Goodbye, Jerry Orbach!

What a shock! I can't believe he will no longer be gracing our homes with his TV presence, though he will live on in TV ReRun land forever.

Prayers and sympathy to his family!

It was sad to read he had passed away. It was reported last month that he had prostrate cancer but said the prognosis was good. He was my favorite on the show.

RIP

He was signed up for another Law & Order... Law & Order, Trial by Jury. They'd even started shooting. He was always such a great character on Law & Order. I also remember him as the dad in 'Dirty Dancing'. I guess he sang and did a bit of 'hoofing' years ago, as well.

He was so great and we are so sad. We really miss him on L & O. I thought he 'made' the show in a big way. I forgot he was in Dirty Dancing.

Broadway dimmed their lights for him. He was a Tony winner and a veteran actor in both musicals and plays.

Sheila

Law & Order is one of my favorite shows, I was so sad to hear of his passing. May he RIP.

So sad...he was incredibly talented.....

I just remebered he did the voice for Lumiere in Beauty & The Beast....I love that cartoon!

Here is a site I found that has some info on him in case someone doesn't remember who he was; http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-1371

He did the voice of Lumiere? Wow! I knew he did musicals and theater...and of course his unforgettable presence on L&O. But that's a cute bit of info to know about him doing Lumiere. I'd never in a million years guess that it was him. :-) Thanks so much for posting that. I'll never be able to watch that movie again with my kids without visualizing Jerry Orbach behind Lumiere. :-)

I was really sad when I my DH told me the news. My thoughts go out to his family.

-Julie

A real loss. The spin-off L&O - Trial by Jury - that he had signed on with may show the early episodes he had completed. If so, watching will be a really poignant experience.

I was home sick yesterday and sat around watching TV - He was on both "Murder, She Wrote" episodes I watched, then I watched 5 back-to-back episodes of Law & Order (too lazy to turn the channel while I dozed on the sofa!). When I finally got up and got ready for bed, I clicked on the news and it was the first thing I heard. How terribly sad! Seems unreal! They said he got the diagnosis around the same time as he filmed the first episode of the new series. Those episodes will be hard to watch...

I'm sure he felt blessed to have so many fans!

It's funny how we come to feel close to these actors who fill our TV screens every day or every week. There are so many episodes of Law and Order floating around the cable networks that you can see Jerry Orbach's face practically any time of night or day. It's sad that most of us have no idea how truly talented these folks are until they are gone.

He will be missed..... I was really looking forward to the new show ...... Law and Order is a great show but something is missing without Lenny ....... I loved his sense of humor ...... he had great one liners.....

How strange it must seem to the spouses and children of well-known actors. While they mourn the loss of a well-known loved one, we, as their fans mourn the loss of the characters they played. I suppose it is a great compliment that their skill is so great that they can truly make us believe in the characters they portray.

Longtime L&O fan here, too. I was sorry to hear about his passing; I've missed Lenny this year on Wednesday nights (his replacement is okay, but he's no Lenny Briscoe ;o)

Yes, Terry, I felt the same way. Jerry was Law & Order, at least the police side of things. Many characters have come and gone over a decade, but he's always been there. The actor that took his place is quite good. I've seen him in many films, but can't recall his name. I'm sure he was glad to get the part, but what a tough act to follow!

I was quite surprised to see a short segment on the news about Jerry Orbach in which he sang and danced... I wonder how we would have reacted had Lenny burst into song and danced on a squad car hood!