Sopranos star Jerry Adler dies at 96

Jerry Adler, a longtime force behind Broadway productions who later found fame as an actor in his 60s, has died at 96.

His family announced the news Saturday, with Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York confirming his passing. Adler “passed peacefully in his sleep,” said Sarah Shulman of Paradigm Talent Agency on behalf of the family. No cause of death was shared.

Adler was best known to many as Hesh Rabkin, Tony Soprano’s trusted adviser throughout all six seasons of “The Sopranos,” and as Howard Lyman on “The Good Wife.” But before stepping in front of the camera, Adler built an extraordinary stage career, working on 53 Broadway productions as a stage manager, producer, or director.

Coming from a family deeply rooted in Jewish and Yiddish theater, Adler told the Jewish Ledger in 2014 that his father, Philip Adler, was a general manager for Broadway and the famed Group Theatre, and his cousin Stella Adler became a legendary acting teacher.

Over his decades backstage, Adler contributed to iconic productions, including the original “My Fair Lady,” and collaborated with stars like Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews, and Richard Burton. But as Broadway hit a slump in the 1980s, he shifted to television, taking behind-the-scenes roles on shows such as “Santa Barbara.”

That changed when casting director Donna Isaacson—an old friend of one of Adler’s daughters—suggested him for a tricky role in the 1992 film “The Public Eye.” Director Howard Franklin, after auditioning many actors, reportedly had “chills” when Adler read for the part.

From there, Adler launched a second career in front of the camera that lasted more than 30 years. He appeared early on in David Chase’s “Northern Exposure,” which led to his work on Chase’s “The Sopranos.”

Though he appeared in films like Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery,” Adler’s most prolific work came on television. His credits include “Rescue Me,” “Mad About You,” “Transparent,” and guest roles on shows like “The West Wing” and “Broad City.”

He even returned to Broadway as a performer in Elaine May’s “Taller Than a Dwarf” (2000) and in 2015 joined Larry David’s stage debut, “Fish in the Dark.”

Adler released a memoir, “Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television and the Movies,” in 2024.

For someone who once believed he was “too goofy-looking” to act, Adler often remarked on how strange it was to see himself on screen or be recognised. But as he told The New York Times back in 1992, there was at least one comfort in being on camera: the work—and the man—were preserved.

With inputs from the Associated Press