Entertainment
Jerry Adler, ‘Sopranos’ and ‘The Good Wife’ actor who spent decades backstage on Broadway, dies at 96
Jerry Adler, who spent decades behind the scenes of storied Broadway productions before pivoting to acting in his 60s, has died at 96.
Adler died Saturday, according to a brief family announcement confirmed by the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York. Adler “passed peacefully in his sleep,” Paradigm Talent Agency’s Sarah Shulman said on behalf of his family. No immediate cause was given.
Among Adler’s acting credits are “The Sopranos,” on which he played Tony Soprano adviser Hesh Rabkin across all six seasons, and “The Good Wife,” where he played law partner Howard Lyman. But before Adler had ever stepped in front of a film or television camera, he had 53 Broadway productions to his name — all behind the scenes, serving as a stage manager, producer or director.
He hailed from an entertainment family with deep roots in Jewish and Yiddish theater, as he told the Jewish Ledger in 2014. His father, Philip Adler, was a general manager for the famed Group Theatre and Broadway productions, and his cousin Stella Adler was a legendary acting teacher.
“I’m a creature of nepotism,” Adler told 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.”
After a long theater career, which included the original production of “My Fair Lady” and working with the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, among many others, Adler left Broadway during its 1980s slump. He moved to California, where he worked on television productions like the soap opera “Santa Barbara.”
“I was really getting into the twilight of a mediocre career,” he told The New York Times in 1992.
But the retirement he was contemplating was staved off when Donna Isaacson, the casting director for “The Public Eye” and a longtime friend of one of Adler’s daughters, had a hunch about how to cast a hard-to-fill role, as The New York Times reported then. Adler had been on the other side of auditions, and, curious to experience how actors felt, agreed to try out. Director Howard Franklin, who auditioned dozens of actors for the role of a newspaper columnist in the Joe Pesci-starring film, had “chills” when Adler read for the part, the newspaper reported.
So began an acting career that had him working consistently in front of the camera for more than 30 years. An early role on the David Chase-written “Northern Exposure” paved the way for his time on a future Chase project, “The Sopranos.”
“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,” he told Forward in 2015. “But when they picked up the show they liked the character, and I would come on every fourth week.”
Films included Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” but Adler was perhaps best known for his television work. Those credits included stints on “Rescue Me,” “Mad About You,” “Transparent” and guest spots on shows ranging from “The West Wing” to “Broad City.”
He even returned to Broadway, this time onstage, in Elaine May’s “Taller Than a Dwarf” in 2000. In 2015, he appeared in Larry David’s writing and acting stage debut, “Fish in the Dark.”
“I do it because I really enjoy it. I think retirement is a road to nowhere,” Adler told Forward, on the subject of the play. “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.”
Adler published a memoir, “Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television and the Movies,” last year. “I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice,” he told CT Insider then, when asked if he’d take more acting roles. In recent years, he and his wife, Joan Laxman, relocated from Connecticut back to his hometown of New York. Survivors include his four daughters, Shulman said.
For Adler, who once thought he was “too goofy-looking” to act, seeing himself on screen was odd, at least initially. And in multiple interviews with various outlets, he expressed how strange it was to be recognized by the public after spending so many years working behind the scenes. There was at least one advantage to being preserved on film, though, as he told The New York Times back in 1992.
“I’m immortal,” he said.
Offset has no plans to remarry following his divorce from Carbi B.
During an appearance on the latest episode of the Full Send podcast, the 33-year-old rapper made it clear that he is done with marriage.
When he asked if he would ever consider tying the knot again, Offset replied, “No. It’s not for me.”
“I’ve done it. Had three kids with it. It’s like a mission that’s been complete,” he added.
The Open It Up hitmaker further shared that marriage requires sacrifices he no longer feels willing to make.
“You see, I experienced it so I’ve already done it,” he reiterated.
When asked if he would recommend others get married, the rapper replied, “No.”
“I would tell you don’t get married,” said Offset. “I would say, unless you’re cool with changing your life entirely.”
“You got a partner that’s different. Especially when it’s written and it’s a real thing. Like is this partner’s different?” he added.
For those unversed, Cardi B filed for divorce from Offset in July 2024, after seven years of marriage.
The exes welcomed three children during their romance.
- Water discharge worst example of India’s water aggression: minister.
- Ahsan Iqbal says India stores water and suddenly releases it.
- Decries India’s failure to timely share information with Pakistan.
Pakistan has assailed India for essentially “weaponising water”, with Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal saying that New Delhi abruptly and intentionally discharged the torrents from its dams.
“India has started using water as a weapon,” Iqbal said while speaking on Geo News‘ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath” as he reflected on the wide-scale flooding in Punjab, which has left vast swathes of land inundated due to the overflowing of Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers.
With at least seven people losing their lives in Punjab’s Gujranwala Division due to flooding, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has advised Sindh’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh to initiate the evacuation of vulnerable communities residing along the katcha (riverine) areas and low-lying belts of the Indus River and its tributaries.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday issued a series of directives to provincial and district authorities to accelerate relief and rehabilitation efforts in flood-affected areas.
The chief minister has ordered the field presence of commissioners and deputy commissioners, along with immediate documentation of damage caused to homes and crops.
She directed the district administrations to restrict people from entering flood zones.
Separately, speaking in a video statement while supervising rescue and relief efforts in Kartarpur, Iqbal termed the water discharge as a “worst example” of water aggression by India.
“India stores water on rivers and suddenly releases it,” the minister remarked, adding that New Delhi’s water aggression posed a threat to lives and properties.
“Some issues are beyond national disputes and political differences. Countries should put all differences aside and ensure cooperation on the issue of water resources.
India has also made natural disasters a source of politics. India did not share information with Pakistan in a timely manner,” he remarked, adding that New Delhi’s failure to do so was “extremely regrettable and inhumane”.
The minister’s remarks refer to the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) which binds both countries to share information with each other on water discharge. However, the treaty has been put in abeyance by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in April.
However, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in June, in a unanimous judgment binding on both countries, issued a Supplemental Award in the IWT case and stated that New Delhi could not unilaterally suspend the accord.
The arbitration court’s ruling confirmed that India’s unilateral actions could not undermine the jurisdiction of either the court of arbitration or the Neutral Expert in proceedings under the IWT.
Although India reached out to Pakistan to warn about a potential flood situation — due to water discharge — the move was carried out via diplomatic channels and not through the bilateral commission as required by the IWT.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding plans have been revealed.
On Wednesday, an insider revealed to Page Six that the pop sensation and the NFL star plan to have a “casual” and “private” ceremony with family and close friends when they eventually exchange vows.
“It will be more casual than people think,” the source told the outlet a day after the couple announced their engagement.
Taylor and Travis announced their engagement on Tuesday, August 26, via a joint Instagram post.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the newly engaged couple penned alongside several photos showing Kansas City Chiefs star Travis proposing to Taylor.
Recently, Travis’ father, Ed, spilled shocking details about his son’s proposal to Taylor.
Speaking to News 5 Cleveland, Ed Kelce revealed that Travis’ proposal to the singer “didn’t go exactly as planned.”
He shared that the professional player wanted to make a proposal to Taylor a “big and special event.”
“He was going to put her off ’til this week, to, you know, make some grand thing, to make it a big special event,” said Ed.
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