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Jerry Adler

For other uses, see Jerry Adler (disambiguation).
Jerry Adler
Born(1929-02-04)February 4, 1929
New York City, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 2025(2025-08-23) (aged 96)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
Years active1950–2019
Spouses
  • Dolores Parker (1950–?)
  • Cathy Rice (1978–?)
  • Joan Laxman (1994)
Children3
Relatives

Jerry Adler (February 4, 1929 – August 23, 2025) was an American actor, theatrical producer, and director. He was known for his films Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Public Eye, In Her Shoes, and Prime, and for his television work as Herman "Hesh" Rabkin on The Sopranos, Howard Lyman on The Good Wife and The Good Fight, building maintenance man Mr. Wicker on Mad About You, Bob Saget's father Sam Stewart on Raising Dad, Fire Chief Sidney Feinberg on Rescue Me, Moshe Pfefferman on Transparent, Saul Horowitz on Broad City, and Hillston on Living with Yourself with Paul Rudd.

Early life

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Adler was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 4, 1929,[1][2][3] to Jewish parents Philip Adler (1905–1990) and Pauline "Polly" Goldberg (1906–2000).[4] His father was a theater manager for dozens of Broadway and touring shows from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was general manager of the Group Theatre collective in New York and managed productions for Herman Levin and Alexander H. Cohen.[5][6] Adler's great-uncle was Yiddish theater actor Jacob Pavlovich Adler, whose children Stella and Luther Adler were his cousins.[7][8] He was raised in a Yiddish-speaking,[8] observant Jewish household.[9] Adler attended Samuel J. Tilden High School where he was president of the Dramatic Club,[10] and Syracuse University.[11]

Career

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Influenced by his family,[12][13][14] Adler began his theatre career as a stage manager in 1950, working on such productions as Of Thee I Sing and My Fair Lady before becoming a production supervisor for The Apple Tree, Black Comedy/White Lies, Dear World, Coco, 6 Rms Riv Vu, Annie, and I Remember Mama, among others. He made his directing debut with the 1974 Sammy Cahn revue Words and Music and also directed the 1976 revival of My Fair Lady, which garnered him a Drama Desk Award nomination, and the ill-fated 1981 musical The Little Prince and the Aviator. He also directed the 1976 play Checking Out. Other credits include Drat! The Cat!; a 1976 revival of Hellzapoppin starring Jerry Lewis; and Richard Rodgers' final musical, I Remember Mama.[15] In addition to theater productions, he also worked on television.[16]

Adler's first acting role was in 1991 in the television series Brooklyn Bridge.[8] The following year, he appeared in the film The Public Eye.[8] He began to receive several acting roles,[8] including a role in the television series Northern Exposure as Alan Schulman, Joel Fleischman's old neighborhood rabbi seen in visions.[14] David Chase, who worked as a screenwriter on the series, later created the drama series The Sopranos, in which he asked Adler to play Herman "Hesh" Rabkin,[17] an associate of the DiMeo crime family.[2] Adler played the role from 1999 to 2007,[18] and is perhaps best known for it.[17] He was also noted for his role as lawyer Howard Lyman on both The Good Wife[2] and its spin-off series The Good Fight.[19]

He also played Mr. Wicker on Mad About You, Bob Saget's character's father Sam Stewart on Raising Dad, and Lt. Al Teischler on Hudson Street.[14] In addition, Adler appeared in an episode of The West Wing as Toby Ziegler's father, Jules Ziegler.[20] Adler also appeared as the new chief Sidney Feinberg in the fourth season of FX's firefighter drama Rescue Me.[14] He guest-starred as Eddie's father Al in season three and season four of 'Til Death. From 2017 to 2019, Adler played Moshe Pfefferman, the father of Jeffrey Tambor's character, on the Amazon series Transparent.[21] In 2019, he portrayed Saul Horowitz on Broad City[22] and Hillston on Living with Yourself with Paul Rudd.[23]

His film screen credits include Manhattan Murder Mystery, In Her Shoes and Prime. In 2014, he starred as Joseph Mendelsohn in A Most Violent Year opposite Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac.[20][24]

He first appeared on stage in 2000.[17] He also acted in Larry David's Broadway play Fish in the Dark.[25]

In 2024, Adler published a memoir titled Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales from Broadway, Television and the Movies.[12]

Death

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Adler died at his home in New York City on August 23, 2025, at the age of 96.[2][3][19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 The Public Eye Arthur Nabler
1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery Paul House
1995 For Better or Worse Morton Makeshift
1996 Getting Away with Murder Judge
1996 Larger than Life Event Coordinator
1997 Six Ways to Sunday Louis Varga
1999 30 Days Rick Trainer
2005 In Her Shoes Lewis Feldman
2005 Prime Sam
2006 Find Me Guilty Rizzo
2007 The Memory Thief Mr. Zweig
2008 Synecdoche, New York Caden's father
2014 The Angriest Man in Brooklyn Cooper
2014 A Most Violent Year Joseph Mendelsohn
2019 Fair Market Value Victor Rosen
2019 Driveways Rodger

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1991 Brooklyn Bridge Bert Mendel Episode: "Old Fools"
1992 True Colors Mr. Green 2 episodes
1992 Quantum Leap Lenny Greenman Episode: "It's a Wonderful Leap - May 10, 1958"
1993–1999,
2019 		Mad About You Sgt. Panino / Mr. Wicker 12 episodes
1993 The Odd Couple Together Again Murray TV movie
1994–1995 Northern Exposure Rabbi Alan Schulman 3 episodes
1995 New York Undercover Mr. Ross Episode: "All in the Family"
1995 One Life to Live Len Hanen 3 episodes
1995–1996 Hudson Street Lt. Al Teischler 22 episodes
1996 Law & Order Judge Nathan Marks Episode: "I.D."
1996 Spin City Police Commissioner Episode: "Dog Day Afternoon"
1997–1998 Alright Already Al Lerner 21 episodes
1999–2007 The Sopranos Herman "Hesh" Rabkin 28 episodes
1999 LateLine Judge Fischbein Episode: "Protecting the Source"
1999 Tracey Takes On... Murray Episode: "Lies"
1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York Burt Hornstein 2 episodes
2000 Wonderland Perlman Episode: "Spell Check"
2000 Bull Max Decker 2 episodes
2001–2002 Raising Dad Sam Stewart 22 episodes
2002 The West Wing Jules Ziegler Episode: "Holy Night"
2005 CSI: Miami Cardinal Benedetti Episode: "From the Grave"
2006 The War at Home Jerry Episode: "The West Palm Beach Story"
2007–2011 Rescue Me Sidney Feinberg 34 episodes
2008–2009 'Til Death Al Stark / Eddie's Father 3 episodes
2010 Detroit 1-8-7 Max Elkin Episode: "Déjà Vu/All In"
2011 Curb Your Enthusiasm Minyan Member #1 Episode: "Mister Softee"
2011–2016 The Good Wife Howard Lyman Recurring role; 30 episodes
2013 Remember Sunday Sam TV movie
2014 Mozart in the Jungle Lazlo 2 episodes
2017–2018 The Good Fight Howard Lyman 2 episodes
2017–2019 Transparent Moshe Pfefferman 9 episodes
2019 Broad City Saul Horowitz Episode: "Lost and Found"
2019 Living with Yourself Hillston Episode: "Green Tea"

References

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  1. ^ Rose, Mike (February 4, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for February 4, 2023 includes celebrities Alice Cooper, Natalie Imbruglia". Cleveland.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Watkins, Ali (August 24, 2025). "Jerry Adler, Actor in 'The Sopranos,' Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Galvin, Shane (August 24, 2025). "Jerry Adler, 'The Sopranos' actor and NY native, dead at 96". New York Post. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  4. ^ "Marriage Licenses". Brooklyn Times-Union. Brooklyn, New York. March 16, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Veteran Theater Manager Dead at 84". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. Associated Press. January 29, 1990. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Jerry Adler Biography (1929-)". Film Reference.
  7. ^ "Jerry Adler Is In Transitions -- And 'Transparent'". Showriz. August 28, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e Mindell, Cindy (June 4, 2014). "The Sunshine Boys lights up Connecticut stage…with two veteran Jewish actors". Jewish Ledger. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  9. ^ Schleier, Curt (April 14, 2006). "Hollywood veteran keeping busy as Jewish 'Sopranos' mobster". j. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  10. ^ Funke, Lewis (June 6, 1971). "News of the Rialto". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "'Sopranos' star Jerry Adler, Broadway backstage vet turned late-in-life actor, dies at 96". ABC News. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Rizzo, Frank. "At 95, Jerry Adler of 'The Sopranos' shares stories of life on Broadway with Katharine Hepburn, Julie Andrews in new memoir". CT Insider. Archived from the original on June 30, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  13. ^ "The Sunshine Boys lights up Connecticut stage…with two veteran Jewish actors – Jewish Ledger". jewishledger.com. May 22, 2025. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d Barnes, Mike (August 23, 2025). "Jerry Adler, Actor on The Sopranos, The Good Wife and Rescue Me, Dies at 96". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  15. ^ Rizzo, Frank (August 26, 2017). "Actor Jerry Adler, 88, makes another transition". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on May 21, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  16. ^ "Adler, Jerry 1929–". encyclopedia.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  17. ^ a b c Schleier, Curt (March 25, 2015). "How Jerry Adler Became Hollywood's Go-To Jew". The Forward. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  18. ^ "Hesh Rabkin". TVmaze. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Walcott, Escher (August 24, 2025). "'Iconic' Actor Jerry Adler, Star of 'The Sopranos' and 'The Good Wife,' Dies at 96". People.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Oganesyan, Natalie (August 23, 2025). "Jerry Adler Dies: 'The Sopranos' & 'The Good Wife' Actor Was 96". Deadline. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  21. ^ Nicolaou, Elena (September 27, 2019). "How Transparent TV Show Ends, Finale Explained". Refinery29. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  22. ^ Singer, Jenny (March 4, 2019). "'Broad City' Had Holocaust Survivor Vape, Watch Drag". The Forward. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  23. ^ Zaltzman, Lior (October 30, 2019). "Paul Rudd's New Netflix Show Has an Icky Holocaust Scene". Kveller. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  24. ^ Jones, Benidamika (August 24, 2025). "When did Jerry Adler make his directing debut? Filmography and career highlights explored". SoapCentral. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  25. ^ "From Julie Andrews to Larry David: The Illustrious Career of Fish in the Dark's Jerry Adler". TheaterMania. March 25, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
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