The One Thing Edward Herrmann Didn't Like About Gilmore Girls

Generations of fans were endeared to the warmth and gravitas of actor Edward Herrmann when he was cast as Richard Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls." As the family patriarch, he brought a quiet strength to the whimsical world of Stars Hollow, and to viewers, he embodied the character with ease and effortlessness. There was, however, one aspect of filming the show that Herrmann didn't enjoy.

In a 2009 interview with "The Gilmore Girls Companion" author A.S. Berman, Herrmann revealed the difficulties that came with the lightning-fast dialogue for which "Gilmore Girls" became so well known. "It was tough because the scripts were so long," he told Berman. "They were seventy and eighty pages, which is the size of a feature ... and even for old pros like Kelly [Bishop, who played Emily Gilmore] and myself it was tough."

It's a mere coincidence that many of the names involved here happen to rhyme, but later in the interview with Berman, Herrmann mentioned another challenge: the lack of flexibility when it came to the script. Creator of the show Amy Sherman-Palladino had a firm grip on her text, so much so that if she wasn't on set, Herrmann recalled, "It was like adamant, you just couldn't change anything." But he also admitted to having leeway with certain matters: "When Amy was on the set, one was able to modify a line. I'd say 'This is a dangling participle, you can't do this,' and you could schmooze her around and you could get it changed."

Despite their occasional disagreements, Amy Sherman-Palladino always held Edward Herrmann in high regard. The show's opening credits even gave him distinct recognition, with the honor "special appearance by" preceding his name. She admitted that even before the process began, the team "all sat around saying, 'If we could only get Ed Herrmann.'" In an interview with TVLine, she let slip that Herrmann's agent made it clear from the start that the actor would attend a meeting, but he would not audition. "He's Ed Herrmann. He's worked with Woody Allen! He was in 'Reds'! He will not, under any circumstances, read," the agent reportedly told Sherman-Palladino. "So Ed came in. He sat down and said, 'I like it. It's funny. Should I read?'" recalled Sherman-Palladino. "We sat there in stunned silence as Ed opened the script and proceeded to read ... And that's when I knew this show was charmed."

The beloved actor sadly passed away in 2014 at the age of 71 — seven years after "Gilmore Girls" was officially canceled. What's more, Herrmann's death came as a shock to the rest of the "Gilmore Girls" cast, whom he had not informed about his long battle with brain cancer. At a 2015 reunion for the show, Sherman-Palladino described him as "a drinking, loving, knew everything in the world; he was our Mr. President" (via The Hollywood Reporter). And, in a poignant tribute, an empty chair was left on stage in his place.