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After showing the TV production of The Fantasticks, I thought that it would be only right and proper to have the original 'El Gallo' from the 1960 production, Jerry Orbach, singing the legendary song he introduced, "Try to Remember." Though most people only know of him from his long year's playing Det. Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order, he really had a legendary stage career -- starring in the original productions such shows such as Carnival, Promises Promises (winning the Tony Award as Best Actor), Chicago (as the lawyer, Billy Flynn), and 42nd Street. Not to mention the voice of 'Lumiere the Candlestick' in the animated film Beauty and the Beast, which more young people probably know him for than anything. In fact, he holds the record for most performances by a leading actor in Broadway history. And I would not be doing my alumni responsibilities probably if I didn't mention he went to Northwestern. (Though it's possible he may have left school early to go to New York.) This comes from a TV special hosted by Tom Bosley in 1982, nine years before he began on Law & Order.
8 Comments
GregVB
6/16/2015 05:29:25 am
Thanks for finding this, Robert. I always thought he was a great actor on L&O, though the quips at the opening of each episode got a little tiresome (especially as they began to be copied by every CSI clone), but he was very believable. I was stunned the first time I heard him sing to think this very lovely, mellow voice was coming out of a face (and speaking voice) that looked like it had so many tobacco-ridden years behind it. And that smile! It would have eroded all that craggy credibility had he flashed it on L&O!
Robert Elisberg
6/16/2015 06:25:11 am
Greg, thanks for your note. What I forgot to mention above -- and I can't believe I didn't, though I think I did in a much-earlier post -- is that the second musical I ever saw *on* Broadway was "Promises, Promises" that he was the star of. (In fact, though the world knows of Dionne Warwick being the singer of "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," it was actually Jerry Orbach -- and Jenny O'Hara" -- who actually introduced it in the show.) So, for me, I *only* knew of Jerry Orbach as a musical comedy star, when he started on "Law & Order."
Ellen Holt
6/14/2020 06:57:52 am
Why does Bosley call Jerry “my little apprentice”?
Robert Elisberg
6/15/2020 05:28:29 pm
Ellen, thanks for your note. To my great shock, I was able to track down the answer. Remarkably, I found the full broadcast of this and will be posting it on the site here soon. And Bosley tells the story -- early in his career, he had to replace an actor on one day's notice in summer stock. He learned his lines, but not his entrances. There was a young apprentice interning who helped him -- and that was Jerry Orbach!
ELLEN HOLT
6/15/2020 05:45:08 pm
THANK YOU! A friend and I have spent the past few years trying to figure this one out!
Penny Davis
6/17/2020 11:27:45 am
Robert, thank you. As Ellen said, we've been wondering about this for a long time!
Robert Elisberg
6/15/2020 09:28:13 pm
We aims to please. Another service from Elisberg Industries. I just watched the full special tonight, and it was tremendous. I'll try and post it this weekend, unless other news gets in the way. The video image is a little washed out and fuzzy, but the content is remarkable. And the full "apprentice" story is there.
Robert
6/17/2020 12:51:18 pm
Penny, thanks for your note. Glad I was able to get to the bottom of the comment -- it's a great story. As I said, the full special is loaded with gems (some of which I've posted on my site as individual clips), and hopefully I'll post it here over the weekend. But if not this weekend, soon. Leave a Reply. |
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 
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