Ernie Lively (born Ernest Wilson Brown Jr., January 29, 1947 – June 3, 2021) was an American actor and acting coach, best known as the father of actors Blake and Eric Lively, and adoptive father of Lori, Robyn, and Jason Lively. He took his wife's surname, and his career spanned decades, with notable roles in Passenger 57 and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, where he notably played the on-screen father of his real-life daughter Blake. His extensive character-actor credits included TV shows like The Waltons, The X-Files, and The West Wing, and he also directed Blake in her film debut, Sandman. Before acting, Lively served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and worked as an English professor. In his personal life, he married talent manager Elaine in 1979, adopted her three children, and lived in Utah, surviving a heart attack in 2003 and undergoing experimental stem-cell therapy in 2013. He passed away on June 3, 2021, in Los Angeles due to cardiac complications.