Jerry Orbach

Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer who passed away at the age of 69 due to prostate cancer. He was an accomplished Broadway and Off Broadway actor and was nominated for Tony awards several times, where he won for his performance as Chuck Baxter in "Promises, Promises." He starred in in a TV crime drama "Law & Order" which brought him international fame. Born 1935 in The Bronx, New York, Orbach enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before moving to Northwestern University. In 1955, he moved to New York City to pursue acting and to study at the Actors Studio. In 1969, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor for his role as Chuck Baxter in the musical "Promises, Promises." In 1976, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical as Billy Flynn in the original productions of "Chicago." In 1987 Orbach appeared as Dr. Jake Houseman in the film, "Dirty Dancing.” Orbach starred as New York City Det. Lennie Briscoe in a TV crime drama, "Law & Order," whic