‘Sopranos’ Star Jerry Adler Dead At 96

Veteran character actor Jerry Adler from HBO’s “The Sopranos” died Saturday in New York City, his family shared.

Adler played the mob advisor Herman “Hesh” Rabkin in the hit series. He was 96 at the time of his passing, according to the announcement. The Brooklyn-born actor built a six-decade career that took him from Broadway stage management to television stardom. Adler appeared in 28 episodes of “The Sopranos” across all six seasons, delivering the memorable line “A hit is a hit” in the show’s first season.

Before his on-screen success, Adler worked behind the scenes as stage manager for the original Broadway production of “My Fair Lady.” The cousin of renowned acting teacher Stella Adler, he later transitioned to acting roles in films including Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” and Charlie Kaufman’s “Synechdoche, New York.”

Television brought Adler his greatest recognition. Beyond “The Sopranos,” he appeared in “The Good Wife” and its spinoff “The Good Fight” for nine years combined, plus the series “Rescue Me.” (RELATED: ‘Screaming In Pain’: ‘The Sopranos’ Star Jamie-Lynn Sigler Reveals Son’s Harrowing Health Battle)

Jerry Adler, Actor on ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The Good Wife’ and ‘Rescue Me,’ Dies at 96 https://t.co/2n4SO2UR38

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 24, 2025

“The intent was only to have him on one episode of THE GOOD WIFE,” showrunner Robert King posted on X. “But he was so funny in a diner scene, yelling ‘I said ice cream, you stupid b*tch’ we had him back for six years of Good Wife and three years of Good Fight. One of our favorite collaborators.”

Adler acknowledged the irony of his late-career fame in a 2017 interview. “You spend your whole career backstage. Nobody knows who you are or even knows your name. They don’t know anything about you,” he said to The Hollywood Reporter. “And then you do a television show and suddenly you’re a celebrity and everyone knows your face. It’s so weird.”

His family’s death announcement noted he “was a resident of New York, New York.”