'Law & Order' star Orbach dies of cancer

NEW YORK -- Jerry Orbach had a gift for charming audiences his entire career -- first as a song-and-dance man who starred in musicals on and off Broadway, then for 12 years as a sharp-tongued cop on TV's "Law & Order."

Along the way, he made films as varied as the gritty crime drama "The Prince and the City" and the smash romance "Dirty Dancing."

Orbach, who died of prostate cancer Tuesday in Manhattan, was beginning another chapter at age 69: He had taken his signature role as Detective Lennie Briscoe to NBC's upcoming spinoff "Law & Order: Trial By Jury."

With his hangdog puss and loose-limbed gait, Orbach was unmatched at playing the street-smart tough guy. A quintessential New Yorker, he personified his city's well-worn but implacable edge, embodying the Big Apple like few other actors.

Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called Orbach "a friend to all New Yorkers" and "a devoted ambassador of the city."

Orbach's long-time "Law & Order" co-star, S. Epatha Merkerson, remembered him "as a real good guy who knew everything and everybody. He had a real lust for life and the work he did, and it permeated throughout the set."

Of course, he presented quite a different picture as the world-weary, recovering alcoholic Briscoe. But even as Briscoe drooped from the burden of everything he'd encountered, both on and off the job, he sized up life with sarcastic asides. For instance, standing over a fresh body on which a receipt from a fancy restaurant was found, he muttered: "Dinner for two? Hope he enjoyed it."

Orbach had announced in early December that he had prostate cancer. His manager said at the time that he had been receiving treatment since spring, but declined to disclose any particulars about the seriousness of his condition.

Orbach is expected to appear in early "Trial By Jury" episodes when the show premieres in March.

Orbach started his career as a hoofer who also could carry a tune. Beginning in the 1960s, he starred on Broadway in hit musicals including "Carnival," "Promises, Promises" -- for which he won a Tony Award -- "42nd Street" and "Chicago."

"He was an anchor who brought style, security and razzle-dazzle to our original 'Chicago' company," said Chita Rivera, Orbach's co-star in 1975.