Jerry Orbach Dead at 69

[Janice]

http://1010wins.com/topstories/local...364094126.html

JERRY ORBACH DEAD AT 69

(NEW YORK) After a months-long battle with prostate cancer, actor Jerry Orbach has died. In a story first heard on 1010 WINS, Orbach's manager Robert Malcolm confirmed orbach's death. He was 69 and had only recently revealed his battle with cancer. Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said. The cast and crew of "Law and Order", on which Orbach played detective Lennie Briscoe, had known about the treatments since last spring. Orbach had been with the series since the beginning, 12 seasons ago

Born Jerome Orbach, on October 20, 1935, in the Bronx, New York. The only child of Emily (nee O'Lexy), a greeting card manufacturer, and Leon Orbach, a restaurant manager. Since neither of his parents were strangers to the performing arts (his father had tried vaudeville and his mother once had a stint as a radio singer), they were always supportive of Jerry’s desire to be an actor. While Jerry was still in grade school, the family moved frequently but finally settled in Waukegan, Illinois, where he joined the football team and began learning basic acting techniques from his speech teacher. In 1952, following his high school graduation, he worked in summer stock at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, Illinois, where he got to try his hand at everything from minor performances to set building. After attending the University of Illinois for one year, Jerry transferred to Northwestern University, where he continued to study the Stanislavsky method of drama.

In the fall of 1955, Orbach decided to forego his senior year at Northwestern and move to New York City, where he found work as an understudy in The Threepenny Opera. He stayed with the show for over three years, eventually playing the lead character, Mack the Knife. During this time, he continued to study acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghof, Mira Rostova, and Lee Strasberg of The Actor’s Studio. In 1959, he received two simultaneous acting offers: one for a Broadway production paying $250 a week and the other for an off-Broadway show paying only $45 a week.

Orbach chose the latter and created the role of El Gallo in the off-Broadway production The Fantastiks, which met exceptional reviews and became the longest running off-Broadway show in history. Orbach left the show in 1961 to make his Broadway debut in David Merrick’s production of Carnival! and won rave reviews for both his singing and his acting.
Following this success, Orbach experienced a brief slump; discouraged about being typecast in musicals, he spent a few miserable months trying unsuccessfully to break into films in Hollywood. However, he hit his stride once again when he returned to the East and earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Skye Masterson in Guys and Dolls and made a stunning, critically acclaimed performance as a neurotic Jewish intellectual in Scuba Duba. He then went on to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1969 for his portrayal of Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises, a Neil Simon adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1960 film The Apartment. In 1976, he received another Tony nomination for his role in Chicago. He last appeared on Broadway in 1981, playing Julian Marsh in 42nd Street at the Majestic Theatre in New York.

Launching off from his illustrious theater career, Orbach began to move increasingly toward roles in film and television in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a recurring guest star on Murder, She Wrote and played the title role in its short-lived spin-off, The Law and Harry McGraw. His stint in Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound (1991) and his frequent appearances on the sitcom The Golden Girls both earned him Emmy nominations.

His first major supporting film role came in Sidney Lumet’s drama Prince of the City (1981), and he followed up with the crime-thriller F/X in 1986. In 1987, he changed pace, playing the stern but loving father of a rebellious teenage girl in the runaway hit Dirty Dancing, costarring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, still his best-known movie role. He then lent his voice and personality to the loquacious lantern, Lumiere, in the animated musical Beauty and the Beast (1991). Most recently, he starred in Chinese Coffee (2000) with longtime friend Al Pacino, who also produced and directed the film.
Orbach first appeared on the critically acclaimed NBC series Law & Order in 1990 and in 1992 landed a regular role on the show, playing the quick-witted and sharp-tongued Detective Lennie Briscoe.

Orbach and actress/writer Marta Curro, who was a fellow understudy in The Threepenny Opera, married in June 1958 and had two sons, Anthony and Christopher, before divorcing in 1975. In 1979, Orbach married Elaine Cancilla, who had replaced Chita Rivera as his co-star in the 1975 production of Chicago. They live in New York City.

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JERRY ORBACH CREDITS

Cop Hater (1958), Twenty Four Hours in a Woman's Life (TV-1961), Mad Dog Coll (1961), Ensign Pulver (1964), John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965), Annie Get Your Gun (TV-1967), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), A Fan's Notes (1972), Fore Play (1975), The Sentinel (1977), Underground Aces (1980), Prince of the City (1981), An Invasion of Privacy (TV-1983), Brewster's Millions (1985), F/X (1986), Dream West (TV miniseries-1986), The Imagemaker (1986), Out on a Limb (TV-1987), Love Among Thieves (TV-1987), Dirty Dancing (1987), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), I Love N.Y. (1988), Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (TV-1989), The Flamingo Kid (TV-1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), In Defense of a Married Man (TV-1990), Kojak: None So Blind (TV-1990), Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (TV-1991), Coney Island (TV voice-1991), Out for Justice (1991), Toy Soldiers (1991), Delusions (1991), Delirious (1991), Beauty and the Beast (voice-1991), Dead Women in Lingerie (1991), California Casanova (1991), A Gnome Named Gnorm (1992), Broadway Bound (TV-1992), Quiet Killer (TV-1992), Straight Talk (1992), Universal Soldier (1992), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Mastergate (TV-1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Be Our Guest (voice-1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (voice-1996), Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas (voice-1997), Belle's Magical World (voice-1997), Chinese Coffee (2000), Prince of Central Park (2000), The Acting Class (2000)

TV Series: The Law and Harry McGraw (1987), The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (voice-1988), Encounters With the Unexplained (host-2000), House of Mouse (voice-2001)

(Source: NBC)

[Kay Scarpetta]

Holy ****... I can't believe this. He was such a great actor. I was hoping for a full recovery for him. Wow, I'm just kind of stunned... RIP Jerry

[MsOrange]

. . . w..o...w....

[Penny Lane]

I just heard about it on the radio. Oh my, this is so sad! I have loved him ever since I really first watched him in Dirty Dancing.Words cannot express!
RIP Jerry!

[~*Dailey'sGurl*~]

Even though I NEVER watch the full hour of L&O, he was always my favorite character

RIP Jerry

[spunkygirl]

RIP Jerry.

Such a talented actor, he's always been a favorite of mine

[*MIBabe03*]

That's awful! RIP in Jerry!

[Jrnygrl]

RIP!

[TJL]

Wow! What a surprise.

Law And Order fans will miss him.

[Cactus Jack]

RIP Jerry

[Brian Damage]

That is shocking news. My wife loves L&O and Orbach was one of her favorite actors on the show.

[Penny Lane]

I saw him on Biography a while back. He seemed to be such a nice guy! He will always be Jake Houseman to me!

[Janet McFarland]

RIP

[I am Roboto]

Originally posted by Janice
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local...364094126.html

JERRY ORBACH DEAD AT 69

(NEW YORK) After a months-long battle with prostate cancer, actor Jerry Orbach has died. In a story first heard on 1010 WINS, Orbach's manager Robert Malcolm confirmed orbach's death. He was 69 and had only recently revealed his battle with cancer. Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said. The cast and crew of "Law and Order", on which Orbach played detective Lennie Briscoe, had known about the treatments since last spring. Orbach had been with the series since the beginning, 12 seasons ago

Born Jerome Orbach, on October 20, 1935, in the Bronx, New York. The only child of Emily (nee O'Lexy), a greeting card manufacturer, and Leon Orbach, a restaurant manager. Since neither of his parents were strangers to the performing arts (his father had tried vaudeville and his mother once had a stint as a radio singer), they were always supportive of Jerry’s desire to be an actor. While Jerry was still in grade school, the family moved frequently but finally settled in Waukegan, Illinois, where he joined the football team and began learning basic acting techniques from his speech teacher. In 1952, following his high school graduation, he worked in summer stock at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, Illinois, where he got to try his hand at everything from minor performances to set building. After attending the University of Illinois for one year, Jerry transferred to Northwestern University, where he continued to study the Stanislavsky method of drama.

In the fall of 1955, Orbach decided to forego his senior year at Northwestern and move to New York City, where he found work as an understudy in The Threepenny Opera. He stayed with the show for over three years, eventually playing the lead character, Mack the Knife. During this time, he continued to study acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghof, Mira Rostova, and Lee Strasberg of The Actor’s Studio. In 1959, he received two simultaneous acting offers: one for a Broadway production paying $250 a week and the other for an off-Broadway show paying only $45 a week.

Orbach chose the latter and created the role of El Gallo in the off-Broadway production The Fantastiks, which met exceptional reviews and became the longest running off-Broadway show in history. Orbach left the show in 1961 to make his Broadway debut in David Merrick’s production of Carnival! and won rave reviews for both his singing and his acting.
Following this success, Orbach experienced a brief slump; discouraged about being typecast in musicals, he spent a few miserable months trying unsuccessfully to break into films in Hollywood. However, he hit his stride once again when he returned to the East and earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Skye Masterson in Guys and Dolls and made a stunning, critically acclaimed performance as a neurotic Jewish intellectual in Scuba Duba. He then went on to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1969 for his portrayal of Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises, a Neil Simon adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1960 film The Apartment. In 1976, he received another Tony nomination for his role in Chicago. He last appeared on Broadway in 1981, playing Julian Marsh in 42nd Street at the Majestic Theatre in New York.

Launching off from his illustrious theater career, Orbach began to move increasingly toward roles in film and television in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a recurring guest star on Murder, She Wrote and played the title role in its short-lived spin-off, The Law and Harry McGraw. His stint in Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound (1991) and his frequent appearances on the sitcom The Golden Girls both earned him Emmy nominations.

His first major supporting film role came in Sidney Lumet’s drama Prince of the City (1981), and he followed up with the crime-thriller F/X in 1986. In 1987, he changed pace, playing the stern but loving father of a rebellious teenage girl in the runaway hit Dirty Dancing, costarring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, still his best-known movie role. He then lent his voice and personality to the loquacious lantern, Lumiere, in the animated musical Beauty and the Beast (1991). Most recently, he starred in Chinese Coffee (2000) with longtime friend Al Pacino, who also produced and directed the film.
Orbach first appeared on the critically acclaimed NBC series Law & Order in 1990 and in 1992 landed a regular role on the show, playing the quick-witted and sharp-tongued Detective Lennie Briscoe.

Orbach and actress/writer Marta Curro, who was a fellow understudy in The Threepenny Opera, married in June 1958 and had two sons, Anthony and Christopher, before divorcing in 1975. In 1979, Orbach married Elaine Cancilla, who had replaced Chita Rivera as his co-star in the 1975 production of Chicago. They live in New York City.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JERRY ORBACH CREDITS

Cop Hater (1958), Twenty Four Hours in a Woman's Life (TV-1961), Mad Dog Coll (1961), Ensign Pulver (1964), John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965), Annie Get Your Gun (TV-1967), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), A Fan's Notes (1972), Fore Play (1975), The Sentinel (1977), Underground Aces (1980), Prince of the City (1981), An Invasion of Privacy (TV-1983), Brewster's Millions (1985), F/X (1986), Dream West (TV miniseries-1986), The Imagemaker (1986), Out on a Limb (TV-1987), Love Among Thieves (TV-1987), Dirty Dancing (1987), Someone to Watch Over Me (1987), I Love N.Y. (1988), Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (TV-1989), The Flamingo Kid (TV-1989), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), In Defense of a Married Man (TV-1990), Kojak: None So Blind (TV-1990), Perry Mason: The Case of the Ruthless Reporter (TV-1991), Coney Island (TV voice-1991), Out for Justice (1991), Toy Soldiers (1991), Delusions (1991), Delirious (1991), Beauty and the Beast (voice-1991), Dead Women in Lingerie (1991), California Casanova (1991), A Gnome Named Gnorm (1992), Broadway Bound (TV-1992), Quiet Killer (TV-1992), Straight Talk (1992), Universal Soldier (1992), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), Mastergate (TV-1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), Disney Sing-Along-Songs: Be Our Guest (voice-1994), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (voice-1996), Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas (voice-1997), Belle's Magical World (voice-1997), Chinese Coffee (2000), Prince of Central Park (2000), The Acting Class (2000)

TV Series: The Law and Harry McGraw (1987), The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (voice-1988), Encounters With the Unexplained (host-2000), House of Mouse (voice-2001)

(Source: NBC)

That's really sad. He was a fighter until the end though, proof by the fact that he was going to star in that upcoming Law & Order spin-off.

God Bless His Soul.

[Mr. Television]

I've wached Jerry on L&O since he joined the show and was sad when he left. And now this. I thought he was getting better. R.I.P. Jerry the world won't be the same without you.