Herd was born in Boston, the son of Katherine (Lydon) and Richard Herd Sr., a train engineer who died while serving in the Army during World War II.
Herd was drafted during the Korean War, injuring his knee during basic training. He went on to serve in the United States Army Ordnance Corps and was honorably discharged. He then worked in Long Island, New York for the United States Army Signal Corps as a civilian actor, along with Robert Ludlum, making Army training films.
Herd started out his career as an actor on the New York stage. He made his film debut in Hercules in New York (1970). Herd's first major film role was in the thriller The China Syndrome alongside Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas, where he played the character Evan McCormack, the corrupt Chairman of the California Gas & Electric Board. This role helped make him well known outside the United States. He portrayed James W. McCord, Jr. in the Academy Award-winning All the President's Men (1976).

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