Broadway Veteran Jerry Adler, Known for ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘The Good Wife,’ Dies at 96 After Decades Behind the Scenes and a Successful Acting Career

Noted theater veteran Jerry Adler, who spent several decades in the shadows of iconic Broadway productions before transitioning into acting in his sixties, passed away at 96.

According to a brief family announcement confirmed by the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York, Adler died on Saturday.

Adler’s acting resume boasts notable roles on series like “The Sopranos,” where he portrayed Tony Soprano advisor Hesh Rabkin throughout all six seasons, and “The Good Wife,” featuring him as law partner Howard Lyman. However, before Adler ever stood in front of a camera for film or television, he had already contributed to 53 Broadway productions, primarily behind the scenes as a stage manager, producer, or director.

Born into an entertainment family with deep ties to Jewish and Yiddish theater, as shared with the Jewish Ledger in 2014, Adler’s father, Philip Adler, was a general manager for the renowned Group Theatre and Broadway productions. His cousin Stella Adler was a legendary acting teacher.

Adler himself recounted, “I’m a creature of nepotism.” In an interview with TheaterMania in 2015, he discussed how his father, the general manager of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, secured him a job as an assistant stage manager while he was at Syracuse University.

After a distinguished theater career spanning multiple decades, including the original production of “My Fair Lady” and collaborations with artists such as Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews, and Richard Burton, Adler departed Broadway during its 1980s slump. He relocated to California, where he worked on television productions like the soap opera “Santa Barbara.”

In an interview with The New York Times in 1992, Adler described his contemplation of retirement as being staved off by a casting opportunity for the film “The Public Eye,” after which he embarked upon a successful acting career that spanned over 30 years.

His television work included stints on shows like “Rescue Me,” “Mad About You,” and “Transparent,” with guest appearances ranging from “The West Wing” to “Broad City.” Adler even returned to Broadway, this time as an actor, 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.”

In 2014, Adler published a memoir titled “Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television, and the Movies.” When asked about taking on more acting roles in an interview with CT Insider, he responded, “I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.” In recent years, Adler and his wife, Joan Laxman, moved back to their hometown of New York from Connecticut.

Adler once expressed feeling odd watching himself on screen, at least initially, and found it strange to be recognized by the public after spending many years working behind the scenes. However, he acknowledged that there was an advantage to being preserved on film, as he shared with The New York Times back in 1992.