A general RIP

I'll return you back to your regularly scheduled hiatus (which will officially break on Sunday morning) but dammit, the news just keeps getting worse.

The entire world's covered the earthquake/tsunami that's ripped apart Southeast Asia, so like my fellow litbloggers, I'll point you towards this clearinghouse blog where you can learn more and find a requisite of links for aid, relief and other necessary items.

Susan Sontag passed yesterday (and Ed has links galore devoted to her), and now it's Jerry Orbach. For some reason, the latter hit me a lot harder than the former. Maybe because prostate cancer's so easily detectable that it seems a damn shame this wasn't diagnosed earlier. Maybe because when L&O devolved into preach-o-rama antics, Orbach could throw in a quip here, a line there that cut through the bullshit. Or maybe because I first knew of him from his musical theater days--The FANTASTICKS, CHICAGO, and much more, like his role as the Jewish dad in Dirty Dancing, long a guilty pleasure of mine.

From a mystery standpoint, he emceed the Edgars in 2003, and did what few thought possible--kept it moving, kept it brisk, and kept the ceremony under two and a half hours. Whatever he did, he was a consummate professional, and that simply cannot be quantified. He will be missed.

Comments

[Mary]

I agree, he did a great job with the Edgars.

[Elaine Flinn]

I agree, Sarah...he IS one of the few multi-talented pro's that we're likely not to see again..and will be so very missed by so very many.

[Margery]

The highlight of the 2003 Edgars (for me) was getting to sit next to him on the piano bench when the awards were being presented. Those were my first Edgars as a worker (went to many as a fan) and I loved meeting him. This is a huge loss. And I have Try to Remember on my iPod!

[Jim Winter]

I first remember Jerry Orbach from a somewhat forgettable MURDER SHE WROTE spinoff called THE LAW AND HARRY MCGRAW. The show was pretty dumb, but I watched anyway because of Jerry Orbach. Only he could pull off some of the lame dialogue and driving that impossibly decrepit Dodge Aspen (Wait a minute. My dad owned one of those. And maybe that was the car!). When the show was cancelled, I kept wondering why Jerry Orbach wasn't on a decent cop show. Several years later, I tune in to L&O and there he is alongside Chris Noth (who may be returning to the L&O franchise permanently). He was perfect. I'm going to miss him.

[Cara]

At the Edgars, I remember Margery vaguely coaching me '..go up the steps, don't trip, Jerry Orbach will shake your hand, announce the award, and then go back down the stairs, again not tripping.' Of course, when I did mount the stairs, luckily not tripping, the lights disroriented me, my heel stuck in the floor mat and I couldn't see. I felt a strong hand gripping mine, guiding me forward, saw a flash of beautiful white teeth and realized Jerry Orbach had steered me toward the podium and my co-presenter for the Edgar for Best Play Award. So kind and what a Pro!

[robert ferrigno]

fans of Jerry O should check out the film, PRINCE OF THE CITY, a story of police corruption in NYC, and the greater corruption of the internal affairs types who go after them. Jerry plays a tough cop with dirty hands, who hangs even tougher when the justice department are lopping off heads. he shows more honor as a guilty man than a supreme court judge. truely a great performance in a very dark and uncompromising movie.