Veteran character actor Richard Herd, best known for portraying Mr. Wilhelm on “Seinfeld,” died on Tuesday at his Los Angeles home of complications from cancer. He was 87.

The Boston native broke into show business as a stage actor in New York. He made his film debut in 1970’s “Hercules in New York.” Herd was hired as Richard Long’s replacement for the part of Watergate burglar James McCord in Alan J.