Richard Thomas Herd Jr. (September 26, 1932 – May 26, 2020) was an American actor appearing in numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles in television series and occasional film roles from the 1970s to the 2010s. He was well known in the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

community for his role in the 1983 NBC

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' V'' and 1984 sequel '' V: The Final Battle'', as John, the Visitors' Supreme Commander. Other major roles in his career included recurring parts on the NBC series '' seaQuest DSV'' as Admiral William Noyce; on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' as Admiral Owen Paris, the father of helmsman Tom Paris; and as

George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rel ...

's boss Matt Wilhelm on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''. In two guest appearances on '' Quantum Leap'', he played children's show host "Captain Galaxy", a would-be time traveler, and a miner named Ziggy Ziganovich. He also voiced Father Elijah in the ''Dead Money'' expansion for '' Fallout: New Vegas''. Herd appeared at several fan conventions for his science fiction roles.

Early life

Herd was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the son of Katherine (Lydon) and Richard Herd Sr., a train engineer who died while serving in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Herd was drafted during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, injuring his knee during

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

.Paul, Lewis
"Richard Herd"
''Tales for the Cult Film Trenches: Interviews with 36 Actors form Horror, Science Fiction and Exploitation Cinema'' (Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2008), pages 98-100. He served in the

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia ...

and was honorably discharged.Herd, Richard 1932- (Richard T. Herd)

Encyclopedia.com ''Encyclopedia.com'' is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information, images, and videos from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works. History The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...

. Retrieved November 18, 2021.Richard Herd, Mr. Wilhelm on Seinfeld and Get Out actor, dies at 87
''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''. Retrieved November 18, 2021.Richard Herd Bio
Emmys.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.Character Actor Richard Herd, Known for Star Trek and V, Dies at 87
Syfy. Retrieved November 18, 2021. He then worked in Long Island, New York, for the United States Army Signal Corps as a civilian actor, along with

Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 Thriller (genre), thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original ''Bourne (novel series), The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copi ...

, making Army training films.

Career

Herd started his career as an actor on the New York stage. He made his film debut in '' Hercules in New York'' (1970). Herd's first major film role was in the thriller '' The China Syndrome'' alongside

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas, where he played the character Evan McCormack, the corrupt Chairman of the California Gas & Electric Board. This role helped make him well-known outside the United States. He portrayed James W. McCord, Jr. in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning '' All the President's Men'' (1976). In addition to science fiction, he was a regular as Captain Dennis Sheridan on '' T. J. Hooker'' from 1982 to 1983 (he continued to appear on the series sporadically until 1984), and appeared on ''

'' as Mr. Wilhelm,

's boss at the Yankees. Guest appearances included '' M*A*S*H'', '' The Rockford Files'', '' The Feather and Father Gang'', ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'', ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

'', '' Quantum Leap'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

,'' '' Midnight Caller'', '' Hart to Hart'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', '' Renegade'', '' Pacific Blue'', and '' JAG''. In 2012, he played Judge Paul Landsman in the TV series '' CSI: Miami'' episode "Rest in Pieces". Herd portrayed Roman Armitage in '' Get Out'' (2017).

Recognition

Herd was inducted into the National Broadcaster Hall of Fame for his work in Old Time Radio. Herd served as the third National Vice President of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

Personal life and death

Herd lived in Los Angeles with his wife of 40 years, Patricia Crowder Herd. He died at his home from complications of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on May 26, 2020, aged 87.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * *
Interview with Richard Herd & The Enterprise Blues Band
on Slice of SciFi
Blankman Inc Interviews Richard HerdInterview in Patriot Ledger, July, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herd, Richard 1932 births 2020 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Deaths from colorectal cancer in California Male actors from Boston Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army civilians United States Army soldiers