From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Richard Gilliland (born January 23, 1950) is an American television and movie actor. Gilliland was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He appeared onscreen in the 1970s. Notable appearances include Thirtysomething, Party of Five, Little Women, and a recurring role on Designing Women (where he met his wife Jean Smart, who starred as Charlene in that series). The couple has one son, Connor. Richard recently played Ellis Kapp on The Unit and Captain Stan Cotter on 24...