Hollywood and Broadway have lost a true titan with the passing of Jerry Adler, a man whose career spanned nearly seven decades from backstage to center stage, dying at the age of 96 in New York City on Saturday, August 24, 2025.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adler, known for iconic roles in "The Sopranos" and "The Good Wife," left an indelible mark on both theater and television, transitioning from a backstage wizard to a beloved on-screen presence.
Born in Brooklyn, Adler's early years were steeped in the arts, though not as an actor—irony at its finest. He was related to the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler, yet didn’t step in front of the curtain until his 60s. Now, that’s a late bloomer even conservatives can admire for sheer grit.
Adler's journey started in 1950 at Syracuse University when his father, Philip, handed him a gig as an assistant stage manager for "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Nepotism? Maybe, but talent kept him there.
“I’m a creature of nepotism,” Adler quipped in a 2015 interview for TheaterMania. Well, if nepotism builds a resume like his—stage managing the 1956 "My Fair Lady" with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison—who are we to judge? In a world obsessed with tearing down merit, Adler earned his stripes the old-fashioned way: hard work.
He worked on Broadway classics like a 1952 revival of "Of Thee I Sing," the 1966 production of "The Apple Tree," and the 1967 debut of Harold Pinter’s "The Homecoming." He even helped Zero Mostel dodge a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee. Talk about backstage drama that rivals any script!
Adler rubbed shoulders with giants—Arthur Miller, Marlene Dietrich, Orson Welles, and Katharine Hepburn, whom he assisted during the 1969 production of "Coco." He also directed a few Broadway shows himself, proving he wasn’t just a behind-the-scenes guy. His stories of managing Hepburn’s demands are the stuff of legend.
“We opened cold in New York City, and they were building the Uris across the street from the theater,” Adler recalled in a 2011 Hartford Courant interview about Hepburn’s quiet song being drowned out by construction noise. “She asked me to tell them to stop work when she sings that one song.”
Hepburn, not taking no for an answer, personally negotiated with construction workers to pause during her matinee performances—an anecdote Adler shared with a chuckle. If that’s not diva power with a purpose, what is? In today’s overly sensitive culture, some might call it entitlement, but back then, it was just getting the job done.
Adler’s acting career kicked off later in life, with his first on-screen role in a 1991 episode of "Brooklyn Bridge" on CBS. He was stage managing for the soap opera "Santa Barbara" in Los Angeles when he landed a part in the 1992 film "The Public Eye." Talk about a second act!
“The first thing he said to me was how much I reminded him of his father,” Adler said of director Howard Franklin in a 2015 interview. Surprised? So was he, but in an era where Hollywood often pushes untested talent for diversity quotas, Adler’s accidental stardom proves experience still matters.
He went on to captivate audiences as Herman “Hesh” Rabkin on "The Sopranos," a consigliere to Tony Soprano, and as the gruff Howard Lyman on "The Good Wife." Roles on "Rescue Me," "Northern Exposure," "Mad About You," and "Transparent" showcased his range. Even in his final years, he popped up as a Holocaust survivor on "Broad City," reminding us depth isn’t just for the young.
Adler returned to Broadway as an actor in 2000 with Elaine May’s "Taller Than a Dwarf," and in 2015, he played Larry David’s bedridden dad in "Fish in the Dark." He also penned a memoir, "Too Funny for Words: Backstage Tales From Broadway, Television, and the Movies," released in May 2024. A life well-documented, indeed.
“You spend your whole career backstage. Nobody knows who you are,” Adler mused in a 2017 interview. Yet, television made him a face everyone recognized—a shift he found “so weird,” but one that underscores how genuine talent eventually shines, no matter the woke gatekeepers of today’s industry.
Survived by his wife, Joan Laxman, whom he married in 1994, and his four daughters, Alisa, Amy, Laura, and Emily, Adler’s legacy is one of perseverance and adaptability. From managing sets for "Annie" to stealing scenes in films like "Manhattan Murder Mystery" and "Synecdoche, New York," he embodied the American spirit of reinvention. In a culture quick to cancel and slow to celebrate, let’s honor a man who built bridges—literal and figurative—across entertainment’s golden eras.
