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Jerry Orbach

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Biography

On Broadway, Orbach starred in hit musicals including "Carnival," "Promises, Promises" (for which he won a Tony Award), "Chicago" and "42nd Street." Earlier, he…more

Born

10/20/1935, New York City, New York, USA

Died

12/28/2004

Birth Name

Jerome Bernard Orbach

Gender

Male

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Credits

Star (7)

Role
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury
  D.A. Investigator Lennie Briscoe (Episodes 1-2)
  - S 1: Ep 2 Forty-One Shots
    3/4/05
  - S 1: Ep 1 The Abominable Showman
    3/3/05
- Law & Order
  Det. Lennie Briscoe
  - S 14: Ep 24 C.O.D.
    5/19/04
  - S 14: Ep 23 Caviar Emptor
    5/12/04
  - S 14: Ep 22 Gaijin
    4/28/04
  - S 14: Ep 21 Vendetta
    4/21/04
  - S 14: Ep 20 Everybody Loves Raimondo's
    4/14/04
  - + 269 More Credits
- Encounters with the Unexplained
  Himself/Host
  - S 2: Ep 26 Vince Foster - Suicide or Political Execution? / Were There Miracles Amidst the Mayhem of 911?
    8/7/02
  - S 2: Ep 24 Has the Lost Colony of Roanoke Been Found? / Are the End Times Here?
    7/21/02
  - S 2: Ep 25 Are We Creating Killer Insects? / Are Crop Circles the Language of Aliens?
    7/19/02
  - S 2: Ep 23 Where is the Lost Gold of the Incas? / Can Anyone Have an Angel Encounter?
    7/5/02
  - S 2: Ep 22 Will Global Warming Change Our Lives? / Have We Found the Garden of Eden?
    6/21/02
  - + 46 More Credits
- E! True Hollywood Story
  Himself
  - S 4: Ep 39 Dirty Dancing
    9/3/00
- The Law & Harry McGraw
  Harry McGraw
  - S 1: Ep 16 Maginnis For The People
    2/10/88
  - S 1: Ep 15 Harry Does The Hustle
    2/3/88
  - S 1: Ep 14 Waiting Game
    1/27/88
  - S 1: Ep 13 Beware The Ides Of May
    1/20/88
  - S 1: Ep 12 Gilhooley's Is History
    1/13/88
  - + 11 More Credits
- Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers
  Zachary Foxx
  - S 1: Ep 65 Heartbeat
    12/11/86
  - S 1: Ep 64 Sundancer (2)
    12/10/86
  - S 1: Ep 63 Gift of Life (1)
    12/9/86
  - S 1: Ep 62 Tower of Combat
    12/8/86
  - S 1: Ep 61 Fire and Iron
    12/5/86
  - + 45 More Credits
- Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers
  additional voices
  - S 1: Ep 55 Horsepower
    11/27/86
  - S 1: Ep 48 Buzzwang's Folly
    11/18/86
  - S 1: Ep 46 Galaxy Stranger
    11/14/86
  - S 1: Ep 45 Supertroopers
    11/13/86
  - S 1: Ep 42 Scarecrow's Revenge
    11/10/86
  - + 10 More Credits
Recurring Role (2)

Role
- Disney's House of Mouse
  voice of Lumiere
  - S 2: Ep 4 Max's Embarrassing Date
    1/19/02
  - S 2: Ep 2 Not So Goofy
    11/10/01
  - S 1: Ep 17 The Mouse Who Came to Dinner
    10/13/01
  - S 1: Ep 16 Clarabelle's Big Secret
    10/6/01
  - S 1: Ep 13 Pluto Saves the Day
    4/14/01
  - + 3 More Credits
- Murder, She Wrote
  Harry McGraw
  - S 7: Ep 22 The Skinny According to Nick Cullhane
    5/12/91
  - S 7: Ep 16 From the Horse's Mouth
    2/24/91
  - S 5: Ep 19 Double Exposure
    4/30/89
  - S 3: Ep 16 Death Takes a Dive
    2/22/87
  - S 2: Ep 17 One Good Bid Deserves A Murder
    2/23/86
  - + 1 More Credits
Guest Star (29)

Role
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  Himself
  - S 11: Ep 58 Dave Chappelle, Jerry Orbach, The Candy Butchers
    1/20/04
- The Primetime Emmy Awards
  Himself
  - S 54: Ep 1 The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
    9/22/02
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent
  Det. Lennie Briscoe
  - S 1: Ep 7 Poison
    11/11/01
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  Det. Lennie Briscoe
  - S 1: Ep 15 Entitled
    2/18/00
  - S 1: Ep 4 Hysteria
    10/11/99
  - S 1: Ep 3 …Or Just Look Like One
    10/4/99
- E! True Hollywood Story
  himself
  - S 3: Ep 33 Herve Villechaize
    8/15/99
  - S 3: Ep 1 Bob Fosse
    1/3/99
  - S 3: Ep 16 Christopher Jones
- Homicide: Life on the Street
  Det. Lennie Briscoe
  - S 7: Ep 15 Sideshow (2)
    2/19/99
  - S 6: Ep 5 Baby It's You (2)
    11/14/97
  - S 4: Ep 12 For God and Country (2)
    2/9/96
- Empty Nest
  Arthur
  - S 5: Ep 4 . . . Or Forever Hold Your Peace
    10/10/92
  - S 4: Ep 16 The Mismatchmaker
    2/1/92
- The Academy Awards
  Himself - Performer
  - S 64: Ep 1 The 64th Annual Academy Awards
    3/30/92
- Law & Order
  Frank Lehrman
  - S 2: Ep 2 The Wages of Love
    9/24/91
- Who's the Boss?
  Nick
  - S 7: Ep 10 Starlight Memories
    11/20/90
- The Golden Girls
  Glen O'Brien #2
  - S 5: Ep 22 Cheaters
    3/24/90
- Hunter
  Sal Scarlatti
  - S 6: Ep 13 Son and Heir
    2/3/90
- Perry Mason
  Blaine Counter
  - S 11: Ep 2 The Case of the Musical Murder
    4/9/89
- The Hitchhiker
  Rick
  - S 2: Ep 13 Cabin Fever
    5/12/87
- Tales from the Darkside
  Robert
  - S 3: Ep 17 Everybody Needs a Little Love
    2/22/87
- Reading Rainbow
  Germ Squad Leader
  - S 4: Ep 9 Germs Make Me Sick!
    7/3/86
- Trapper John, M.D.
  Dr. Beeker
  - S 1: Ep 22 Hot Line
    3/30/80
- Buck Rogers
  Lars Mangros
  - S 1: Ep 21 Space Rockers
    2/21/80
- Dinah!
  Himself
  - S 4: Ep 181 June 13, 1978
    6/13/78
- Medical Center
  Josh
  - S 6: Ep 17 Captives
    1/13/75
- Diana
  Donald Kirby
  - S 1: Ep 12 Never,Never,Never Again.....Maybe
    12/10/73
- Kojak
  Guest Star
- Love, American Style
  Homer 'Arsenal' Andrews
  - S 5: Ep 22 Love and the Hoodwinked Honey
    10/19/73
- The David Frost Show
  Himself
  - S 4: Ep 23 October 20, 1971
    10/20/71
  - S 3: Ep 235 August 30, 1971
    8/30/71
  - S 2: Ep 232 July 24, 1970
    7/24/70
  - S 2: Ep 206 June 15, 1970
    6/15/70
- The Dick Cavett Show
  Himself
  - S 4: Ep 82 April 27, 1970
    4/27/70
- The Mike Douglas Show
  Himself
  - S 7: Ep 100 January 24, 1969
    1/24/69
  - S 6: Ep 104 January 25, 1968
    1/25/68
  - S 6: Ep 30 October 13, 1967
    10/13/67
  - S 14: Ep 196 Week of June 14, 1976
    6/14/76
  - S 11: Ep 70 December 8, 1972
    12/8/72
- The Merv Griffin Show
  Himself
  - S 4: Ep 194 June 1, 1967
    6/1/67
- The Defenders (1961)
  J.P. Loring
  - S 4: Ep 25 The Sworn Twelve
    3/25/65
- The Nurses (1962)
  Steve Ford
  - S 1: Ep 31 Field of Battle
    5/30/63
Special Guest Star (2)

Role
- Aladdin
  voice of Sa'luk
  - S 3: Ep 9 Aladdin and the King of Thieves
    8/18/96
- Kojak
  Brubaker
  - S 3: Ep 1 A Question of Answers (1)
    9/14/75

Trivia and Quotes

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Trivia
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- Emmy Award nominations In 1990, Jerry was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on The Golden Girls. He received another Emmy nomination in 1992 in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special for the role of Jack in Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound." In 2000, he was nominated a third time, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Det. Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order.
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- Jerry and the cast of Law & Order were nominated for 7 Screen Actors Guild Awards from 1997 to 2002 and in 2004, for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Jerry won the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (11th Annual SAG Awards).
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- On September 17, 2007, after Elaine Orbach's long battle with two community boards, the SW corner of 53rd Street and Eighth Avenue was named Jerry Orbach Way.
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Quotes
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- (discussing his Broadway debut in Carnival!) Jerry Orbach: It was slightly unrewarding. I did all the puppet voices and handled all the puppets —- and the puppets were reviewed as a separate entity, as though it was Jim Henson and the Muppets. It was really me, but nobody knew it. They said, "Oh, he's good, but the puppets are terrific!" I'd say, "Wait a minute, I am the puppets." That's the way it goes sometimes when you're the "stealth bomber." (laughs)
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- Jerry Orbach: Carnival! was a wonderful experience and a show that touched people in a very special way -- especially young girls. Every now and then, somebody comes up to me and says it changed their whole life, and made them fall in love with the theatre.
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- (discussing his character Lennie Briscoe) Jerry Orbach: [I don't know] where I stop and Lennie starts, really. ... I know he's tougher than me and he carries a gun. And I'm not an alcoholic. I know I wouldn't want to be him. I guess that's where I stop and he starts.
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