# Edward Herrmann has passed away. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639 "2014-12-31T20:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/1 "2014-12-31T20:23:30Z")
> **[Edward Herrmann Dies At 71](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jarettwieselman/edward-herrmann-has-died)** > > The prolific actor starred on all seven seasons of Gilmore Girls. Daddy Gilmore is gone. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/2 "2014-12-31T20:56:54Z")
That’s too bad. Not only did he appear in a LOT of random movies, but I have several audiobooks that he reads. A great voice, now stilled. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/3 "2014-12-31T21:01:22Z")
The consummate patrician. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/4 "2014-12-31T21:03:08Z")
He played FDR several times as well. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/5 "2014-12-31T21:04:39Z")
Oh, what a shame! A great voice, indeed. I met him and got his autograph at a London stage door in Dec. 1988 when I saw him and Alec Guiness appear in _A Walk in the Woods_, a Cold War drama. He was a friendly and charming man, and of course a talented actor. I think I last saw him in the Coen Bros.'s _Intolerable Cruelty_, in which he was very funny. He also played FDR again (voice only) in Ken Burns’s recent documentary _The Roosevelts_. May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/6 "2014-12-31T21:06:15Z")
That’s a shame. He brought a bit of elegance to the roles he played. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/7 "2014-12-31T21:53:54Z")
So all the vampires go back to being human now? (RIP in peace) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/8 "2014-12-31T21:59:12Z")
It’s a good thing The History Channel has already gone to hell, otherwise this would destroy it. ---
**Author:** ![RobotDevilDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@RobotDevilDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobotDevilDog)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2014, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/9 "2014-12-31T23:34:10Z")
I think the first time I saw him was when he appeared on an episode of M_A_S\*H. He was outstanding, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/10 "2015-01-01T00:40:58Z")
There are reports he died of [Celebrity Death Hoax](http://en.mediamass.net/people/edward-herrmann/deathhoax.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/11 "2015-01-01T00:58:21Z")
Huh. I didn’t recognize the name, but I knew that guy by sight as soon as I clicked Ranger Jeff’s link and remembered a few of his roles, including an anti-abortion fanatic on _Law & Order_ and as William Randolph Hearst in _The Cat’s Meow_. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/12 "2015-01-01T02:22:04Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > There are reports he died of [Celebrity Death Hoax](http://en.mediamass.net/people/edward-herrmann/deathhoax.html). Sadly, the reports of his survival have been greatly exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/13 "2015-01-01T21:36:40Z")
I remember first seeing him in _Paper Chase_. He had a great line about wondering about the drop out rate from study groups. But it’s not on the quote page at IMDb, nor any other lines of his from that movie.☹ Another “FDR” role of his was in the previous version of _Annie_. Talk about typecast. But he could really “melt” into other roles. No edges between him and his character. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/14 "2015-01-02T00:32:02Z")
I remember him on MASH. > **[Edward Herrmann (1943-2014) - MASH4077TV.com](https://www.mash4077tv.com/2014/12/edward-herrmann-1943-2014/)** > > Actor Edward Herrmann, who played Captain Newsome in Season 8's "Heal Thyself," passed away today at the age of 71. [He was a priest on St Elsewhere.](http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/time-heals-part-2-episode-18-pictured-edward-herrmann-as-news-photo/141255318) RIP ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/15 "2015-01-02T05:08:21Z")
He also played Herman Munster. I always though the resemblance between him and Fred Gwynne was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/16 "2015-01-02T08:02:35Z")
I first remember him in The Paper Chase. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/17 "2015-01-02T12:43:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I remember him on MASH. > [http://www.mash4077tv.com/2014/12/31/edward-herrmann-1943-2014/](http://www.mash4077tv.com/2014/12/31/edward-herrmann-1943-2014/) Some of MASH’s attempts at being serious do not hold up well. They seem forced and hokey when you see it now. Herrmann’s portrayal in that episode is brilliant. Funny to heartbreaking in 22 minutes. It may be the best acting in the entire run of the show. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/18 "2015-01-02T12:59:53Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > So all the vampires go back to being human now? Nope. Only the half-vampires. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/19 "2015-01-02T16:41:21Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > He also played Herman Munster. I always though the resemblance between him and Fred Gwynne was amazing. He was the only non-Gwynne Herman who succeeded (not including the Jerry O’Connell revisioning.) When I’d tell people about him, my first go-to was “Grampa Gilmore”, then all his FDR performances, then Herman Munster, finally, I’d say “the vampire dad in The Lost Boys”- that usually did it. Last night, I had to take another route “Richie Rich’s Dad”. ---
**Author:** ![Nuveena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@Nuveena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuveena)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639/20 "2015-01-02T17:17:34Z")
I’m not proud of it, but my first thought was “I am a GOD at sea” from Overboard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edward-herrmann-has-passed-away/708639.md?page=2)