The Walking Dead Hershel Greene Scott Wilson

Actor Scott Wilson, who played patriarch Hershel Greene, has passed away at the age of 76.  His passing was first reported on Saturday, on the eve of ‘The Walking Dead’‘s ninth season premiere.  The network confirmed his death, via Twitter.

Though a cause of death was not immediately released, it now appears that Wilson died from complications from leukemia.

Wilson’s Hershel debuted on ‘The Walking Dead’ during Season Two and appeared in 30 episodes, into Season Four.  Hershel’s eldest daughter Maggie, played by Lauren Cohan, remains on the series, however, his younger daughter, Beth (Emily Kinney) was killed in Season Five.

Wilson had been active on the convention circuit and was even slated to appear at Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta later this month.  At New York Comic Con’s ‘Walking Dead’ panel, it was announced that Wilson would return during the ninth season.  It is now unclear whether or not he had already filmed his scenes.

Other than ‘The Walking Dead’, Wilson is best known for appearing in the 1980 psychological horror movie ‘The Ninth Configuration’.  He also appeared in such classics as ‘In the Heat of the Night’, ‘In Cold Blood’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘The Right Stuff’, ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’, ‘Dead Man Walking’, ‘Pearl Harbor’, and many more.  Prior to ‘The Walking Dead’, Wilson appeared on ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigations’ for several years.  And afterward, he appeared on ‘Bosch’, ‘Damien’ and ‘The OA’.  He also reprised the role of Hershel on the ‘Robot Chicken: Walking Dead Special’.

Scott Wilson

RIP Scott Wilson, 1942-2018