Jerry Orbach

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Birthday:

20 October 1935, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

Jerome Bernard Orbach

Height:

187 cm

Jerry was born in the Bronx. His father, Leon, was a former vaudevillian actor, and his mother, Emily, was a radio singer. His family moved frequently and eventually settled in Waukegan, Illinois where he went to high school. The constant moving made him the new kid on the block and forced him to become "a chameleon" to blend in his new settings. He studied drama at the University of Illinois and at Northwestern. He then went to study acting in New York and got constant work in musicals. He slowly pushed to get acting roles in tv and movies, but was frequently overlooked because of his musical roots. Show less «

I used to say when I was working in the theater that if I ever had five seasons of a hit TV show I'd never have to worry about money and wou...Show more »

I used to say when I was working in the theater that if I ever had five seasons of a hit TV show I'd never have to worry about money and wouldn't have to do anything I didn't want to do . . . The 12 seasons on Law & Order (1990) really made that possible. Show less «

[on working on Law & Order (1990)] It's a lot more fun for actors to cry and rant and rave, or have a drug problem or a drinking problem...Show more »

[on working on Law & Order (1990)] It's a lot more fun for actors to cry and rant and rave, or have a drug problem or a drinking problem. Once in a while I get jealous of people who get to do real histrionics. But that's all right. That stuff's only about awards. It's not about people watching. People are very loyal to our show and they want to see the case resolved in an hour. Show less «

It may sound a little off the wall to say this, but having the opportunity to do this in this long an arc has given me - and is continuing t...Show more »

It may sound a little off the wall to say this, but having the opportunity to do this in this long an arc has given me - and is continuing to give me - a feeling that I'm doing something for the city and for the people of it and for the cops. I see it every day on the street. The profile of Law & Order (1990) has gotten bigger and bigger. And the way the city feels about us . . . it's like we're part of the good things that happen in the city. Show less «

When I first began in this business I was doing a lot of musical theater but the problem was that people wouldn't hire me outside of that. I...Show more »

When I first began in this business I was doing a lot of musical theater but the problem was that people wouldn't hire me outside of that. I wasn't being taken seriously as an actor so I started taking more dramatic roles and serious acting jobs and eventually it got to the point where people were saying, "I really like his stuff. Does he sing?" Show less «

[on why he decided to join the cast of Law & Order] Back in the early 60s my pal David Janssen was doing The Fugitive (1963). He used to com...Show more »

[on why he decided to join the cast of Law & Order] Back in the early 60s my pal David Janssen was doing The Fugitive (1963). He used to come home eight, nine o'clock at night, having gotten up at five in the morning, have one drink and boom! He'd fall asleep on the couch and we'd carry him to bed. I told myself, 'I will never do an hour drama. It's just too hard.' But then, as you get older... Show less «