Stage, film, and television actor Steven Gilborn died 2 January 2009 of cancer. Born 15 July 1936 in New Rochelle, New York, he was probably best known for playing Ellen DeGeneres’s father on her 1990s sitcom Ellen.
His genre appearances include: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002), Evolution (2001), Touched by an Angel (2000), The Big O (1999), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Lois & Clark (1994), Timescape (1992), Get a Life (1991), and Beauty and the Beast (1990).
His stage roles include Prospero in The Tempest at Washington’s Folger Theater.
After earning his BA in English from Swarthmore in 1958, he took a PhD in dramatic literature from Stanford. In between college and embarking on his acting career in 1970, Gilborn taught humanities at UC Berkeley, MIT, and Columbia. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, two brothers, and four grandchildren.