Richard Morris Gilliland (January 23, 1950 – March 18, 2021) was an American television and movie actor, best known as JD Shackleford in '' Designing Women'' (1986–1992).

Life and career

Gilliland was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, to parents Richard Velton Gilliland and Betty Gene née Morris Gilliland. He attended Shawnee Mission South High School in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

, graduating in 1968. He was active in plays and musicals. He studied drama at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

for two years before transferring to the Goodman School of Drama in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He left school his final year to become a member of the Chicago Free Street Theater. He joined the cast of

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

in Chicago first as a disciple and then in the leading role before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1973. Gilliland first appeared onscreen in the 1970s. His notable appearances include ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...

'', '' Thirtysomething'', ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

'', '' Little Women'', and a recurring role on '' Designing Women'' where he met actress

Jean Smart Jean Elizabeth Smart (born September 13, 1951) is an American actress. Jean Smart filmography, Her work includes both comedy and drama, and List of awards and nominations received by Jean Smart, her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

, who starred as Charlene in that series. On ''Designing Women'' he played J. D. Shackelford, the boyfriend of Annie Potts' character Mary Jo Shively. He and Smart married in 1987. They have two sons, Connor Douglas (born 1989) and Forrest who was adopted from China in May 2009. He played Ellis Kapp on '' The Unit'' and Captain Stan Cotter on '' 24'' during season five, while his wife Jean Smart played First Lady Martha Logan in the same season. He also had a recurring role as serial killer Jeffrey Speidel in the NBC series '' Matlock''. He died following a short illness in Los Angeles, California, on March 18, 2021, at the age of 71.

Select TV and filmography

*'' The Streets of San Francisco'' (1974) (TV series) *'' Bug'' (1975) *'' Stay Hungry'' (1976) *'' McMillan'' (1976–77) (TV series) *'' The White Buffalo'' (1977) *'' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78) (TV series) *'' Little Women'' (1978) (TV miniseries) *''

'' (1981) (TV series) *'' Airplane II: The Sequel'' (1982) *'' The Night the Bridge Fell Down'' (1983) (TV movie) *'' Just Our Luck'' (1983) (TV series) *'' Challenge of a Lifetime'' (1985) (TV movie) *''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' (1985) (TV series) *'' Mary'' (1986) (TV series) *'' Designing Women'' (1986–91) (TV series) *''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

'' (1987) (TV series) *''Police Story: Monster Manor'' (1988) as Mike *'' Heartland'' (1989) (TV series) *'' Thirtysomething'' (1989–90) (TV series) *''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' (1991, 93) (TV series) *'' Matlock'' (1991, '93, '95) (TV series) *'' Winnetka Road'' (1994) (TV series) *'' Touched by an Angel'' (1996) (TV series) *'' Dark Skies'' (1996–97) (TV series) *'' Early Edition'' (1997) (TV series) *'' Star Kid'' (1997) *'' Brooklyn South'' (1998) (TV series) *''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'' (1998) (TV series) *''

'' (1997, '98) (TV series) *''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

'' (2000) (TV series) *'' Becker'' (2001) (TV series) *'' Vampire Clan'' (2002) *''

Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS f ...

'' (2003) (TV series) *''

Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...

'' (2004) (TV series) *'' 24'' (2006) (TV series) *'' The Unit'' (2007) (TV series) *'' Dexter'' (2009) (TV series) *''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

'' (2010) (TV series) *'' Torchwood'' (2011) (TV series) *'' Imposters'' (2017–18) (TV series) *''Case 347'' (2020) (Movie)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilliland, Richard 1950 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors DePaul University alumni Male actors from Fort Worth, Texas