TRY TO REMEMBER – THE FANTASTICKS – JERRY ORBACH
Long before he was a cop on “Law and Order,” Jerry Orbach was a very well-known, Tony-awarded Broadway singer and actor. This is from The Fantasticks and it may be one of the most deeply touching songs ever written. Especially when one is already deep in December.
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Categories: Daily Prompt, Music, Video
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
I did know he was a singer as well as an actor as I knew that he’d been in “Chicago”. I hadn’t heard this before and I think it shows off his voice much better than that part did.
I liked him very much in Law and Order too.
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He had three careers, really. Stage, as a singer/dancer/actor. Movies. Then, the long stint with Law & Order. I knew he had been a stage actor and singer because Garry told me, but I’d never actually seen him on stage — or heard him sing. I didn’t realize he had a Tony, either, or that when he passed, they dimmed the lights on Broadway — which is a very big deal. He was, apparently, a really great performer. He certainly was great on L & O.
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Always liked him.
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I had not realized he was the same guy as the Broadway star until I realized he had a theater named after him. And he really was the consummate New York cop.
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I do remember him from TV. Didn’t know he could sing.
Leslie
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His Broadway career was 25 years long, but then, by the time we knew him, he’d been doing movies and finally, Law & Order. I didn’t even connect the two people.
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I didn’t either….
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I watched and admired this fellow, but I never knew he sang. How lovely. Thank you for sharing this.
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There’s a Broadway theater named after him! The acting was his “next” career. I only learned from my husband that he was a Broadway star long before he was the cop on Law & Order. But having a theater named after him on Broadway? He was more than just any old star!
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I saw him act in a variety of roles on TV and classic movies and was so impressed with the man. Law and Order, I think, was secondary to those earlier roles…but it sure made his face ‘famous’. What a beautiful voice he had too! Clearly a cut above!
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Melanie, I saw “The Fantasticks” on Broadway and was familiar with Jerry Orbach as a musical comedy performer. “Try To Remember” has always been one of my favorite songs through the years. It’s wistful lyrics and melody were used often to embellish my news features.
Many people still think of Orbach as “Lenny Briscoe”, the wisecracking detective on “Law And Order” for many years. His passing (cancer) saddened many who thought of Orbach/Lenny as an extended family member.
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I remember when he died. It was a very sad day and the world lost something substantial with that. It’s rather sad that nobody new is stepping up to fill the big shoes these stars are leaving behind.
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Melanie, they tried to “replace” Orbach/Lennie on “Law And Order” with some excellent actors. But none could find that special spot that Orbach’s Lennie had. He was so real. Often, he diden’t need dialogue. His face, the bemused, cynical smile said it all. Orbach gave “L&O” its New York bona-fides.
It WAS a sad day when he passed away. Like a death in the family.
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