“Law & Order” certainly
existed before actor Jerry Orbach’s arrival and after his
departure. But it was his wry, slightly hairy depiction of Det.
Lennie Briscoe that gave the show its heart, its humor and its
continuity.
On a show that valued storylines over character
development, Orbach made viewers care about Briscoe. They may not
have agreed with his tactics, but they understood why he did what he
did.
When he joined the show in 1992, it was just finding
its footing. When he exited last spring, having helped lift “L&O”
to NBC’s top franchise and most reliable hour of gallows
entertainment, he left a gaping hole in the show that will probably
never be sufficiently filled as this season’s lagging ratings can
attest.
Set to bring Briscoe back to the small screen in an
upcoming “L&O” spinoff, Orbach died last Tuesday at age 69
of prostate cancer. His passing marked not only a blow for “Law
& Order: Trial by Jury,” the franchise’s third spinoff, but
also the end for a man who achieved his biggest triumphs in a medium
few people saw him on, the stage.
Orbach’s was one of the most recent, and one of the
most surprising, deaths of 2004, when the media world also lost
Julia Child, Alistair Cooke and Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo),
among many others.
Orbach was one of those character actors with the great
acting chops and not-so-pretty face who we take for granted on
television. He played a world-weary recovering alcoholic on “L&O,”
where his dry one-liners upon finding yet another dead body became
his trademark.
If anyone else had delivered those lines, they would
have sounded flip. But Orbach managed to make them meaningful,
adding dimension to his character on the original plot-driven show
that has inspired so many other police procedurals.
Orbach lasted 12 years on “L&O,” the longest
tenure of any cast member. Though his partners changed – pretty
boys Chris Noth, Benjamin Bratt and Jesse Martin have all cycled
through – his New York accent never did.
In one of the show’s most memorable episodes, Briscoe
fell off the wagon and was driven home from a bar by then-assistant
district attorney Jill Hennessey. A drunk driver hit their car,
killing Hennessey’s character and sending Briscoe into a shame
spiral. Though the show rarely took the time to showcase its
characters like that, Orbach’s performance made many wonder why.
Orbach became better known as the “L&O”
guy, but he began his career on Broadway. He originated the role of
the Narrator in “The Fantasticks” and won a Tony for “Promises,
Promises.”
The Bronx-born actor also had a soft side. He played
Lumiere, the talking candelabra, in Disney’s animated film “Beauty
and the Beast.” He was also Jennifer Grey’s disapproving father
in the 1980s teen favorite “Dirty Dancing.”
Orbach did film a minor role in several “Trial by
Jury” episodes while receiving treatment for prostate cancer. Even
a few more minutes with Det. Briscoe is welcome.
Here’s a look at some of the other influential
media people who died last year.
Christopher Reeve, 52
The classically trained actor achieved fame as a comic
book character, playing Superman in four big-screen movies. But it
was his small-screen accomplishments that received the most acclaim
after the horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed in 1995.
That only seemed fitting, considering he got his start as a regular
on the soap “Love of Life.”
He returned to television with the remake of Alfred
Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” several years after the accident and
remained active as both a director and an actor, filming a role on
TV’s Superman-as-a-teen drama “Smallville” two years ago.
Reeve died in October, weeks before his A&E movie “The Brooke
Ellison Story,” about a paraplegic girl, aired.
Jack Paar, 85
If not for him there would be no Jay Leno, no David
Letterman, no Jon Stewart. Paar paved the path for a legion of
late-night comics as host of the “Tonight Show” from 1957 to
1962. He died last January at age 85.
In a black-and-white television era, Paar had color. He
famously walked off the NBC set in 1960 after the network censored
his reference to a water closet (the British term for bathroom). The
hot-headed comedian returned three weeks later with a knowing nod to
his absence, opening his monologue with, “As I was saying before I
was interrupted.”
Julia Child, 91
She could have been a food snob, the best-known chef in
the nation, host of a beloved TV cooking show and author of
countless best-selling recipe books. But Julia Child, who died in
August at age 91, was quite the opposite. She was as apt to enjoy a
Filet o’ Fish as a filet mignon and not afraid to tell her fans as
such.
Her television show transcended its public
television roots to become well-known across pop culture – famous
enough, in fact, for good-natured spoofs on “Saturday Night Live,”
“The Cosby Show” and other venues. It’s quite possible that
without Julia, we never would have gotten Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray
and the other domestic goddesses she inspired.
Bob Keeshan, 76
In 2003 the world lost Mr. Rogers. 2004 robbed us of
Bob Keeshan, aka Captain Kangaroo, the embodiment of wholesome
children’s entertainment. Keeshan began his career as a page at
NBC. His kids’ series debuted on CBS in 1955 and ran for 30 years
before moving to PBS for another six. Even those who grew up too
early for “Captain Kangaroo” knew Keeshan – he played “Howdy
Doody’s” mute clown Clarabell, who finally spoke one word in the
show’s series finale, “goodbye.” He died in January after a
long illness.
Alistair Cooke, 95
It’s hard to say whether Alistair Cooke was an
American with a British brogue or a Brit masquerading as an American
anthropologist. Whatever the answer, Cook achieved fame as a
cultural interpreter, reveling in Americans’ unfamiliar culture
while explaining it to his fellow Brits. He spent 58 years with the
BBC and broadcast his final “Letter from America” radio show
just a week before his death in March at age 95.
In addition to the BBC show, Cooke hosted “Masterpiece
Theater” on PBS from 1971 to 1992, introducing audiences to
British classics like “Upstairs, Downstairs” and “I, Claudius.”
Other notable media deaths of 2004:
Anita Addison (former CBS vice president) 54
David Bailey (soap opera actor) 71
Richard Biggs (actor, “Babylon 5”) 44
Morgan T. Browne (former Bill Communications president) 84
Mary-Ellis Bunim (MTV’s “Real World” co-creator) 57
Sandra Burton (Time correspondent) 62
Robert Colesberry (“The Wire” executive producer) 57
Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell (WETA founder) 101
Helen Copley (former San Diego Union-Tribune publisher) 81
Rodney Dangerfield (comedian) 82
Marvin Davis (former 20th Century Fox owner) 79
Richard Edward Diamond (Staten Island Advance publisher)
Steven Dorfman (“Jeopardy” writer) 48
Teddy Ebersol (son of NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol) 14
Sam Edwards (actor) 89
Matthew Fine (Miami Herald advertising executive) 42
John W. Finney (a former New York Times editor) 80
Marshall Frady (“Wallace” biographer) 64
Philip L. Geyelin (Pulitzer-winning journalist) 80
Brian Gibson (TV director) 59
Spalding Gray (actor/author) 62
Marty Haag (Belo Corp. television executive) 69
Earl Hindman (actor, “Home Improvement”) 61
John Irwin (Viacom Plus senior vice president) 40
J.J. Jackson (former MTV VJ) 62
James J. Jordan (advertising sloganeer) 73
Larry Kamm (ABC Sports veteran) 64
Paul Klebnikov (Forbes Russian edition editor) 41
Anna Lee (actress, “General Hospital”) 92
Chuck Leonard (New York City DJ) 67
Alexandra Middendorf (“Junkyard Wars” producer) 52
William McClure (founding producer, "60 Minutes") 81
Larry McCormick (Los Angeles news anchor) 71
Mary McGrory (Washington Post columnist) 85
Jack Morton (Jack Morton Worldwide founder) 94
Scott Muni (New York City DJ/commercial voiceover actor) 74
Bob Murphy (New York Mets broadcaster) 79
Carl Mydans (Life photojournalist) 97
Brigette L. Parise (NATPE vice president of member marketing) 44
Robert Pastorelli (actor, “Murphy Brown”) 49
Tony Randall (actor, “Odd Couple”) 84
Ray Rayner (WGN children’s show host) 84
Joan Richman (CBS producer) 64
Lee Rudnick (TelAmerica Media/Admax vice president of station
relations)
Peggy Ryan (actress, “Hawaii Five-O”) 80
Pierre Salinger (presidential publicist) 79
Isabel Sanford (actress, “The Jeffersons”) 86
George Silk (photojournalist) 87
Gina Smith (National Cable Communications senior vice president of
sales) 47
Jack Smith (former ABC News correspondent) 58
Carrie Snodgrass (actress) 57
Matthew J.T. Stepanek (poet and frequent “Oprah” guest) 13
Michael Straight (former New Republic publisher) 87
John Tebbel (media historian) 91
Bill Ward (Los Angeles broadcaster) 65
Noble Willingham (actor, "Walker, Texas Ranger") 72
Paul Winfield (actor) 62
Adam Young (Young Broadcasting founder) 91
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