Talk:Jerry Orbach

Joe Gallo
Odd you can read about Orbach's friendship with mobster Joe Gallo on the gangster's wiki but not a word on this page about it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.166.119.60 (talk) 02:18, 15 September 2013 (UTC)

Ethnicity
Is he really Jewish if his mother wasn't and he was brought up Catholic? MOD 01:56, 13 April 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't really know how that works. I would guess in Faith terms he would be a catholic. Since unless your a Nazi mother you know what, the ancestry aspect shouldn't mean anything.
 * Incidently if Orbach was born in 1935 he was in his very late sixties when he left L&O. Surely Brisesco was over the retirment age?
 * User:Tobias1
 * He would be Jewish if he wanted to be. There is debate over whether the descent is male or female. Rabbinic Jews say female. Karaite Jews say male. Israel says any grandparent, as long as there has been no subsequent conversion. It would really have to be how he was raised. He could say he is half Jewish even if he was raised mainly Catholic.--Metallurgist (talk) 02:27, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Pool/billiards
I've heard Orbach was a notable pool or billiards player (such as "The Jerry Orbach 3 Ball Shot the Hard Way" pool trick shot ). Anybody know anything more about this? JordeeBec 03:51, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
 * This should definitely be in there. He was rumored to have been one of the very best players among Hollywood people.  When it is sourced, please add him to . &mdash;  SMcCandlish &#91;talk&#93; &#91;contrib&#93; ツ 09:28, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

The Ultimate New Yorker
It's hard to put into the article, but many native born New Yorkers such as myself regard Jerry as the best representative the city ever had. Obviously, he was a treasure of the Broadway musical theater, but also way he represented Lenny Briscoe is a perfect representation of the true New York city native. A likable guy with a cynical attitude, but always willing to help others when needed. I never met him, but always felt that I had GCW50 20:31, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that's definitely not something that needs to be in the article.Bllasae (talk) 20:30, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * No, it's a serious aesthetic question, how a fictional character can come to embody a place. Somewhat the way Maurice Chevalier came to symbolize the ideal Frenchman (or did, for fifty years), Orbach's character, Lenny, symbolized the ideal New Yorker, at least, according to the NY press. Lenny is, after all, a creation-- he's not a famous song and dance man like Orbach. Sometimes the actor succeeds so well, we don't see the art. New Yorkers would add that for a decade, the show was embraced by the NY media as "our" show.  I'd submit that was because of the Lenny character. The show fell apart quite quickly once Orbach died, and has been cancelled.Profhum (talk) 08:51, 2 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It should be in the article, but only if you can cite two reliable sources which say that he embodies the epitome of the American New Yorker. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the man and still do, but that is a very abstract thing to lay a claim to and is an opinion not based on fact. Show some facts, where it says this is true, then it is a legitimate claim. People saying it on the street to each other doesn't make it a fact. MagnoliaSouth (talk) 16:20, 21 October 2010 (UTC)


 * A Google search for "orbach new yorker" immediately turns up, on the first page, Mayor Bloomberg calling him "a quintessential New Yorker," with six others calling him "quintessential" and yet others calling him a true, consummate, or the ultimate New Yorker. Anyone who wants to take the time can find reliable sources. Colin McLarty (talk) 23:17, 28 October 2014 (UTC)

Wasnt he in Beauty and the Beast?
If I remember correctly, he was the candlestick's voice in a Disney movie production of Beauty and the Beast. I might be thinking of someone else, but I think he was in it.


 * you're right, he was. Xushi (talk) 11:56, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Edits To The Lede, 7/12/14
The edits that I made to the lede today preserved all of the information and most of the wording of the prior edit. What I did was to balance the three equally significant aspects of Orbach's career - stage, film, and television - and list them in chronological order. Orbach's stage work merited far more than an "also" at the end; he was primarily a stage actor for more than half of his long career, and it was that work that propelled him into film and TV. I also removed the unsourced comment from Elisabeth Rohm, which was anecdotal and did not offer any persepctive on JO's notability, and replaced it with a more relevant passage from the NYT obit.Sensei48 (talk) 07:29, 13 July 2014 (UTC)

Orbach the top celebrity champion on Jeopardy - worth a mention?
I watched Orbach eat the lunch of his competitors on Jeopardy. He won real money. Don't know if this is worth a mention, but here is a link... https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/love-dedication-30854/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.230.5.127 (talk) 10:18, 8 September 2020 (UTC)