Scott Wilson, Who Played Hershel On 'The Walking Dead,' Dies

Atlanta-born Scott Wilson, who played Hershel Greene in AMC's hugely popular "The Walking Dead," has died at the age of 76. The series, also filmed in Georgia, debuts its ninth season Sunday night on AMC. Wilson joined the show in its second season and appeared in 32 episodes, from 2011 to 2014.

“Scott will always be remembered as a great actor and we all feel fortunate to have known him as an even better person,” AMC said in a statement Saturday as reported by Deadline. “The character he embodied on The Walking Dead, Hershel, lived at the emotional core of the show. Like Scott in our lives, Hershel was a character whose actions continue to inform our character’s choices to this day. Our hearts go out to his wife, his family, friends and to the millions of fans who loved him. Scott will be missed.”

Wilson's death came about an hour after The Walking Dead panel at New York Comic Con announced the actor would be returning to the show this season. Wilson’s character died four years but his return to the show has already been return to the show has already been filmed.

Wilson was suffering from leukemia.

According to AMC's biography of Wilson, Wilson discovered acting when he was taken to Elliot Fayod's acting class by a friend and given a scene from the Eugene O'Neill play The Long Voyage Home.

Wilson also appeared in Phil Kaufman's The Right Stuff, HBO's The Tracker, Walter Hill's Johnny Handsome, John Frankenheimer's The Gypsy Moths, Sydney Pollack's Castle Keep, Robert Aldrich's The Grissom Gang, Jack Clayton's The Great Gatsby, Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking, Dale Rosenbloom's Shiloh, Steve Kloves' Flesh and Bone, Christopher Macquarrie's The Way of the Gun, Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane, Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor, Krzysztof Zanussi's The Year of the Quiet Sun and Our God's Brother.

He also appeared as casino owner Sam Braun on the TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
He received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor for The Ninth Configuration and an Exemplary Achievement award from the Floating Film Festival, amongst other film festival awards.

Hershel Greene's death at the hands of a character known as the Governor was one of the series' most dramatic and emotionally wrenching. Greene's death precipitated a huge battle between over control of a prison, where series hero Andrew Lincoln and his group were living. Lincoln is leaving the show this season.

More Coverage Of The Walking Dead On Patch

• "Walking Dead" May Be Filming in The Golden Isles
• Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln Leaving Show: What Do You Think?
• 'Walking Dead's' Andrew Lincoln Goes Trick-or-Treating in Decatur

Photo via Shutterstock