Prolific actor Richard Herd has passed away at age 87. The veteran actor was a staple in the entertainment industry appearing in everything from Seinfeld to Jordan Peele‘s horror drama, Get Out.
The Boston native who was a life long fan of the Boston Red Sox also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Renegades, The O.C. NYPD Blue, ER, and Dallas throughout his five-decade-long career.
Here’s what we know about the Shameless actor’s cause of death, his favorite role, and his net worth prior to his death.
Inside Richard Herd’s cause of death
Amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Herd’s representatives wanted to be extremely transparent about his cause of death. CNN is reporting that the All The President’s Men actor died on May 26, 2020, of cancer-related causes. Though they did not specify any further, we do know that Herd passed away at his home in Los Angeles, California.
Herd credited a childhood illness to launching his career in Hollywood. “I had osteomyelitis, a serious bone infection, and almost didn’t survive,” he told The Patriot Ledger in a 2015 interview. “I became ill in second grade and went to the Cotting School, as it’s now known, in Lexington, for young people with various ailments. I was in and out of Boston Children’s Hospital. Lying there, month after month, you become very stoic. It really stimulated my imagination, and I think actually helped me later as an actor.”
In fact, Herd was one of the very first people to receive penicillin in the 1930s.
Richard Herd said that ‘Seinfeld’ was his favorite job
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From 1995-1998 for a total of 11 episodes, Herd appeared on the hit sitcom Seinfeld as George Costanza’s (Jason Alexander) boss, Mr. Wilhelm. He said out all of the jobs he had in Hollywood, this was his all-time favorite.
“Seinfeld was one of the best jobs I ever had,” he told The Beaver County Times. “There were no ‘stars’ on that show, they were all genuinely nice people to work with. It got me a tremendous amount of recognition and still does because it plays all the time.”
He also spoke warmly about his character, Wilhelm. “He was always doing things that never got done and always going over to Mr. Steinbrenner and apologizing to him,” he said in a 2016 interview. “Some days, he had clear days, other days he didn’t. He was very vulnerable. He had an odd sense of humor. … He was way out there on occasion. I’ve taken a few trips out there, so I know all about it.”
When he snagged the role, Herd said he was surprised to get the role on Seinfeld because he had revealed he was a Red Sox fan during his audition. “It was easy. It was fun. It was very inviting,” he recalled. “And as I left, I turned around and said, ‘Look, I have to tell you this. I hope it doesn’t make a difference, but I’m a Red Sox fan.’ And they all threw their scripts at me. The next day they said, ‘Come on out and play with us.’”
Richard Herd’s net worth before he died
Though there is not much information about Herd’s net worth prior to his death, Trends Celebs Now is estimating that the late actor was worth somewhere between $1 million and $5 million prior to his death. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Patricia Crowder, and his four children.
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