NEW YORK - "Law & Order" star Jerry Orbach has died of prostate cancer at 69, a representative of the show said Wednesday.
Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said.
When his illness was diagnosed, he had begun production on NBC's upcoming spinoff "Law & Order: Trial By Jury," after 12 seasons playing Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original series. His return to the new show had been expected early next year.
On Broadway, the Bronx-born Orbach starred in hit musicals including "Carnival," "Promises, Promises" (for which he won a Tony Award), "Chicago" and "42nd Street."
Among his film appearances were roles in "Dirty Dancing," "Prince of the City" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Akaran of Mistmoore, formerly Akaran of Veeshan I know I'm good at what I do, but I know I'm not the best.
But I guess that on the other hand, I could be like the rest.
Toshira wrote:Pfft. Sontag is much more of a loss than this guy.
Sontag was so far left she moved to China and wrote books nobody except the effete snobbish literati read, and she's "much more of a loss than this guy"?
He did an absolute ton of stuff for Broadway as well. I don't really watch tv much but he sure had the reputation as a terrific talent and will be greatly missed by many.
Toshira wrote:Yup...call me whacky. I hold people who encourage thought through writing in higher standing than those who entertain.
Oddly enough, Sontag herself would not support your opinion. She recognized value in certain realms of pop culture that most of the intellectual elite found "beneath" them. She had a lively sense of humor and even did a cameo in a Woody Allen mockumentary. I also expect should would find your "life scorecard" attitude immature. . .as many of us here do
Lalanae Burundi High Chancellor for Tourism, Sodomy and Pie
Unofficial Canadian, Forbidden Lover of Pie, Jesus-Hatin'' Sodomite, President of KFC (Kyoukan Fan Club), hawt, perververted, intellectual submissive with E.S.P (Extra Sexual Persuasion)
I'm sure that you treat, react, and interact with all of the people you meet with the exact same behavior regardless of their "station" in life.
I am being honest about the things that people do that I admire and respect more than others. If that's immaturity in the world you live in along with the many others you so presumpteously speak for, so be it.
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Toshira wrote:Pfft. Sontag is much more of a loss than this guy.
This was immature, yes. Don't try and backpedal and act like you didn't come out with some twatty unnecessary comment to try and make people think you are an intellectual because you know who Susan Sontag is. The motivation behind your comment was incredibly transparent.
EDIT: And yes, I do treat people equally until they show by their comments or actions they are not deserving of it. I certainly don't Pfft someone's death because they didn't contribute to high culture.
Lalanae Burundi High Chancellor for Tourism, Sodomy and Pie
Unofficial Canadian, Forbidden Lover of Pie, Jesus-Hatin'' Sodomite, President of KFC (Kyoukan Fan Club), hawt, perververted, intellectual submissive with E.S.P (Extra Sexual Persuasion)
Does this dogmatism serve you well in the world? If my motivations are transparent, do mysterious and hidden motivations somehow make for more valueable opinions?
My original post, and remember, it is an opinion, was that to me, person A was more of a loss than person B.
You use intellectual like a curse word - as if striving for knowledge is something to be ashamed of. Somehow lamenting an entertainer is ok in Lala's eyes, because it's not a transparent move to rise above the hoi polloi.
Your dedication to keep people within the status quo is admirable.
Next time, why don't you try making a decent argument - perhaps suggesting that it is actors, when performing well, who not only convey the ideas and feelings that an author might write about, but enliven them as well.
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Get a fucking life Tosh. Orbach had a bond with a lot more people here than Sontag and yet, I don't hold his life higher or lower than hers. Pay your respects and shut up next time.
What would you say if ohhh, your mother died and I told you that she was no Orbach right at the funeral?
Arguing over who's life is worth more on a thread lamenting someone's death is a sad act by all parties involved.
Akaran of Mistmoore, formerly Akaran of Veeshan I know I'm good at what I do, but I know I'm not the best.
But I guess that on the other hand, I could be like the rest.
Lynks wrote:Get a fucking life Tosh. Orbach had a bond with a lot more people here than Sontag and yet, I don't hold his life higher or lower than hers. Pay your respects and shut up next time.
What would you say if ohhh, your mother died and I told you that she was no Orbach right at the funeral?
Yes, fall in line or face ostrization from the respctable VV masses. The same masses that participate in shit like dead pools.
Your analogy is weak and not applicable as well - unless Orbach happens to be your father. I would not go to Orbach's funeral and say what I said about Sontag, as that would lack tact. However, this is a public message board, where differing opinions fly all the time.
"Pay your respects and shut up" - laff. I didn't notice any memorial candles for sale at the VV store.
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Frankly, I don't care about either of the deaths. How about mourning the nameless 100,000+ people dead from one of the worst natural disasters in centuries instead of arguing about trivial bullshit like who's more important between an liberal writer and a network tv star. Entire fucking countries are completely devastated and somehow we're supposed to give a shit about either of these people right now?
Keverian FireCry wrote:Frankly, I don't care about either of the deaths. How about mourning the nameless 100,000+ people dead from one of the worst natural disasters in centuries instead of arguing about trivial bullshit like who's more important between an liberal writer and a network tv star. Entire fucking countries are completely devastated and somehow we're supposed to give a shit about either of these people right now?
For all of the death I've learned of in the past week, the only tears I shed were for Tabytha...not that I don't care about the rest, I guess it comes down to who you were closest to. 2005 New Year's Eve has been the most morbid I've experienced. Sometimes it's hard to smile at this cruel world.
Toshira wrote:Yup...call me whacky. I hold people who encourage thought through writing in higher standing than those who entertain.
Both are valuable to different types of people. Personally I find people I know to be a much greater loss then any celebrity or 'people who encourage thought through writing.' I am sure most people on this board will agree with that statement to an extent.
I sure as hell hope when I die, people don't measure me up to other people who died that day to try to calculate the loss, and on that note - you should hope that as well Tosh.
Frankly, I don't care about either of the deaths. How about mourning the nameless 100,000+ people dead from one of the worst natural disasters in centuries instead of arguing about trivial bullshit like who's more important between an liberal writer and a network tv star. Entire fucking countries are completely devastated and somehow we're supposed to give a shit about either of these people right now?
Personally I'm not going to mourn the deaths of either Jerry Orbach or Susan Sontag. I never read Sontag's work and I didn't like Law and Order, and if I had I probably wouldn't mourn them anyway. They're dead. It's too bad but it happens. I feel empathy for the pain that their loved ones must feel but I certainly don't feel personally affected or as if it is necessary for me to mourn or offer my respects.
Similarly, I don't particularly care about some random Indonesian fisherman who died in the Tsunami's. Again I feel empathy for those who were close to the random Indonesian fisherman, and I sympathize with the struggle they must go through to accept his death and to rebuild their homes and communities. The big difference is that untold thousands of people died simultaneously during the tsunami's.
The fact that someone died is relatively meaningless to me. The fact that their death causes extreme pain and suffering among the living does have meaning to me. I find it absurd to mourn the deaths of celebrities, as death is a natural process that happens constantly and I see no reason why the death of a celebrity should cause more pain than the death of anyone else. In the case of natural disasters, it is very clear that the amount of pain that results is worlds beyond the tears of various Law and Order devotees.
