Edward Herrmann (Photo : Reuters)
The "Annie" star Edward Herrmann lost his battle to brain cancer on Wednesday. He was 71 years old and is survived by his wife Star, son Rory and daughters Emma and Ryen. He breathed his last at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in the presence of his entire family. The family has decided to have a private funeral for the star, whose presence was felt across TV, theatre and the movies. After the private funeral there would be a public memorial in the following week.
The native of Washington DC was a graduate student at the Bucknell University and later honed his acting skills at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, where he studied on a Fullbright scholarship during the time-period 1968-1969.
He was well known for his portrayal as President Roosevelt in the television movies - "Eleanor and Franklin" and "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years". The legendary actor was also a voice-over artist for the Ken Burns' documentary - "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History", which was telecast on PBS recently.
He also received a Tony nomination in 1983 for "Plenty". He also starred in "Love Letters" in 1989 and "The Deep Blue Sea" in 1998. However, he earned critical acclaim for his portrayal of a father of a single mother on the TV show "Gilmore Girls". Actress Lauren Graham, who enacted the role of his daughter in the show is devastated by his demise. She said that he was a friend to her and was also a very kind and talented man. Her grief knew no bounds when she learned that he had died.
