982) as Tommy

Annie (1982) as FDR

Mrs. Soffel (1984) as Warden Peter Soffel

Concealed Enemies (1984, TV Series) as Alger Hiss

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) as Henry

The Man with One Red Shoe (1985) as Brown

Compromising Positions (1985) as Bob Singer

St. Elsewhere (1986, TV Series) as Father Joseph McCabe / Priest

The Lawrenceville Stories (1986-1987, TV Mini-Series) as Head Master

Laughter in the Dark (1986)

The Lost Boys (1987) as Max

Overboard (1987) as Grant Stayton III

Big Business (1988) as Graham Sherbourne

Sweet Poison (1991, TV Movie) as Henry

The End of a Sentence (1991, TV Series)

Hero (1992) as Mr. Broadman - Man Committing Suicide (uncredited)

Born Yesterday (1993) as Ed Devery

My Boyfriend's Back (1993) as Mr. Dingle

A Foreign Field (1993, TV Series) as Ralph

Foreign Student (1994) as Zachary 'Zach' Gilmore

Richie Rich (1994) as Richard Rich

The Face on the Milk Carton (1995, TV Movie) as Frank Jessmon

Here Come the Munsters (1995, TV Movie) as Herman Munster

Law & Order (1995-2009, TV Series) as Frederic Matson / Mr. Mosbeck / Drew Seely

Wings (1995, TV Series) as Y.M. Burg

Nixon (1995) as Nelson Rockefeller

A Season in Purgatory (1996, TV Movie) as Dr. Shugrue

Soul of the Game (1996, TV Movie) as Branch Rickey

The Practice (1997-1999, TV Series) as Anderson Pearson

Critical Care (1997) as Robert Payne

Frank Lloyd Wright (1998) as Narrator (voice)

Better Living (1998) as Jack

A Civil Action (1998) (uncredited)

History's Lost & Found (1999-2005, TV Series) as Narrator

Atomic Train (1999, TV Mini-Series) as The President

RKO 281 (1999, TV Movie)

Walking Across Egypt (1999) as Rev. Vernon

Oz (2000-2003, TV Series) as Harrison Beecher

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007, TV Series) as Richard Gilmore

Double Take (2001) as Charles Allsworth

Down (aka The Shaft) (2001) as Milligan

The Cat's Meow (2001) as W.R. Hearst

James Dean (2001, TV Movie) as Raymond Massey

The Emperor's Club (2002) as Headmaster Woodbridge

Intolerable Cruelty (2003) as Rex Rexroth

Russia, Land of the Tsars (2003) as Narrator

Welcome to Mooseport (2004) as Avery Hightower (Debate Moderator) (uncredited)

Isaac's Storm (2004, TV Movie) as Narrator (voice)

Bereft (2004) as Lloyd

The Aviator (2004) as Joseph Breen

The Presidents (2005) as Host

FDR: A Presidency Revealed (2005) as Narrator (voice)

Tom Goes to the Mayor (2005, TV Series) as Benjamin Kaplan (voice)

Relative Strangers (2006) as Doug Clayton

The Revolution (2006, TV Mini-Series) as Narrator

Wedding Daze (2006) as Lyle

Desperate Crossing - The True Story of the Mayflower (2006) as Narrator

Factory Girl (2006) as James Townsend

I Think I Love My Wife (2007) as Mr. Landis

Sherman's March (2007, TV Movie)

The States (2007, TV Series) as Narrator

Grey's Anatomy (2007, "TV Series") as Dr. Norman Shales

30 Rock (2008, TV Series) as Co-Op Board Member

The Skeptic (2009) as Dr. Shepard

Hatching Pete (2009, TV Movie) as Principal Fred Daly

The Six Wives of Henry Lefay (2009) as Goodenough

Ring Christmas Bells (2009, TV Movie) as Narrator

The Good Wife (2010-2013, TV Series) as Lionel Greenfield

Son of Morning (2011) as Thomas

Better with You (2011, TV Series) as Judge

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) as Jeremiah Larson

A Christmas Wish (2011, TV Hallmark Movie) as Les McCallum

Drop Dead Diva (2011, TV Series) as Reverend Phillips

Redemption: For Robbing the Dead (2011) as Governor Dawson

The Christmas Pageant (2011, TV Movie) as Garrett Clark

Price Check (2012) as Jack Bennington

Treasure Buddies (2012) as Philip Wellington

Christmas Oranges (2012) as Mr. Crampton

Heaven's Door (2013) as Nate Christensen

Are You Here (2013) as Dr. Vincent

How I Met Your Mother (2013, TV Series) as Reverend Robert Lowell

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) as Stratton Oakmont Commercial (voice)

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014) as Reverend Cartwright

The Roosevelts (2014, PBS-TV documentary) as Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Voice)

Perception (2015, TV Series) as Jack Pierce

Coach of the Year (2015) as Bill Ford

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (2015, PBS-TV documentary) as Narrator