Jerry Adler, Veteran of Broadway and THE SOPRANOS, Dies at 96

Jerry Adler, the versatile performer best known for his role as Hesh Rabkin on The Sopranos, has passed away at the age of 96. His longtime friend Frank J. Reilly shared the news on social media, noting the actor’s remarkable late start in front of the camera—Adler did not begin acting until his mid-60s.

Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Adler grew up in a family connected to the theater world; his cousin was noted acting coach Stella Adler, and his father managed productions for The Group Theatre. He entered the industry in the early 1950s as a stage manager, beginning with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Over the next several decades, Adler worked backstage on more than 50 Broadway productions, including the original staging of My Fair Lady in 1956. He later directed several shows and managed large-scale events such as the Tony Awards.

What was meant to be a retirement from behind-the-scenes work eventually launched a new chapter in acting. Starting in the 1990s, Adler became a familiar face on television, with appearances in Quantum Leap, The West Wing, Mad About You, Transparent, and Broad City. His recurring characters ranged from the mafia consigliere Rabkin on HBO’s The Sopranos to the blunt attorney Howard Lyman in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, as well as Deputy Chief Sidney Feinberg on Rescue Me.

Adler also acted in film, with roles in The Public Eye (1992), Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery(1993), In Her Shoes (2005), A Most Violent Year (2014), and his later performance in Driveways (2019). Despite decades spent in the shadows of the stage, Adler expressed surprise and delight at being recognized for his on-screen work late in life.

To read more about Jerry Adler, go to the article from Dateline here.