Edward Herrmann was a master of character, one of those actors who could be counted on to deliver no matter what else was happening on the screen or stage. Actor Edward Herrmann passed away Wednesday December 31, 2014 in New York. He was 71 years-old.

According to TMZ Herrmann’s family stated that he had been fighting brain cancer and had been in the hospital for the last three weeks. Herrmann was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Gross Pointe, Michigan. He graduated from Bucknell University, was married twice, and had two daughters.

Herrman is known for his role as Richard Gilmore on the TV show Gilmore Girls and for his patriarchal role in the 1987 cult vampire hit The Lost Boys. He also appeared in The Good Wife, was nominated for two Emmys for his portrayal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1976 and 1977 and won an Emmy for a guest role on The Practice.

More recently he starred in The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, and voiced Roosevelt in Ken Burns’ PBS series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. He worked as the spokesperson for Dodge cars in the 1990s and voiced historical programs on the History Channel.