Tony Winner Edward Herrmann Dies at 71

Tony winner Edward Herrmann died today at age 71. The Emmy and Tony winning star who was best known for his role of Richard Gilmore on The Gilmore Girls, had been battling brain cancer, and had been in the ICU according to TMZ, who broke the news.

Herrmann began his career in theatre. One of the first professional productions he appeared in was the U.S. premiere of Michael Weller's Moonchildren at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. in November 1971. He moved with the show to New York City to make his Broadway debut the following year. Herrmann returned to Broadway in 1976 to portray Frank Gardner in the revival of Mrs. Warren's Profession. For his performance he won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play.

Herrmann recently appeared in Westport Country Playhouse's "TRYING", "A Holiday Garland," and Script in Hand playreadings of "Morning's at Seven" and "A Song at Twilight."

Herrmann is known for his portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the made-for-TV movies, Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977) (both of which earned him Best Actor Emmy nominations), as well as in the first feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie (1982). Herrmann portrayed Herman Munster in the Fox telefilm Here Come The Munsters.

He was nominated for a Tony Award for Plenty in 1983 and Emmy Awards in 1986 and 1987 for two guest-starring appearances as Father Joseph McCabe on St. Elsewhere. He played Tobias Beecher's father on Oz.Herrmann earned an Emmy in 1999 for his guest appearances on The Practice.

From 2000-07, he portrayed Richard Gilmore on The WB's Gilmore Girls.

Herrmann's film career began in the mid-1970s, playing supporting roles as Robert Redford's partner in The Great Waldo Pepper, a law student in The Paper Chase, the idle, piano-playing Klipspringer in The Great Gatsby and opposite Laurence Olivier in The Betsy (1978).

Among Herrmann's better known roles are as the title character in Harry's War (1981), Goldie Hawn's rich husband in Overboard, Reverend Michael Hill in Disney's The North Avenue Irregulars, one of the characters in the film-within-a-film in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo,[28] and as Max, the mild-mannered head vampire in The Lost Boys.

Herrmann was married twice and has two daughters, Ryan and Emma. In 1978, he married his longtime girlfriend, screenwriter Leigh Curran. The marriage lasted more than a decade but ended in divorce. He was married to Star Hayner from 1992 until his death.