Who watched the new Law and Order tonight?

Seeing Jerry Orbach made me so depressed. He just looked bad, and seemed to be missing that Lenny zip.

:-(

What time was it on?

9/8 Central

so is it Bebe every week in this flavor of L&O?

fine actor. But, yes, he did look really unwell. Seems to me he had aged 10 years since last year. L&O is not the same anymore.

The original was always my favorite, but it's been a little off this season. I'm leaning more toward SVU now. Tonight's was definitely different. We got to hear the defendant telling his attorney exactly how he did it.

this one is really different

it took a while, but I could get used to this

The original seems to have more of a conservative bent, while SVU seems to lean towards more liberal storylines and messages. I could never get into Criminal Intent, and this newest version didn't really hold my interest too much either (although I kept wondering why Lilith Sternin had gone into law).

*sorry no direct link

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Beloved drama teacher gave Orbach the shove he needed
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By Hal Boedeker
Sentinel Television Critic

March 3, 2005

Jerry Orbach, one of television's finest, is taking his final bows in a career worthy of a standing ovation.

The actor delivers his last performances at 10 tonight and Friday in NBC's new Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Millions felt a connection to Orbach for his witty acting as Lennie Briscoe, the plain-speaking New York detective.

The personal story of Orbach, who died of prostate cancer at age 69 in December, is a reminder how people's lives touch one another in profound ways.

No performer makes it to the show-business pinnacle on his own. Orbach knew that. The people familiar with him long before Law & Order cite a turning point in his life, one repeated every day across this country: A teacher inspired him.

Her name was Melba Wixom, and people still applaud her skills as a drama teacher in Waukegan, Ill.

"She saw in Jerry what Jerry didn't see in himself," says Barbara Van Heirseele Johnson, a fellow student who lives in Orlando. "She had so much energy and love of the theater and pulling out the best in you if you were in her drama class. Everybody looks to somebody who has pushed them along."

Teachers' contributions are often forgotten or overlooked, but a theater at Waukegan High School is named for Wixom, who died in 1979. Orbach, a 1952 graduate, acknowledged his debt to her in a 1993 interview in the Chicago Tribune.

"Although I had the lead in the junior and senior class plays and had always had the leads throughout my school years, I never thought of acting as a career until she gave me a push," Orbach said.

"The day I graduated she got me and Judy Jones apprenticeships at the Chevy Chase Summer Theater in Wheeling,'' he added. "I studied after that at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, and I've been in theater ever since."

Wixom reached Orbach with her offbeat manner, says Ellen Reinhardt, a retired teacher and administrator in Waukegan.

"She was the character to end all characters," Reinhardt says. "Jerry was a character too. I'm sure that drew him to Melba. She liked talented kids. He was a rebellious kid."

Al Rabin, who was a year behind Orbach in high school, also cites Wixom as an influence. Rabin, a former executive producer on Days of Our Lives, lives in Tarzana, Calif.

"She encouraged us in the entertainment industry," he says. "It worked for Jerry, and it worked for me. She was exceptional."

In the week of the Academy Awards, it's worth remembering that true acting success isn't about prizes, fashion or good looks. Talent and hard work are better guarantees of a long career. Arts education provides a sturdy foundation on which a performer can build. At Orbach's death, obituaries pointed to the diversity of his credits beyond his 12-year run on Law & Order.

New York theater brought him notable roles in The Fantasticks, Carnival!, Chicago, 42nd Street and Promises, Promises. CDs preserve his artistry in those musicals. The movies gave him meaty parts in Dirty Dancing, Crimes and Misdemeanors and the animated Beauty and the Beast, in which he sang "Be Our Guest."

Talent is like a chain reaction. Wixom inspired Orbach, and he passed it on.

Bebe Neuwirth, star of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, won a Tony for the Broadway revival of Chicago. At age 15, she saw the original production with Orbach in the role of Billy Flynn, which Richard Gere played in the film.

"I, to this day, believe he was the sexiest man ever on Broadway," Neuwirth says. "I think he was completely brilliant."

She says it was thrilling to hang out on the Trial by Jury set with Orbach and discuss Broadway.

"There must be 100 people on the crew and in the building," Neuwirth says, "and to a man, he was loved completely by everybody."

Last month he posthumously received a Screen Actors Guild Award as best dramatic actor on television for Law & Order. He had left the original show last season to join the Trial by Jury spinoff, which debuts tonight on WESH-Channel 2.

During his life, he never forgot where it all started for him. After he won a 1969 Tony for Promises, Promises, he called Wixom to thank her. Years later, she saw him perform in Chicago in the Windy City.

"She at that time had terminal cancer," former teacher Reinhardt says. "We went backstage. He was just absolutely charming to her. It was nostalgic, bittersweet. He knew she was dying. She knew she was dying. They were laughing. It wasn't maudlin."

Prizes, money and gossip grab many entertainment headlines, but the personal connections have the lasting value. In enjoying Orbach's final work, remember his teacher. If we want more actors of his caliber, we better hope there are more Melba Wixoms to recognize their gifts and inspire them.

Hal Boedeker can be reached at hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5756.

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