Gilmore Girls'Kelly Bishop Says Edward Herrmann's Unexpected Death Changed Emily Gilmore's 'Entire Trajectory' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Edward Herrmann and Kelly Bishop on ‘Gilmore Girls’.Photo:Danny Feld/Warner Bros./Everett Collection

Danny Feld/Warner Bros./Everett Collection

In her new memoirThe Third Gilmore Girl,out this month from Gallery Books, acclaimed actress Kelly Bishop is taking a look back on her career.

She started her career as a Broadway dancer, originating the role of Sheila inA Chorus Line, before she transitioned to acting. In the years to come, she’d play a number of memorable women, including Jennifer Grey’s mother in 1987’sDirty Dancingand Benedetta in Prime Video seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

For more on Kelly Bishop, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.Bishop, however, credits her role as matriarch Emily Gilmore, on the CW and WB seriesGilmore Girls, as the character that challenged and taught her the most as an actress — and her bond with her costar, late actor Edward Herrmann, was something special too.

“We were just so comfortable with each other,” Bishop tells PEOPLE for this week’s print issue. “I might’ve done one or two episodes that he wasn’t in … but it was when I went back, I’d have the script before I even got there and [I’d] know that I was working with him again. We were just so very comfortable with one another and just got each other.”Bishop and Herrmann, who played Emily’s husband Richard on the show, had actually met years beforeGilmore Girlsbegan shooting. The two actors both won Tony Awards on the same night in 1976 — Bishop for Best Featured Actress in a Musical inA Chorus Lineand Herrmann for Best Featured Actor in a Play inMrs. Warren’s Profession.

(L-R): Edward Hermann, Kelly Bishop, Shirley Knight and Sammy Williams following the 1976 Tony Awards.Lynn Karlin/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

Lynn Karlin/WWD/Penske Media via Getty

“It’s all kind of serendipity when I look at that picture of the Tony night, and there we are, standing together, didn’t know each other,” Bishop says. “Twenty-some odd years later, we’re working as husband and wife, which is just delightful.”

“Because Ed died, it changed my whole story,” Bishop says. “I think if he was with it, and had been during that reboot as they called it, we probably would’ve just been keeping on with some variation of the life that we’ve had. Because of the fact that he was no longer with us, that changed my character’s entire trajectory, everything about her. Actually, the storyline for Emily and those four extra episodes was probably one of the most interesting ones because she had so much to go through.”Bishop always says that perhaps because of Emily’s new character arc, she might also be utilizing her newfound independence in different ways in 2024.

“I don’t know if she’d still be working at that whaling museum,” Bishop says. “I kind of [wonder] if she wouldn’t be traveling as an independent woman, maybe even with a companion. Not necessarily a man, I don’t think, but having a companion and doing tours of Europe, that sort of thing. It just seems like that’s something that would appeal to Emily.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!“She’s kind of unstoppable though,” Bishop adds. “She’s not a woman who’s just going to suddenly curl up with a book and stop answering the phone. That wouldn’t be her.”Bishop had her own real-life love story, too. She was married to CNN and ESPN host Lee Leonard from 1981 until Leonard’s death from cancer in 2018. Despite two careers in the entertainment industry, Bishop says that their long marriage succeeded due to their understanding of one another.

“The beautiful thing about him, he was incredibly honest,” Bishop says. “He didn’t lie. He just told you the truth. So I think it was mutual respect and a tremendous amount of love on both sides. We just really loved each other, so we were blessed.”The Third Gilmore Girlwill be published on Sept. 17 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com