Jerry Adler facts for kids

Jerry Adler (born February 4, 1929) is an American actor, director, and producer for theatre, film, and television. He is well-known for his roles in movies like Manhattan Murder Mystery and In Her Shoes.

On TV, he played Herman "Hesh" Rabkin on The Sopranos, Howard Lyman on The Good Wife and The Good Fight, and Mr. Wicker on Mad About You. He also appeared as Sam Stewart on Raising Dad and Fire Chief Sidney Feinberg on Rescue Me.

Early life

Jerry Adler was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He comes from the famous Adler family, who moved from a region called Galicia in Eastern Europe.

His parents were Philip Adler and Pauline "Polly" Goldberg. His father, Philip, managed many Broadway shows and touring plays from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Jerry's great-uncle was a Yiddish theater actor named Jacob Pavlovich Adler. Jacob's children, Stella and Luther Adler, were Jerry's cousins. Jerry grew up in a Jewish family where Yiddish was spoken. He was also the president of the Dramatic Club at Samuel J. Tilden High School.

Career

Jerry Adler started his career in theatre in 1950 as a stage manager. He worked on famous shows like My Fair Lady. Later, he became a production supervisor for many plays, including Annie.

He began directing plays in 1974 with a show called Words and Music. He also directed a new version of My Fair Lady in 1976, which earned him a special award nomination.

Acting roles

As an actor, Jerry Adler is perhaps most famous for his TV roles. He played Herman "Hesh" Rabkin on the popular show The Sopranos. He was also Mr. Wicker on Mad About You and Sam Stewart, Bob Saget's father, on Raising Dad.

He played Lt. Al Teischler on Hudson Street and Howard Lyman on both The Good Wife and The Good Fight. He appeared three times on Northern Exposure as Rabbi Alan Schulman.

Adler also appeared in an episode of The West Wing as Jules Ziegler, the father of a character named Toby Ziegler. He played the new chief Sidney Feinberg in the fourth season of the firefighter show Rescue Me.

Film appearances

His movie roles include Manhattan Murder Mystery, The Public Eye, In Her Shoes, and Prime. In 2014, he was Joseph Mendelsohn in A Most Violent Year.

From 2017 to 2019, he played Moshe Pfefferman on the Amazon series Transparent. In 2019, he appeared as Saul Horowitz on Broad City and Hillston on Living with Yourself with Paul Rudd. He also acted in Larry David's Broadway play Fish in the Dark.

Filmography

Film

Television