Veteran actor Richard Gilliland, husband of actress Jean Smart, dies at 71
Actor Richard Gilliland died last week at the age of 71.
Gilliland was married to fellow actor Jean Smart for 24 years. He died from a "brief illness" in Los Angeles, according to People.
Gilliland had several roles in a slew of TV shows like Operation Petticoat, Just Our Luck, Dexter, Desperate Housewives and Heartland.
Richard Gilliland and Jean Smart met on the set of the TV show Designing Women. Getty
The veteran actor then became a series regular on Designing Women, where he met his wife Smart. The actress played Charlene Frazier Stillfield in the series.
Meanwhile, Gilliland played a baseball talent scout who was the boyfriend of Mary Jo (played by Annie Potts).
In a previous interview, Smart recalled meeting him on the set of the TV show.
"I met him when he was kissing someone else," she told US publication Northwest Prime Time in 2017. "He was playing another character's love interest on the show."
Jean Smart and Richard Gilliland. WireImage
The pair married in June 1987 at the home of their Designing Women co-stars Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook.
The couple starred together in many stage productions like It Had to Be You and Love Letters and TV show 24. They were also in TV movies Just My Imagination and Audrey's Rain.
Richard Gilliland poses for head shot in 1977. Getty
Gilliland was born on January 23, 1950, in Fort Worth, Texas, and went to Chicago's prestigious Goodman School of Drama. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.
He is survived by Smart, his two kids Connor and Bonnie, and sisters Ann Norberg and Wendy Knaack and brother John Wells.
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