Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the
Broadway musical and global celebrity on television"
and a "versatile stage and film actor".
Orbach's professional career began on the
New York stage, both on and
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
, where he created roles such as El Gallo in the original
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
run of ''
The Fantasticks'' (1960) and became the first performer to sing that show's standard "
Try to Remember",
Billy Flynn in the original ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
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, coordinates =
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'' (1975–1977), and Julian Marsh in ''
42nd Street'' (1980–1985). Nominated for multiple
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
s, Orbach won for his performance as Chuck Baxter in ''
Promises, Promises'' (1968–1972).
Later in his career, Orbach played supporting roles in films such as ''
Prince of the City'' (1981), ''
Dirty Dancing'' (1987), ''
Crimes and Misdemeanors'' (1989), and, as a voice actor,
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ''
Beauty and the Beast'' (1991).
[ He also made frequent guest appearances on television, including a recurring role on '']Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...
'' as private detective Harry McGraw between 1985 and 1991, and was the voice of Zachary Foxx in '' The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' in 1986. He gained worldwide fame for starring as NYPD
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
Detective Lennie Briscoe
Leonard W. Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order''. He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer and portrayed by Jerry Orbach. He was featured on the sho ...
on the original ''Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
'' series from 1992 to 2004.
Early life
Orbach was born on October 20, 1935, in the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, the only child of Emily Orbach (née Olexy), a greeting card manufacturer and radio singer, and Leon Orbach, a restaurant manager and vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic compositio ...
performer. His father was a Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrant from Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. Orbach said his father was descended from Sephardic Jewish
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
refugees from the Spanish Inquisition. His mother, a native of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
, was a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
of Polish- Lithuanian descent, and Orbach was raised in her faith (a religious background later replicated in his character on ''Law & Order''). The Orbach family moved frequently during his childhood, living in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 census, Mount Vernon had a population of 73,893, making it th ...
; Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, and Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Waukegan, Illinois
''(Fortress or Trading Post)''
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, subdivisi ...
. Orbach attended Waukegan High School
Waukegan High School, or WHS, is a public four-year high school located in Waukegan, Illinois, USA, a city to the north of Chicago, Illinois. It is part of Waukegan Community Unit School District 60. Students attend classes at the Washington Cam ...
and graduated in 1952 (having skipped two grades in elementary school due to his high IQ of 163). He played on the football team and began learning acting in a speech class.
The summer after graduating from high school, Orbach worked at the theatre of Chevy Chase Country Club of Wheeling, Illinois, and enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univers ...
in the fall. In 1953, Orbach returned to the Chicago area and enrolled at Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Chart ...
. Orbach left Northwestern before his senior year and moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in 1955 to pursue acting and to study at the Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...
, where one of his instructors was the studio's founder, Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 193 ...
.
Career
Orbach would go on to become an accomplished Broadway and off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
actor. His first major role was El Gallo in the original 1960 cast of the decades-running hit '' The Fantasticks,'' and Orbach became the first to perform the show's signature song and pop standard " Try To Remember". He also starred in ''The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...
''; '' Carnival!'', the musical version of the movie '' Lili'' (his Broadway debut); in revivals of ''Annie Get Your Gun'' and '' Guys and Dolls'' (as Sky Masterson, receiving a Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical); '' Promises, Promises'' (as Chuck Baxter, winning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical); the original productions of ''Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
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'' (as Billy Flynn, receiving another Tony Award nomination); '' 42nd Street''; and a revival of '' The Cradle Will Rock''. Orbach made occasional film and TV appearances into the 1970s and appeared as a celebrity panelist on both ''What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity paneli ...
'' and '' Super Password''.
In the 1980s, Orbach shifted to film and TV work full-time. Prominent roles included tough, corrupt NYPD narcotics detective Gus Levy in Sidney Lumet's '' Prince of the City''; he was the 1981 runner-up for the NSFC Best Supporting Actor award. He also portrayed gangsters in both the action-thriller '' F/X'' and the Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
drama '' Crimes and Misdemeanors'' (the latter of which also featured his future ''Law & Order'' co-star Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has recei ...
). In 1985, Orbach became a regular guest star on ''Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...
'' as private detective Harry McGraw, which led to him starring in the short-lived spin-off series ''The Law & Harry McGraw''. In 1987, he was featured in the hit film '' Dirty Dancing'' as Dr. Jake Houseman, the father of Jennifer Grey's character "Baby". He made further TV appearances on popular shows such as ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty W ...
'' (for which he received his first Emmy nomination[), '' Who's the Boss?'', and '' Frasier'' (as a guest caller).
In 1991, Orbach starred in ]Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's Oscar-winning animated musical '' Beauty and the Beast'' as the voice (both singing and speaking) of the French-accented candelabrum Lumière, which he played "halfway between Maurice Chevalier and Pepé Le Pew".[ At the 64th Academy Awards, Orbach performed a live-action stage rendition of the Oscar-nominated song, " Be Our Guest", that he sang in ''Beauty and the Beast''. He later reprised his voice role of Lumière for the film's direct-to-video sequels, multiple episodes of '']Disney's House of Mouse
''Disney's House of Mouse'' (or simply ''House of Mouse'') is an American Animation, animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation that originally aired for three seasons on ABC and Toon Disney from January 13, 2001, to ...
'', and the previously-deleted song ("Human Again
''Human Again'' is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. The album was released on January 24, 2012, by Cabin 24 Records and Mom + Pop Music. The first single from the album, "Ghost", was released on Novem ...
") that was added to the ''Beauty and the Beast'' 2002 IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graem ...
re-release.
In 1992, Orbach joined the main cast of ''Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...
'' during its third season as the world-weary, wisecracking NYPD homicide detective Lennie Briscoe
Leonard W. Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long-running police procedural and legal drama television series ''Law & Order''. He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer and portrayed by Jerry Orbach. He was featured on the sho ...
. He had previously guest-starred as a defense attorney on the series, and was subsequently cast as the new "senior detective" following Paul Sorvino's departure. Orbach's portrayal of Briscoe was based on his similar role from ''Prince of the City'' years before, which ''Law & Order'' creator Dick Wolf
Richard Anthony Wolf (born December 20, 1946) is an American film and television producer, best known for his ''Law & Order'' franchise. Since 1990, the franchise has included six police/courtroom dramas and four international spinoffs. He is al ...
had personally suggested to him at the time of his casting.[ Orbach starred on ''Law & Order'' for 11-and-a-half seasons, ultimately becoming the third longest-serving main cast member (behind S. Epatha Merkerson and ]Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has recei ...
) in the show's 20-year-run history, as well as one of its most popular. During Orbach's tenure on ''Law & Order'', the series won the 1997 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series among other accolades, made multiple crossover episodes with fellow NBC series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', and spawned a franchise that included the TV film '' Exiled: A Law & Order Movie'', the spin-off series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (both of which featured Orbach in guest appearances), and three video games. Orbach himself was nominated for a 2000 (losing to James Gandolfini
James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series '' The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Scree ...
for ''The Sopranos
''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
''). ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...
'' named Lennie Briscoe one of their top-25 greatest television detectives of all time.
Also during his time on ''Law & Order'', Orbach provided the voice of the main antagonist Sa'luk in the 1996 direct-to-video film '' Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', and co-starred with Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Al Pacino, numerous accolades: including an Aca ...
in the independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
'' Chinese Coffee'', which was filmed in the summer of 1997 and released three years later.[
]
Personal life
Orbach was married in 1958 to Marta Curro, with whom he had two sons, Anthony Nicholas and Christopher Benjamin.[ They ]divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
d in 1975.[ Elder son Tony is a construction manager and an accomplished ]crossword puzzle
A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the a ...
constructor who has published more than 25 puzzles in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Younger son Chris Orbach is an actor and a singer; he played Lennie Briscoe's nephew Ken Briscoe during the first season of ''Special Victims Unit''.
In 1979, Jerry Orbach married Broadway dancer Elaine Cancilla
Elaine Cancilla Orbach (January 19, 1940 – April 1, 2009) was an American stage and musical theatre actress and dancer.
Career
Orbach, known professionally as Elaine Cancilla, appeared on Broadway and Off Broadway in productions including: '' ...
, whom he met while starring in ''Chicago''.
Orbach lived in a high-rise on 53rd Street off Eighth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen and was a fixture in that neighborhood's restaurants and shops.[ His glossy publicity photo hangs in Ms. Buffy's French Cleaners, and he was a regular at some of the Italian restaurants nearby. As of 2007, the intersection of 8th Avenue and 53rd Street was renamed in honor of Orbach. The plans met with some resistance by local planning boards, but were overcome thanks to his popularity and his love of the Big Apple.
]
Illness and death
In January 1994, less than two years into his stint on ''Law & Order'', Orbach was diagnosed with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...
.[ He was treated with ]radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Rad ...
, but by December 1994, the cancer had returned and metastasized. At that point, he went on hormone therapy, on which he remained over the next decade while he continued to star on ''Law & Order''.[ After he left the series at the end of the 2003–04 season, Orbach underwent ]chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
, but he ultimately succumbed to his cancer on December 28, 2004, at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute ...
in New York at age 69. Orbach's decade-long illness was not revealed to the general public until just weeks before he died. Orbach was signed to continue in the role of Lennie Briscoe on the new spin-off '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury'', which gave him a lighter schedule than did the original series, but he was only featured in the first two episodes, both of which aired after his death.[
The day after Orbach's death, the marquees on Broadway were dimmed in mourning, one of the highest honors of the American theatre world,][ while NBC re-aired the ''Law & Order'' episode " C.O.D." (the last episode of the original series to feature Orbach) in honor of him. The ''Criminal Intent'' episode "View from Up Here" and the ''Trial by Jury'' episode "Baby Boom"][ were dedicated to Orbach, and the ''Law & Order'' episode "Mammon" featured a pictorial memorial of him.
In addition to his sons, wife, and former wife, Orbach was survived by his mother and two grandchildren, Peter and Sarah Kate Orbach, children of his older son Tony. His mother died on July 28, 2012, at the age of 101. His wife Elaine died in 2009 at age 69, and his former wife Marta died in 2012 at age 79. Having had perfect 20/20 vision his whole life, Jerry Orbach requested that his eyes be donated after his death.][ His wish was granted when two people – one who needed correction for a nearsighted eye and another who needed correction for a farsighted eye – received Orbach's ]cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical ...
s. His likeness has been used in an ad campaign for Eye Bank for Sight Restoration in Manhattan. Orbach was interred at Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in upper Manhattan.[
]
Honors and legacy
In addition to his Tony Award and nominations, Jerry Orbach is also a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1999. In 2002, Orbach was named a "Living Landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, along with his ''Law & Order'' co-star Sam Waterston. Orbach quipped that the honor meant "that they can't tear me down."
On February 5, 2005, he was posthumously awarded a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his longtime role on ''Law & Order''. His wife Elaine accepted the award on his behalf.
On September 18, 2007, a portion of New York City's 53rd Street near Eighth Avenue was renamed "Jerry Orbach Way" in his honor.
In 2007, the Jerry Orbach Theatre was named for him in the Snapple Theater Center
The Theater Center (known as The Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and based in Plano, Texas, United States. The company (and brand), which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products ...
at 50th Street and Broadway in New York City. At the time, the theater was mounting a revival of ''The Fantasticks.''
Remembrances
After ''Law & Order'' was cancelled in 2010, executive producer René Balcer told ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'': "I always think about the show as before Jerry and after Jerry...You saw the weariness of 25 years of crime-fighting in New York written on his face."
Author Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
, a fan of Orbach, said during an Australian radio interview in 2005, "People have asked me, you know, 'Who would you rather be, than yourself?'," and he replied "Jerry Orbach, without a question...I talked to him one time, and he's adorable."
''New York Times'' writers Ben Brantley and Richard Severo analyzed the breadth and scope of Orbach's career,[ and ''Dirty Dancing'' co-star Patrick Swayze memorialized Orbach after his death
]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Partial discography
*''Jerry Orbach: Off Broadway'' (MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...
, 1963).
Bibliography
*''Remember How I Love You: Love Letters from an Extraordinary Marriage'' (Touchstone, 2009).
*''Jerry Orbach, Prince of the City: His Way from the Fantasticks to Law & Order'' by John Anthony Gilvey, was published on May 1, 2011.[
]
References
External links
*
*
*
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*
*
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*
*
Jerry Orbach obituary (''The Washington Post'')
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20041230035633/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6765565/ "Law and Order Star Jerry Orbach Dies" (MSNBC)
Jerry Orbach Memorial, Richard Rodgers Theater, March 24, 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orbach, Jerry
1935 births
2004 deaths
Actors from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts
Actors from Waukegan, Illinois
Actors from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
American male film actors
American male musical theatre actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Polish descent
American Roman Catholics
Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from prostate cancer
21st-century American male actors
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Male actors from New York City
Musicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Northwestern University School of Communication alumni
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
People from Greenwich Village
People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
People from the Bronx
Tony Award winners
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
Organ transplant donors
20th-century American male actors
Jewish American male actors
American Sephardic Jews
American people of Sephardic-Jewish descent
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American singers