Jerry Adler Dies at 96: The Man Who Gave Broadway Its Magic and The Sopranos Its Soul
Jerry Adler, renowned Broadway stage manager turned acclaimed TV actor, passed away at 96. From managing My Fair Lady to playing Hesh in The Sopranos, his career spanned seven decades.
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Jerry Adler, the veteran Broadway figure who reinvented himself as a celebrated television actor in his sixties, has died at the age of 96. His family confirmed he “passed peacefully in his sleep” on Saturday.
While many remember him as Herman “Hesh” Rabkin, the music impresario and confidant to Tony Soprano in HBO’s landmark crime drama The Sopranos, Adler had already spent decades shaping American theatre from behind the curtain.
A Broadway Life Before the Camera
Born in Brooklyn in 1929, Adler grew up immersed in stagecraft. His father, a garment cutter for Broadway costumes, introduced him to the theatre world, a connection that led to his first job as a stage manager while still in university.
Adler would go on to become a fixture on Broadway, credited on more than 50 productions. Among them: the original 1956 staging of My Fair Lady, where he worked with a then-20-year-old Julie Andrews; Katharine Hepburn’s turn in Coco (1969); and the smash-hit musical Annie (1977). He also oversaw revivals such as Camelot, starring Richard Burton.
Reinventing Himself as an Actor
After decades of stage management, Adler was preparing for retirement when an unexpected phone call in the early 1990s changed his life. A casting director friend asked him to audition for The Public Eye (1992), launching an entirely new career.
On The Sopranos (1999–2007), Adler’s Hesh Rabkin emerged as one of Tony Soprano’s most trusted advisors, bridging old-world mob culture with new-world business savvy. Fans praised the role for its quiet authority and moral ambiguity.
A Career That Came Full Circle
Even after his television success, Adler returned to his theatrical roots, acting on Broadway in Taller than a Dwarf (2000) and Larry David’s Fish in the Dark (2015).
Colleagues remembered him as a consummate professional who bridged two worlds: the precision of stage management and the creative risks of acting.
“Jerry’s story is proof that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself,” one longtime collaborator said.
Adler is survived by his family and a body of work that spans seven decades from backstage at Broadway classics to the unforgettable living rooms of HBO’s most iconic series.