Jerry Adler, who spent decades shaping Broadway from behind the curtains before launching an acting career in his 60s, has died at 96. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, his family confirmed through Paradigm Talent Agency. No cause of death was provided.
Best known to television audiences as Hesh Rabkin, the trusted adviser to mob boss Tony Soprano in HBO’s landmark drama The Sopranos, Adler also won recognition for his turn as Howard Lyman, the eccentric law partner on The Good Wife.
Before stepping in front of a camera, Adler had more than 50 Broadway productions to his name, serving as stage manager, producer and director. He worked on the original production of My Fair Lady and collaborated with stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews and Richard Burton.
As Broadway’s fortunes declined in the 1980s, Adler shifted to television work in California, including on the soap opera Santa Barbara. But a chance audition — suggested by a casting director who was a family friend — jump-started his late-blooming acting career.
Director Howard Franklin cast him opposite Joe Pesci in the 1992 film The Public Eye. His film credits included Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery, while his television appearances spanned Rescue Me, Mad About You, Transparent, The West Wing, and Broad City.
Adler also returned to Broadway as a performer, acting in Elaine May’s Taller Than a Dwarf in 2000 and later in Larry David’s comedy Fish in the Dark. Last year, he published his memoir, Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television and the Movies.
Adler is survived by his wife, Joan Laxman, and four daughters.