Jerry Adler, the veteran actor and Broadway director best known for his roles in The Sopranos, The Good Wife and Rescue Me, has died at the age of 96. His death was confirmed by his longtime friend Frank J. Reilly, who paid tribute on X, writing: “The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler died today at the age of 96. You know him from one of his iconic roles and from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65.”

Adler’s career was remarkable for its late bloom. After decades working behind the curtain as a Broadway stage manager and director, he turned to acting in his 60s and went on to leave his mark on television.

In HBO’s groundbreaking drama The Sopranos, he played Herman “Hesh” Rabkin, a Jewish music producer and longtime consigliere to James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano, whose wisdom and candour shaped many of the mob boss’s key decisions.

He showed his range by taking on very different roles elsewhere , notably the blunt and often offensive attorney Howard Lyman in CBS’s The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight, and Deputy Fire Chief Sidney Feinberg in FX’s firefighter drama Rescue Me.

Adler’s long career also reflected his theatrical roots. Born in Brooklyn, he was a cousin of renowned acting teacher Stella Adler, and began in theatre as a stage manager before directing Broadway productions including My Fair Lady.

Although he only began acting on screen in his later years, Adler built a legacy that proved a career can take off at any age. On social media, many fans took time to pay their respects.

One wrote: “Hesh brought such a unique element to The Sopranos. A character that truly gave the show an extra layer of charm. RIP Jerry Adler.”

Another typed: “RIP to Jerry Adler, who was a key production contributor to the original Broadway versions of ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ and later pivoted to acting. He was so memorable as Hesh in ‘The Sopranos’. What a career.”

A third remarked: “RIP Jerry Adler. He started acting in his 60s, acted 28 years and still had several years’ retirement, all after working on Broadway productions since 1950.”