Jerry was born in the Bronx. His father, Leon, was a former vaudevillian actor and his mother, Emily, was a radio singer. His family moved frequently and eventually settled in Waukegan, Illinois where he went to high school. The constant moving made him the new kid on the block and forced him to become "a chameleon" to blend in his new settings. He studied drama at the University of Illinois and at Northwestern. He then went to study acting in New York and got constant work in musicals. He slowly pushed to get acting roles in tv and movies, but was frequently overlooked because of his musical roots.
On Monday, 20th March 2000 he sued on-line auctioneer eBay Inc. in Manhattan (New York) federal court for displaying his Social Security number on the Internet. The suit alleges that eBay began broadcasting the confidential information on its Web site on Wednesday 15th March 2000 when it advertised the sale of two of Orbach's contracts from 1958. Spent part of his childhood in Nanticoke Pa. Created the roles of El Gallo in "The Fantasticks," Billy Flynn in "Chicago" and Julian Marsh in "42nd Street" on the New York stage. Father of Chris Orbach and Tony Orbach. Was partying at the Copacabana with famed New York mobster Joey Gallo hours before Gallo was shot dead at Umberto's Clam House in New York City He was an only child. Worked as a chauffeur for Mae West. Had read for the roles of Max Greevey and Phil Cerreta on Law & Order before finally being cast as Det. Lennie Briscoe. In 1976, he was nominated for the Tony Award® for "Best Actor in a Musical" for his performance in "Chicago." Announced on March 26th, 2004, that he would be leaving the series Law & Order after 12 years on the series. In 1969, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor (Musical) for his 1968 role of Chuck Baxter in the Burt Bacharach/Hal David musical "Promises, Promises", a stage adaptation of Billy Wilder's The Apartment. This was preceded by a 1965 Tony nomination as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for a revival of "Guys and Dolls," and followed by a 1976 Best Actor (Musical) nomination for the original production of "Chicago." Was one of the first in a long series of actors who have played multiple characters on Law & Order. Before he played Det. Lennie Briscoe, Orbach guest-starred as defense attorney Frank Lehrman in the 2nd season episode "The Wages of Love". The New York Landmark Conservancy declared him a Living Landmark. His manager, Robert Malcolm, announced in December 2004 that he has prostate cancer. However, Malcolm said, "We expect he'll be fine. He's been playing golf, shooting his episodes (of Law & Order: Trial by Jury) and doing real well". He is one of only two actors to play the same character (Detective Lennie Briscoe) on five different television series: Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. His sometime co-star Richard Belzer is the other one, having appeared on six different television shows as Detective John Munch. Had been battling prostate cancer for 10 years. Father was German-Jewish whose ancestry was Spanish Sephardic and Mother was Polish Catholic. Received the Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence at the 1999 Lucille Lortel Awards. Appeared in episodes of three different series with Jesse L. Martin: Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Appeared in episodes of three different series with Richard Belzer: Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On "Law and Order: Trial by Jury," when he was so ill that he couldn't speak above a whisper, they rewrote the scene so that he and the other characters around him all had reason to whisper (outside of a courtroom door). Along with Jesse L. Martin, Fred Dalton Thompson and Leslie Hendrix, he is one of only four actors to play the same character (Detective Lennie Briscoe) on all four "Law & Order" series (Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury). Appeared in episodes of four different series with Sam Waterston: Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Jesse L. Martin performed the song "Razzle Dazzle" from the musical Chicago at the 2005 Tony Awards just as the "In Memoriam" section of the show was finishing. The last photo shown during the memorial was that of Jerry Orbach, who was both Martin's costar on Law and Order and the first person to perform "Razzle Dazzle" in the original Broadway production of Chicago. Played the uncle of his real-life son, Chris Orbach, in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His character Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial by Jury character, Detective Lennie Briscoe, was the longest running character on American prime time live action television from May 2004, when Frasier ended, to March 2005. Kelsey Grammer had played Dr. Frasier Crane in Cheers and Frasier since November 1984. Richard Belzer, who has played Detective John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since January 1993, is the current holder of the title. Before joining the cast of Law & Order in 1992, he played a defense attorney named Frank Lehrman in the Season Two episode "The Wages of Love". Detective Lennie Briscoe, the character he later played on the series for twelve seasons, hated defense attorneys for defending "the scum of the earth." The Law & Order: Trial by Jury episode "Baby Boom" was dedicated to his memory. At the end, a message was shown that said "For Jerry". Is one of four cast members from "Law & Order" whose character became a regular on a "Law & Order" spin-off. He played Det. Lennie Briscoe in both "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Trial By Jury." Although he was signed as a regular cast member in L&O:TBJ, he died unexpectedly after shooting only two episodes. Along with Chris Noth, Dann Florek and Fred Dalton Thompson, he is one of four Law & Order cast members who later joined the regular cast of one of the spin-off series. He played Detective Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order from 1992 to 2004 and was a member of the original cast of Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Although he and Steven Hill appeared in 177 episodes of Law & Order and the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Entitled" together, the only time that they ever appeared on screen together was during one brief scene in the Law & Order Season Seven episode "Corruption". According to his book "Hollywood Animal", Joe Esterhaus said that when he was down and out, Jerry Orbach would fill his station wagon with groceries and deliver them to his house. Along with S. Epatha Merkerson and Annie Parisse, one of only 3 Law & Order cast members to play a different character in an episode before joining the cast in a later season. (Michael Imperioli also played multiple roles, but was not a permanent addition to the cast as Det. Falco.)