Jerry Adler, the acclaimed screen star who didn’t start acting until he was 65, has died aged 96.
The American actor was best known for his roles in series’ including The Sopranos, The Good Wife and Rescue Me.
He also worked as a Broadway director and stage manager.
Today, his death was confirmed by friend Frank J. Reilly, who announced on X: ‘The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96.
‘You know him from one of his iconic roles had from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65.’
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1929, Adler was the son of Philip Adler, who was a theatre manager for a string of Broadway and touring productions throughout the 1930s to 1960s.
Everett/ Shutterstock)
Meanwhile his great-uncle was theatre actor Jacob Pavlovich Adler.
After graduating high school, Adler pursued a career behind-the-scenes, working as a stage manager.
From 1950 he worked on shows including Of Thee I Sing and My Fair Lady before becoming a production supervisor for The Apple Tree, Black Comedy/White Lies, Dear World, Coco, 6 Rms Riv Vu, Annie, and I Remember Mama.
In 1974 he made his directing debut with Words and Music, going on to lead productions of My Fair Lady (which starred a then 19-year-old Julie Andrews), The Little Prince and the Aviator and Checking Out.
After his illustrious theatre career, in which he worked on over 50 Broadway shows, Adler then aimed to retire, but decided to then try acting too.
His on-screen career began in the early 90s, with roles coming in Quantum Leap, Northern Exposure, Hudson Street, Raising Dad, The West Wing, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Transparent and Broad City.
He also appeared in the movies The Public Eye, Manhattan Murder Mystery, In Her Shoes, Find Me Guilty, A Most Violent Year, and Driveways.
However his best-known role was playing Herman ‘Hesh’ Rabkin, a loan shark and advisor to Tony Soprano, on The Sopranos between 1999 and 2007.
He also played Mr. Wicker on Mad About You, Bob Saget’s father Sam Stewart on Raising Dad, Lt. Al Teischler on Hudson Street, and Howard Lyman on both The Good Wife and its spin-off The Good Fight.
His most recent screen credits came in 2019 – when he appeared in the film Driveways and the TV series Living with Yourself.
In 2015 Adler admitted he was a ‘creature of nepotism’ when reflecting on his start in the industry, also revealing he would cut class at Syracuse University to work as assistant stage managers on Broadway shows.
He also told TheaterMania the strange adjustment of working behind-the-scenes for decades and then facing people recognising him in public when he started acting.
‘Having done so many shows on Broadway backstage in the dark, to be recognized now is so weird and something that you never expected. When I walk down the street now, it’s like “Hey, Hesh!”,’ he said.
Adler is survived by his wife, psychologist Joan Laxman, whom he married in 1994.
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