He was a standout on both The Sopranos and The Good Wife, Jerry Adler, has passed away. He was 96 years old.
An obituary for Jerry Adler was written by his family, which said that he had died away on August 23, 2025, at the age of 96. Jerry, who was born on February 4, 1929, lived in New York, New York, for his whole life.
After the news was made, Adler’s friend Frank J. Reilly posted a memorial on X along with a number of photographs.
Jerry Adler, a terrific performer and a friend of mine, passed away today at the age of 96, according to, “Reilly wrote.” “You are familiar with him because of one of the famous parts he has played in a number of his guest appearances. It’s not bad for a man who didn’t begin his acting career until he was 65 years old.
At the age of 62, Adler made his debut in the acting world with the television series Brooklyn Bridge, which aired in 1991. Two years later, he was cast in Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery, which was his first prominent part. He went on to appear in a number of additional series during the 1990s, including Alright Already and Hudson Street, among others.
Towards the end of the decade, he had a part in the HBO series The Sopranos that would go on to define his career. In the film, Adler portrayed Herman “Hesh” Rabkin, a loan shark who was a valued adviser to Tony Soprano, who was portrayed by James Gandolfini, who passed away. In 1999, he made his debut in the show’s pilot episode, and he continued to do so until the show’s last season in 2007. Following a “long battle” with Alzheimer’s disease, Adler passed away when his former co-star on the program, Charley Scalies, passed away in May at the age of 84. Adler’s passing came after Scalies’ passing. Another one of his co-stars, Gandolfini, passed away in 2013 due to a heart attack at the age of 51.
After his stint on The Sopranos, Adler went on to play the part of Howard Lyman in the courtroom drama The Good Wife, which was another significant role for him. Beginning in 2011, he appeared in a total of thirty episodes of the program till its conclusion in 2016. In 2017, and 2018, Adler appeared in two episodes of the spin-off series The Good Fight, in which he reprised his role as the protagonist.
The actor was originally only meant to appear in one episode of The Good Wife before being hired as a series regular, according to Robert King, who is the executive producer of both programs. This information was disclosed on X.
Today marks the passing of Jerry Adler. He was so entertaining in a restaurant scene, shrieking, ‘I said ice cream, you dumb b—–,’ that we had him back for six years of The Good Wife and three years of The Good Fight, it was originally planned that he would only appear in one episode of The Good Wife, but King stated that the intention was to just have him for one episode. One of our most cherished partners in collaboration.
During the eighth revival season of the comedy Mad About You, which aired in 2019, Adler played his last performance that was officially recognized.
Joan Laxman, Adler’s wife, is the only person who will remember him.
