Jerome Bernard Orbach (
October 20 1935 –
December 28 2004) was an
American Tony Award-winning
actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as
Detective Lennie Briscoe in the
Law & Order television series. He is also noted for his
musical theater roles; most notably El Gallo in
The Fantasticks and Billy Flynn in the original production of
Chicago.
Biography
Early life
Orbach was born in
the Bronx, the only child of Emily (
née Olexy), a greeting card manufacturer and radio singer, and Leon Orbach, a restaurant manager and vaudeville performer.
[Jerry Orbach Biography (1935-)] His father was from Hamburg, Germany (of
Sephardic Jewish ancestry) and his mother a
Pennsylvania-born
Polish American Catholic, and Orbach was raised Catholic.
[JS Online: Fame finally catches up with 'L&O's' Orbach][Jerry Orbach; His `Law & Order' Role Fits Him Like a Glove - The Washington Post - HighBeam Research] Throughout his childhood, the Orbach family moved frequently, living in
Mount Vernon, New York;
Wilkes-Barre,
Nanticoke, and
Scranton,
Pennsylvania;
Springfield, Massachusetts; and
Waukegan, Illinois. He studied drama at
University of Illinois and
Northwestern University and then went to New York, where he studied with
Lee Strasberg at the
Actors Studio.
