In 2014, Gilmore Girls' Edward Hermann (Richard Gilmore) passed away from Brain Cancer, leaving the theatre community grief-stricken after losing a veteran in the industry. Outside of Gilmore Girls, Hermann was most known for his roles in The Good Wife, Law & Order, and The Practice.
On Gilmore Girls, Richard was the patriarch of the family and the ultimate provider. He took care of his wife Emily and did what he could for his daughter and granddaughter Lorelai and Rory. As an upstanding man, Richard was old-school in the way he went about life. Ivy-educated and a hard worker, Richard had some of the smartest quotes on the show.
"She Has More To Do, More To Be! I Don't Want That Life For Her!"
It was a plot twist when Rory dropped out of Yale and spent her days living at the Gilmores, working at the DAR, and doing community service. While it worked for a few weeks, Richard saw that Rory was getting too comfortable in this new position instead of fighting to get back into school.
While Emily saw nothing wrong with Rory's path, Richard had one of the smartest quotes saying this. He knew that she was capable of so much more and setting up tea parties for bored housewives was not that.
"Lorelai, What Are You Going To Take Away From This? That Everything That Happened In The Past Is Suddenly Fine Because I Defended You?"
Richard and Emily weren't perfect but they did what they could when Lorelai was a teenager to give her a better future. Instead of going to college like the Gilmores dreamed, Lorelai got pregnant at 16 and ran away from home a year later to do her own thing.
Decades later when Lorelai had dinner with the Gilmores, Rory, Christopher, and his parents, they dragged her through the mud for her youth. Richard lept to her defense and kicked the Haydens out of his home. Lorelai was happy her father defended her but that's not how Richard saw it. Richard told Lorelai he defended the family name, not her actions because he was still crushed by what she did to them. Richard was smart to say this because he had years of pent-up aggression for how Lorelai treated him.
"I Don't Think This Is All For Rory. I Think This Party's A Testament To You, Lorelai, And The Home You've Created Here."
In the series finale, Lorelai received the ultimate compliment from her father at Rory's going away party. Seeing Stars Hollow celebrating Rory and cheering her on touched the Gilmores. Richard lovingly told Loreli the party wasn't just for Rory, it was a testament to how Lorelai raised Rory.
While some fans felt Richard got worse and worse, this bright quote proved he saw through the pettiness and saw how much the town loved Lorelai and Rory.
"Better Not Wait. Small Gaps In Your Insurance Coverage Can Lead To Big Mistakes. Oh, I Could Tell You Horror Stories."
In season 6, Richard and Emily asked about Lorelai's insurance plans for the Dragonfly Inn. As an insurance professional, Richard was cautious about Lorelai's answer and warned her not to sleep on it.
Richard went into a spiel about what could happen when a business owner didn't take care of their insurance coverage. Both characters then told Lorelai some horror stories about friends of theirs and what happened when they didn't have the proper insurance set in place. As frightening as the stories were, it was smart of Richard to scare Lorelai straight.
"Physical Fitness Is As Important As Intellectual Fitness. So Says Plato, And So Say I."
In 'Kill Me Now,' Lorelai and Rory were still getting used to weekly dinners with the Gilmores. Richard didn't know Rory all that well but this episode changed that relationship.
When Rory told the Gilmores that she had to take a sport at Chilton, Richard and Emily encouraged her to take up golf. Rory didn't know a thing about golf so Richard took her to the country club to teach her a few points. This one-on-one time for the two ended up being one of the best things Richard did because it expanded their friendship and bond with each other.
"It's Important To Start The Day Off Correctly, Lorelai. A Grapefruit Is Brain Food. It Has Vitamin C And Folic Acid, And It Helps With Your Digestion. It Really Is A Terrific Fruit."
When Richard retired, the women in the family had no idea how his retirement would affect him. Now that he wasn't working, he had more spare time to spend with Emily and Lorelai, which bothered them more than they expected.
Lorelai didn't like that her father was hovering over her so she took him to Luke's for breakfast. While she ordered coffee, Richard encouraged her to order grapefruit. Knowing Lorelai was not much of a fruit person, it was comical that he thought she would take his word on it. However, this was one of the wisest quotes from Richard because starting a day off with a nutritious breakfast is encouraged by professionals.
"I'm Still Waiting For The Day When My Knowledge Of The Inner Workings Of A Frog's Intestinal System Can Be Applied To My Work In The Insurance Industry."
Rory and Richard had plenty of BFF scenes that fans miss now that the series is over. As grandfather and granddaughter, the two had a lot in common and enjoyed their time together.
In one scene, Richard asked Rory how school was going. While she had a test in Spanish, the real problem she had was an exam in biology. Richard said this quote, which was a realistic response for many. Learning a frog's intestinal system and making an incision is interesting but it's not something that's used in professions like insurance or writing.
"I've Just Finished The Sixth And Final Volume Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire"
In the Netflix reboot Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Lorelai had a hard time thinking of a memorable story of her father to share with family and friends. However, one of the things she could have mentioned was how great of a grandfather he was to her daughter.
One of the things Richard and Rory had in common was their love of literature. When talking about Rory reading P.G. Wodehouse, Richard shared how bright he was by a "personal triumph" in reading the final volume of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Considering how long the series is, Richard joked that it took him over 36 years to complete it.
"Madrid, The Twelfth. I Should Think There's A Nice Edition Of Cervantes In It For You."
In 'That Damn Donna Reed,' Richard told Rory that his next business trip was to Madrid and that he would bring her back a gift: "a nice edition of Cervantes."
This was one of Richard's smarter quotes because reading the works of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes' is no easy feat. His novel Don Quixote is one of his more famous works and has close to 1,000 pages. If Richard and Rory read Cervantes on their downtime, then they're definitely brighter than people gave them credit for.
"I Wanted To See La Traviata At The La Scala Opera House. I Wanted To Walk The Ruins Of Pompeii. I Wanted To Travel The Far East."
One of the things Lorelai and Richard had in common was their like-minded business sense. The biggest difference was that Richard love traveling for work and expanding his businesses, whereas Lorelai was happily settled in Stars Hollow.
In a very aggressive conversation with Dean about his future, Richard was bothered that Dean didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Richard said he knew exactly what he wanted to do, saying all the places he wanted to travel and who he wanted to meet. While it's brief, Richard's view on his future proved how smart he was.