‘Sopranos’ Star and Broadway Veteran Jerry Adler Passes Away at 96

NEW YORK — 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’s acting repertoire includes “The Sopranos,” where he portrayed Tony Soprano’s adviser Hesh Rabkin during all six seasons, and “The Good Wife,” where he assumed the role of law partner Howard Lyman. Prior to his on-screen success, Adler had contributed to 53 Broadway productions, serving in capacities such as stage manager, producer, or director.

He came from a family steeped in entertainment, with profound ties to Jewish and Yiddish theater, as he shared with the Jewish Ledger in 2014. His father, Philip Adler, was a general manager for the illustrious Group Theatre and various Broadway productions, while his cousin Stella Adler was a renowned acting instructor.

Adler once remarked to TheaterMania in 2015, “I’m a creature of nepotism,” highlighting his entertainment lineage. He recounted landing his first job during his time at Syracuse University when his father, managing “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” informed him of an opening for an assistant stage manager, prompting him to leave school.

Following an extensive theater career, including involvement in the original production of “My Fair Lady” and collaborations with luminaries such as Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews, and Richard Burton, Adler departed Broadway during its downturn in the 1980s. He transitioned to California, engaging in television projects 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.

His anticipated retirement was postponed when casting director Donna Isaacson, a friend of one of Adler’s daughters, had an instinct for a challenging role, as reported by The New York Times. Intrigued by the actor’s perspective since he had previously been involved in castings, Adler decided to audition. Director Howard Franklin, who had seen numerous actors for a newspaper columnist role in the Joe Pesci movie, experienced “chills” during Adler’s audition, as the paper noted.

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.

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.