# Edward Herrmann
**Edward Herrmann** (Edward Kirk Herrmann; July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor known for his Emmy-winning guest role on *The Practice*, his Tony-winning stage work, his repeated portrayals of [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://www.edgepedia.org/franklin-d-roosevelt), and his role as patriarch Richard Gilmore on *Gilmore Girls*.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 1943, Washington, D.C.; December 31, 2014, New York, age 71[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) |
| Training | B.A. in English, Bucknell University, 1965; M.A. in Drama, Trinity University, San Antonio, 1968; Fulbright year at LAMDA, London, 1968–69[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) |
| Stage honors | 1976 Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play for *Mrs. Warren's Profession* at Lincoln Center[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) |
| Television honors | Primetime Emmy Award, 1999, guest role on *The Practice*; Emmy nominations for *Eleanor and Franklin* (1976) and its 1977 sequel[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) |
| Signature role | Richard Gilmore, the Yale-educated insurance-executive patriarch of *Gilmore Girls* (2000–2007)[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) |
| FDR portrayals | *Eleanor and Franklin* (1976), *Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years* (1977), *Annie* (1982), and the voice of FDR in Ken Burns's *The Roosevelts*[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) |
| Physical signature | 6 feet 5 inches tall, with a patrician bearing and a rich, plummy voice suited to authority figures, wealthy titans, and Englishmen[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) |
## Early life and education
Edward Kirk Herrmann was born in 1943 in Washington, D.C., to John Anthony and Jean Eleanor (O'Connor) Herrmann.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) He was raised in Michigan.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) His father was an engineer of German descent.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
His training ran through three institutions rather than a single conservatory. He received a B.A. in English from [Bucknell University](https://www.edgepedia.org/bucknell-university) in 1965, where he began acting, and an M.A. in Drama from Trinity University in [San Antonio](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-antonio) in 1968, acting with the Dallas Theater Center's professional resident company from 1965 to 1968.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) He spent 1968 to 1969 in London at the [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-academy-of-music-and-dramatic-art) (LAMDA) as a Fulbright Scholar, returning to Dallas in 1969 to 1970 as an actor and member of the teaching staff.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) At LAMDA's theater in 1969 he played Justice Balance in the Restoration comedy *The Recruiting Officer*.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
## Stage career
**New York Shakespeare Festival.** Herrmann's first mention in *Variety* came in the June 9, 1971 edition, as a member of the cast of [David Rabe](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-rabe)'s *The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel*, produced by Joseph Papp.[6](https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/edward-herrmann-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-master-character-actor-1201390316/) He made his Broadway debut when [Michael Weller](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-weller)'s *Moonchildren*, in which he had appeared in its 1971 world premiere in Washington, D.C., moved to Broadway, and he worked extensively with Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival thereafter.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) Festival credits included *Plenty* (Tony-nominated), *Tom and Viv*, in which he played T.S. Eliot, and a 1988 *Julius Caesar* as Cassius.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307)
**The Tony.** His greatest triumph with Papp was the 1976 [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center) staging of Shaw's *Mrs. Warren's Profession*, which premiered February 18, 1976 at the Vivian Beaumont Theater with Herrmann as Frank Gardner alongside [Lynn Redgrave](https://www.edgepedia.org/lynn-redgrave), Philip Bosco, and Milo O'Shea.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) He won the 1976 Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play for the role and was also nominated for a Drama Desk Award.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307)
## Film and television career
Herrmann's film work began with character parts in major studio pictures: Klipspringer in *The Great Gatsby* (Paramount, 1974).[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) The AFI Catalog records a steady run of roles through the following decades: Max Eastman in *Reds* (1981), Harry Johnson in *Harry's War* (1981), Paul Stanton in *Death Valley* (1982), Grant Stayton III in *Overboard* (1987), Graham in *Big Business* (1988), and Ed Devery in *Born Yesterday* (1993).[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/201346-Edward-Herrmann) He played FDR in *Annie* ([Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures), 1982, directed by [John Huston](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-huston)).[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) Later credits included *Nixon* (1995), *The Cat's Meow* (2001), *The Aviator* (2004), and *The Wolf of Wall Street*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html)
On television he guest-starred in *M*A*S*H*, *St. Elsewhere*, *Homicide: Life on the Street*, *Oz*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *Law & Order*, *Harry's Law*, and *The Good Wife*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) He won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999 for a guest-starring role in *The Practice*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann)
## Portrayal of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Herrmann played Franklin D. Roosevelt in multiple productions and was best known for portraying him.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) The 6-foot-5 actor, schooled in London, was, in the *Los Angeles Times* obituary's words, a natural to play aristocrats and authority figures.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) He played Roosevelt in the 1976 ABC miniseries *Eleanor and Franklin*, produced by David Susskind with [Jane Alexander](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-alexander) as Eleanor, and in the 1977 sequel *Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years*; both performances brought Emmy nominations.[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) He returned to the role in the 1982 musical *Annie* and as the voice of FDR in [Ken Burns](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-burns)'s PBS documentary *The Roosevelts*.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) His stepson named the *Annie* part as Herrmann's favorite.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
## Gilmore Girls, narration, and hosting
A new generation came to know Herrmann through his role as Richard Gilmore on *Gilmore Girls* (2000–2007), playing the Yale-educated insurance executive who was both father and grandfather to the show's two title women.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307)
His voice was a second career. He voiced many documentaries, particularly on the [History Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/history-channel),[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) and the Library of Congress authority record lists "narrator of audiobooks" among his occupations.[8](http://id.loc.gov/rwo/agents/no2012082863) He hosted the A&E cable series *Our Century* (1991), providing opening and closing commentary for each episode,[1](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf) and he was the confidence-instilled voice behind the commercial for [Stratton Oakmont](https://www.edgepedia.org/stratton-oakmont), the brokerage depicted in *The Wolf of Wall Street*.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307)
## Screen persona and typecasting
Herrmann's physical presence defined his casting. Tall and bulky at 6 feet 5 inches, with a large, long head and frequently bespectacled, he was an imposing, patrician presence who used his physicality in service of both joviality and menace, depending on the role.[4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) Possessing perfect diction, he conveyed what *The Independent* called an air of [Ivy League](https://www.edgepedia.org/ivy-league) intelligence and solidity, and was often cast as a rich poltroon.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
The pattern ran through his biographical roles: beyond Roosevelt, he played Lou Gehrig in a 1978 television movie, William Randolph Hearst in *The Cat's Meow*, Raymond Massey in the biopic *James Dean*, Hollywood Production Code enforcer Joseph Breen in *The Aviator*, Nelson Rockefeller in Oliver Stone's *Nixon*, and Alger Hiss.[6](https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/edward-herrmann-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-master-character-actor-1201390316/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) Father roles recurred as well, in *The Electric Grandmother* (NBC, 1982), *Richie Rich* (1994), and *Gilmore Girls*; his most unlikely patriarchal role was leader of a vampire sect in *The Lost Boys*.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html) The division in his career ran between stage and screen: *The Independent*'s assessment framed him as a character actor on screen whose solidity made him an ideal leading man on stage.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
## Personal life and death
IMDb records marriages to Star Herrmann and Leigh Curran.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001346/) Herrmann died December 31, 2014, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, at age 71; he had brain cancer, according to his agent, Robyn Stecher.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann) His death was acknowledged in obituaries across the trade and general press, including *Variety*, Playbill, *The Independent*, and the *Los Angeles Times*.[3](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html) • [4](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
## References
1. [The Inventory of the Edward Herrmann Collection #1262, Boston University](https://www.bu.edu/library/wp-assets/finding-aids/Herrmann-Edward-1262.pdf)
2. [Edward Herrmann, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/edward-herrmann)
3. [Edward Herrmann dies at 71; actor often played Franklin D. Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-edward-herrmann-20150101-story.html)
4. [Edward Herrmann, Dignified Actor of Stage and Film, Dies at 71, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/edward-herrmann-dignified-actor-of-stage-and-film-known-for-his-fdr-and-gilmore-girls-dies-at-71-com-338307)
5. [Edward Herrmann: Character actor on screen, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/edward-herrmann-character-actor-on-screen-whose-air-of-ivy-league-solidity-and-intelligence-made-him-an-ideal-leading-man-on-stage-10134083.html)
6. [Edward Herrmann: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the Master Character Actor, Variety](https://variety.com/2014/tv/news/edward-herrmann-5-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-master-character-actor-1201390316/)
7. [AFI Catalog — Edward Herrmann](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/201346-Edward-Herrmann)
8. [Herrmann, Edward, 1943-2014, LC Linked Data Service](http://id.loc.gov/rwo/agents/no2012082863)
9. [Edward Herrmann (1943-2014), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001346/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license