Photo by Gregorio Binuya/ABACAUSA.COM
Actor Ernie Lively, Blake Lively’s father, has sadly passed at the age of 74.
A rep confirmed that the actor passed of cardiac complications in Los Angeles last Thursday. Ernie has struggled with heart issues for multiple years and had to undergo rare heart surgery in 2013. He became the first known patient to undergo retrograde gene therapy for the heart.
Ernie was known for many roles throughout the years and has had a career in Hollywood since the 1970s.Fans may recall a few of his television roles including The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Turner & Hooch, Falcon Crest, Malibu Shores, The X-Files, The West Wing, That ’70s Show, and Murder, She Wrote.
Lively has also had multiple big-screen roles over the years including credits in Mulholland Falls, The Beverly Hillbillies, Passenger 57, The Man in the Moon, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Air America, and Shocker. Lively also famously played alongside his daughter Blake Lively as her on-screen father in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel.
Blake was one of five children Ernie shared with his wife of 42 years, Elaine. All of their children – Eric, Robyn, Lori, and Jason – work in the acting industry as well. Ernie is survived by nine grandchildren, three of his children’s spouses, and his sister Judith.