Jerry Adler, the versatile actor best known for bringing the character Hesh Rabkin to life on HBO’s The Sopranos, has passed away at the age of 96.
A Career Spanning Stage and Screen
Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Adler’s path to stardom was anything but ordinary. Before his on-screen success, he dedicated decades to Broadway as a stage manager, producer, and director. Over the years, he worked on 53 Broadway productions, including My Fair Lady, and collaborated with icons such as Katharine Hepburn, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Julie Andrews, and Richard Burton.
Coming from a family deeply rooted in Jewish and Yiddish theater, Adler often credited his career beginnings to that background. “My family was always involved in Jewish theater,” he once shared. His cousin was the acclaimed acting teacher Stella Adler, and his father, Phil Adler, was the manager of the legendary Group Theatre in the 1930s.
A Late but Memorable Acting Start
Although theater was his first love, Adler didn’t begin acting until later in life. In his 60s, a casting director and family friend encouraged him to try out for a role in Joe Pesci’s The Public Eye. His audition impressed director Howard Franklin so much that Adler soon transitioned into acting full-time.
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