'Gilmore Girls' Star Edward Herrmann Dead at 71

Actor Edward Herrmann, famous for his role as Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, has died at the age of 71, his rep confirms to ET.

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"Edward Herrmann, besides being an accomplished actor, was also a true gentleman and a scholar, as well as being an incredibly kind and decent man," the actor's rep told ET. "He will be sorely missed."

According to TMZ, Herrmann had reportedly been battling brain cancer. His family made the difficult decision to take him off the respirator after he had been in ICU for more than three weeks without improvement.

Over the course of his four-decade-long career, Herrmann appeared in television shows like The Good Wife, Oz, St. Elsewhere and won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work on The Practice in 1999. He also had a substantial career in film, starring in Richie Rich, The Aviator and Nixon.

He was perhaps most beloved for his role as the Gilmore family patriarch on Gilmore Girls, which aired on the WB from 2000-2007. "Richard Gilmore was a treat," he told the A.V. Club in 2012 of his experience. "And I fell deeply in love with Alexis [Bledel]. She had been a model, but this was her first real role, and it was for a one-camera hour show, the toughest thing you can do...[S]he's brilliant. And she's so sweet, such a kind person. She's terrific."

Herrmann leaves behind a wife, Star Benson, whom he married in 1992, and three children.