Jerry Adler, 1929 – 2025

Character actor and director Jerry Adler, 96, died on Aug. 23. Adler was best known for his TV work; he played "Hesh" Rabkin on The Sopranos and Howard Lyman on The Good Wife. The Brooklynite was born into show business: his father was a theatrical manager, and he was related to the famed Luther and Stella Adler. Jerry began working backstage, and eventually directed such shows as Words and Music, My Fair Lady, The Little Prince and the Aviator, Drat! The Cat!, Hellzapoppin, and I Remember Mama. Adler made his film debut in 1992’s The Public Eye, later turning up in Manhattan Murder Mystery, In Her Shoes, Prime, and A Most Violent Year. TV was his bread and butter, though: Adler appeared in Brooklyn Bridge, Quantum Leap, One Life to Live, Mad About You, Northern Exposure, The West Wing, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Transparent. His grandson Joe Adler is also an actor. Adler recalled his first job, on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: “I was just out of college and my father was general manager for the show and there was an opening for an assistant stage manager. So there I was, 20 years old and earning $35 a week in a big Broadway smash. My main job was to lead Carol [Channing] around with a flashlight because she was terribly near-sighted and they didn’t want her to fall into the orchestra pit.”