The Loss of a Cultural Legend
Over the course of the holidays there was one news item that seemingly slipped by unnoticed, while we were all busy doing various end of the year countdowns (which are dreadful) TV/Film/Broadway star Jerry Orbach passed away on December 28. A Tony Award winning actor on the stage before he made the leap to movies and television, Orbach is most remembered for his work on the television show Law & Order as Detective Lenny Briscoe.
However, Orbach’s career has spanned over 40 years. He was an actor who could use a simple expression to convey what he was thinking. He brought to life the character of Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago and also played Nathan Detroit of Guys & Dolls on stage and won the 1969 Tony Award for his role in “Promises, Promises.” He is remembered for movie roles in an underrated comedy (in my opinion only) “The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” Sidney Lumet’s vastly underrated “Prince of the City,” as Hackensack Bulls Manager Charley Pegler in “Brewster’s Million,” Baby’s father in 1987’s “Dirty Dancing,” as well as parts in “F/X,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” & “Mr. Saturday Night.”
But mostly his legend was born in 1992 when he walked into Police Headquarters of Law & Order as veteran Detective Lenny Briscoe. This guy just looked like a cop. I loved his bad suites, his short sleeve dress shirts, his alcoholic past, and every other part that made this complex character. He played the part so perfectly. His tough New York attitude was the perfect foil for the criminals he arrested. Like other great television detectives he brought a great knowledge to the part and was at his best with his sarcastic wit. He set the standard for the current detectives on TV. He has led the way for all of these other Cop drama’s to hit the airwaves over the last 6 or so years. In fact one great line he had on the show one time was, “Those crime scene guys are overrated. They all think they're cops.” His character made the show what it is today. He was preparing for a new Law & Order series and already filmed three episodes. No doubt there will be much deserved fan fare for those episodes later this year.
It is a shame that he has gone on so unrecognized. Meanwhile at the end of this year we were busy mourning the death of famous no talent ass clowns like Christopher Reeve, while Jerry slipped by us all. His character will forever live in reruns and I will never tire of watching him. Recently his character Lenny Briscoe was named the #30 Greatest TV Character by Bravo. Briscoe is a character that will live as a television legend.
Jerry Bernard Orbach
Oct. 20, 1935-Dec. 28, 2004
However, Orbach’s career has spanned over 40 years. He was an actor who could use a simple expression to convey what he was thinking. He brought to life the character of Billy Flynn in the musical Chicago and also played Nathan Detroit of Guys & Dolls on stage and won the 1969 Tony Award for his role in “Promises, Promises.” He is remembered for movie roles in an underrated comedy (in my opinion only) “The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” Sidney Lumet’s vastly underrated “Prince of the City,” as Hackensack Bulls Manager Charley Pegler in “Brewster’s Million,” Baby’s father in 1987’s “Dirty Dancing,” as well as parts in “F/X,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” & “Mr. Saturday Night.”
But mostly his legend was born in 1992 when he walked into Police Headquarters of Law & Order as veteran Detective Lenny Briscoe. This guy just looked like a cop. I loved his bad suites, his short sleeve dress shirts, his alcoholic past, and every other part that made this complex character. He played the part so perfectly. His tough New York attitude was the perfect foil for the criminals he arrested. Like other great television detectives he brought a great knowledge to the part and was at his best with his sarcastic wit. He set the standard for the current detectives on TV. He has led the way for all of these other Cop drama’s to hit the airwaves over the last 6 or so years. In fact one great line he had on the show one time was, “Those crime scene guys are overrated. They all think they're cops.” His character made the show what it is today. He was preparing for a new Law & Order series and already filmed three episodes. No doubt there will be much deserved fan fare for those episodes later this year.
It is a shame that he has gone on so unrecognized. Meanwhile at the end of this year we were busy mourning the death of famous no talent ass clowns like Christopher Reeve, while Jerry slipped by us all. His character will forever live in reruns and I will never tire of watching him. Recently his character Lenny Briscoe was named the #30 Greatest TV Character by Bravo. Briscoe is a character that will live as a television legend.
Jerry Bernard Orbach
Oct. 20, 1935-Dec. 28, 2004
1 Comments:
I was flipping through channels during the holiday season and paused when I noticed the TV version of an obit, the glossy photo of him with the full name and dateline. I took a personal moment of silence and thought about how many times I watched Law & Order on A&E, watching for Briscoe to play off Benjamin Bratt with a funny one-liner.
Thanks for reminding me yet again that he is gone.
easy
MAK
P.S. - I'm still waiting for the Hot Stove edition, especially now that the Mets are almost ready to embarrass fans like me that believe they'll steal Beltran away to Flushing...
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