FILE - Jerry Adler attends the "The Good Fight" World Premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center on February 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Actor Jerry Adler, perhaps best known for his role as Hesh in "The Sopranos," died this weekend.
He was 96.
Jerry Adler death
Adler died Saturday, according to a brief family announcement confirmed by the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York.
Jerry Adler Broadway
The backstory:
Adler spent decades behind-the-scenes of storied Broadway productions before pivoting to acting in his 60s.
His theater career included the original production of "My Fair Lady" and working with the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews and Richard Burton, among many others.
By the numbers:
He has 53 Broadway productions to his name — all behind the scenes, serving as a stage manager, producer or director.
Adler left Broadway during its 1980s slump.
Jerry Adler TV and films
Big picture view:
After his theater run, Adler moved to California, where he worked on television productions like the soap opera "Santa Barbara."
Among Adler's acting credits are "The Sopranos," on which he played Tony Soprano adviser Hesh Rabkin across all six seasons, and "The Good Wife," where he played law partner Howard Lyman.
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."
What they're saying:
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.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from the Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York, as reported by The Associated Press. Background information on Adler’s career was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.