Tributes Pour In After ‘Sopranos’ Star’s Death Is Confirmed
Jerry Adler, the actor who became well known for his role as Hesh Rabkin on The Sopranos, has died at the age of 96.
His friend Frank J. Reilly shared the news on X, writing, “The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96. You know him from one of his iconic roles had from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65.”
The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96. You know him from one of his iconic roles had from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65. Check out his IMDb page. https://t.co/BeOLeEliOb pic.twitter.com/fnbB8soWy4
— Frank J. Reilly 🌻 (@FrankJReilly1) August 23, 2025
Adler had a long career in both theater and television. On The Sopranos, he played Hesh, an adviser and longtime friend to Tony Soprano.
In The Good Wife and its spinoff The Good Fight, he took on the part of Howard Lyman, a loud and often crude lawyer. He also showed up in Rescue Me as Sidney Feinberg, a deputy chief with the New York Fire Department.
He was born in Brooklyn on February 4, 1929. His cousin was the famous acting teacher Stella Adler, and his father worked for New York’s Group Theatre.
Adler first stepped into show business in 1950 when he became an assistant stage manager on the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Years later, in a 2015 interview with TheaterMania, he joked, “I’m a creature of nepotism,” remembering how he cut class at Syracuse University to take the backstage job.
For decades, Adler worked behind the curtain on Broadway. He was the stage manager for more than 50 shows, including the original 1956 production of My Fair Lady with a young Julie Andrews. He later directed plays and worked on television productions such as Santa Barbara and the 1985 Tony Awards.
Adler didn’t begin acting until the early 1990s, when he was nearly ready to retire. From then on, he became a regular face on TV and in films.
He appeared in shows like Quantum Leap, Northern Exposure, The West Wing, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Transparent and Broad City. On the movie side, he had roles in Manhattan Murder Mystery, In Her Shoes, A Most Violent Year and Driveways, among others.
Looking back on the strange turn his career took, Adler admitted it was surprising to be recognized for his acting after spending so many years backstage.
He told TheaterMania, “Having done so many shows on Broadway backstage in the dark, to be recognized now is so weird and something that you never expected. When I walk down the street now, it’s like ‘Hey, Hesh!’”
Adler kept working well into his later years, leaving behind a body of work that stretched from Broadway to some of television’s most acclaimed shows.
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