On Tuesday, Variety reported some sad news about a Seinfeld alum. Richard Herd, who played Mr. Wilhelm on the program, has died at the age of 87. Herd reportedly died in his Los Angeles home following complications with cancer.
Herd, a Boston native, initially broke into the entertainment business as a stage actor in New York. In the 1970s, he made his film debut in Hercules in New York. He was reportedly cast as a replacement for actor Richard Long for the part of the Watergate burglar James McCord in the 1976 film All the President’s Men. Herd also has a slew of other credits to his name, including appearances in The China Syndrome, The Onion Field, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Of course, many people know Herd as portraying Mr. Wilhelm on Seinfeld. According to Variety, the actor appeared on the program a total of 11 times throughout the show’s run. Fans will recall that Mr. Wilhelm was the Yankees executive who supervised George Costanza (Jason Alexander) when he got a job as the assistant to the traveling secretary.
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In a 2016 interview, Herd said about Mr. Wilhelm, “He was always doing things that never got done and always going over to Mr. Steinbrenner and apologizing to him.” Herd opened up about his career even more in an interview with the Burlington County Times back in 2015. According to the publication, Herd wasn’t just an actor, but an artist, as well. He even showcased some of his paintings in a special exhibit entitled “Richard Herd’s Journey: A Retrospective of his Paintings” at an art gallery in Sherman Oaks, California. At the time, he shared that he was a primitive abstract impressionist and that he typically worked with oil and acrylic.
In addition to discussing his artistic side, the conversation naturally turned towards his work onscreen. Naturally, Herd was asked about his work on Seinfeld, and he had nothing but kind things to say about his time on the series. He said, “‘Seinfeld’ was one of the best jobs I ever had. “Herd continued to share his love for the cast of the show, noting that they were lovely to work alongside. He continued, “It got me a tremendous amount of recognition and still does because it plays all the time. There were no ‘stars’ on that show; they were all genuinely nice people to work with.”
