Credit: HBO
The Sopranos Star Has Died
A star of The Sopranos and The Good Wife has sadly died.
The entertainment world is in mourning today as tributes pour in for a beloved actor who became a household name.
Celebrating the figure’s remarkable career, one fan wrote: “He brought such a unique element to The Sopranos.”
Others called the character their ‘favorite side character,’ with another writing: “RIP to a New York legend.”
“His character really brought some depth to the show,” a third said. “He will be missed.”
Fellow actors and industry professionals have been sharing their memories of a man who transitioned from decades behind the scenes to becoming one of television‘s most recognizable faces.
The irony wasn’t lost on the actor, as he once reflected, per The Independent: “You spend your whole career backstage. Nobody knows who you are or even knows your name.
“They don’t know anything about you. And then you do a television show, and suddenly you’re a celebrity and everyone knows your face. It’s so weird.”
The man being remembered today is Jerry Adler, whose path to on-screen success was anything but conventional.
Born into an entertainment family with deep roots in Jewish and Yiddish theater, he spent over five decades working behind the scenes on Broadway productions.
His father, Philip Adler, was a general manager for the famed Group Theatre and Broadway shows, The Guardian reports, while his cousin was the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler, who taught stars including Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, and Robert De Niro.
“I’m a creature of nepotism,” he once joked to TheaterMania in 2015.
“I got my first job when I was at Syracuse University, and my father, the general manager of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, called me because there was an opening for an assistant stage manager. I skipped school.”
That early break launched a distinguished theater career that included working on 53 Broadway productions, serving as stage manager, producer, or director.
By the 1980s, however, Broadway was experiencing a slump, and Adler moved to California where he worked on television productions, including the soap opera Santa Barbara.
“I was really getting into the twilight of a mediocre career,” he told The New York Times in 1992, contemplating retirement.
However, Adler went on to have an acting career that spanned more than 30 years and included memorable roles across film and television.
Television became Adler’s primary domain, with recurring roles on Mad About You as building maintenance man Mr. Wicker, and appearances on shows ranging from The West Wing to Broad City.
But it was his role as Herman ‘Hesh’ Rabkin on HBO’s The Sopranos that truly defined his legacy.
The Jewish loan shark and former recording industry executive became one of Tony Soprano’s most trusted advisors, appearing across all six seasons of the groundbreaking series.
“When David was going to do the pilot for The Sopranos, he called and asked me if I would do a cameo of Hesh. It was just supposed to be a one-shot,” Adler told Forward in 2015. “But when they picked up the show, they liked the character, and I would come on every fourth week.”
Adler continued working steadily, notably playing law partner Howard Lyman on The Good Wife for 30 episodes and two more on its sequel series The Good Fight.
“I do it because I really enjoy it. I think retirement is a road to nowhere,” he told Forward. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I were retired. I guess if nobody calls anymore, that’s when I’ll be retired. Meanwhile, this is great.”
The veteran actor died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday at age 96, according to a family announcement confirmed by the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York.
No immediate cause of death was given. Adler is survived by his wife of over 30 years, psychologist Joan Laxman, and four daughters.
For an actor who once thought he was ‘too goofy-looking’ to act, Adler achieved something many performers only dream of, as he once noted: “I’m immortal.”
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