Sopranos star Jerry Adler dead

By BRIAN MARKS, US ASSISTANT SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR

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Jerry Adler, the actor and theatre director best known for his long-running role on The Sopranos, has died at 96. Adler's death was announced on Saturday by his family and confirmed in a post on X by his friend Frank J. Reilly.

Jerry Adler, the actor and theatre director best known for his long-running role on The Sopranos, has died at 96. Adler's death was announced on Saturday by his family and confirmed in a post on X by his friend Frank J. Reilly.

'The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96,' Reilly wrote, while sharing photos of Adler in some of his best-known roles, as well as a photo of himself with his late friend. 'You know him from one of his iconic roles and from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65. Check out his IMDb page.'

'The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96,' Reilly wrote, while sharing photos of Adler in some of his best-known roles, as well as a photo of himself with his late friend. 'You know him from one of his iconic roles and from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65. Check out his IMDb page.'

The late actor had a decades-long career in the theatre, but he was a late bloomer on screen and only began appearing in films and television in the early 1990s. One of his first major film roles was in Woody Allen's acclaimed mystery–comedy Manhattan Murder Mystery in 1993, and he later had major roles on shows including Mad About You, Rescue Me, The Good Wife and Transparent.

The late actor had a decades-long career in the theatre, but he was a late bloomer on screen and only began appearing in films and television in the early 1990s. One of his first major film roles was in Woody Allen's acclaimed mystery–comedy Manhattan Murder Mystery in 1993, and he later had major roles on shows including Mad About You, Rescue Me, The Good Wife and Transparent.

But it was his role on the era-defining HBO series The Sopranos as Herman 'Hesh' Rabkin that defined Adler's legacy. His character was a Jewish loan shark and former recording industry executive who was one of the most trusted advisors to Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini). Adler made his series debut on the pilot episode and continued with the series well into its sixth and final season in 2007.

But it was his role on the era-defining HBO series The Sopranos as Herman 'Hesh' Rabkin that defined Adler's legacy. His character was a Jewish loan shark and former recording industry executive who was one of the most trusted advisors to Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini). Adler made his series debut on the pilot episode and continued with the series well into its sixth and final season in 2007.

In his 2024 memoir Too Funny For Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television, and the Movies, Adler revealed that he initially accepted his role on The Sopranos against his doctor's orders. 'I was stricken with terrible stomach pains and went to my doctor in New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. I wound up with gastric problems and required an operation,' he wrote. After filming his first scene, he had to return to the hospital to recuperate before filming again.

In his 2024 memoir Too Funny For Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television, and the Movies, Adler revealed that he initially accepted his role on The Sopranos against his doctor's orders. 'I was stricken with terrible stomach pains and went to my doctor in New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. I wound up with gastric problems and required an operation,' he wrote. After filming his first scene, he had to return to the hospital to recuperate before filming again.

Adler's first major recurring series character was on Mad About You, on which he played the building maintenance man, Mr. Wicker. He later had recurring roles on Rescue Me and was featured in 30 episodes of CBS' The Good Wife, as well as two more episodes in which he reprised his character, Howard Lyman, on the sequel series The Good Fight. His final television roles were in 2019, including a humorous turn as a Holocaust survivor who sneaks away from his assisted-living home.

Adler's first major recurring series character was on Mad About You, on which he played the building maintenance man, Mr. Wicker. He later had recurring roles on Rescue Me and was featured in 30 episodes of CBS' The Good Wife, as well as two more episodes in which he reprised his character, Howard Lyman, on the sequel series The Good Fight. His final television roles were in 2019, including a humorous turn as a Holocaust survivor who sneaks away from his assisted-living home.

Adler, born on February 4, 1929, in Brooklyn, got his first big break in the theatre thanks to his father, Philip Adler, who had been a stage manager for major Broadway productions. Adler later rose up the ranks behind the scenes, working as stage manager, production supervisor, and eventually a director. Only in the early 1990s did he take up acting, landing a major part in Manhattan Murder Mystery and later appearing in films such as Synecdoche, New York (2008), A Most Violent Year (2014), and Driveways (2019).

Adler, born on February 4, 1929, in Brooklyn, got his first big break in the theatre thanks to his father, Philip Adler, who had been a stage manager for major Broadway productions. Adler later rose up the ranks behind the scenes, working as stage manager, production supervisor, and eventually a director. Only in the early 1990s did he take up acting, landing a major part in Manhattan Murder Mystery and later appearing in films such as Synecdoche, New York (2008), A Most Violent Year (2014), and Driveways (2019).

After becoming a bigger star than ever beginning in his 60s, Adler returned to Broadway in 2000 for Elaine May's Taller Than A Dwarf and later joined Larry David's Fish In The Dark in 2015. Adler is survived by his wife, the psychologist Joan Laxman, to whom he had been married since 1994.

After becoming a bigger star than ever beginning in his 60s, Adler returned to Broadway in 2000 for Elaine May's Taller Than A Dwarf and later joined Larry David's Fish In The Dark in 2015. Adler is survived by his wife, the psychologist Joan Laxman, to whom he had been married since 1994.

Woody Allen

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