Jerry Orbach - Try to Remember [From the Fantasticks] (1962)

[jsbach15]

What an exceptional treat to see all these photos of Jerry's performance in the "FANTASTICKS" as well as other plays/musicals. Thanks very much for uploading. Always a favorite.

[bslmbslm]

i love you jerry - made many things watchable

[jackpark7927]

Mrs. Gibson, my high school speech teacher, returned to school in the fall of '61 after a Broadway vacation and could not stop talking about a newcomer she'd seen in an off-Broadway musical called The Fantastiks. She said expected big things from him. As it turned out, Jerry became the Babe Ruth of the New York stage...more performances than any other actor.

[Dion1957]

I'm an actor and if I could have a a career like Jerry's I'd die a happy man.

[SueBeaWho]

He looks like he enjoyed life. I sure hope he did. And what a dashing fellow!

[lskarin]

Wow! Good find. I have the original recording and this rendition is better. By comparison, it was "stiff." There is at least one later Orbach rendition that is more "stylized" and I think inferior.

[Zen999the]

Thanks, John.



[Zen999the]

Wow! Just stumbled into this. The most talented performer who never really got the fame he deserved?

[Mannypacquia0]

@Zen999the yeah absolutely he shouldve definitely gotten big after these theatre performances and also after his big stint on law and order. like big as in box office hollywood movies in theatres bigg.

[carshagify]

Jerry Orbach lived in Fort Lee and I used to see him in the supermarket parking lot. Even near 70 he was still very slim, tall and erect, and had that shock of dark hair -- but I had forgotten his wonderful, young singing voice.

[gto66solstice08]

I had no idea of the depth of Orbach's skill set .... Bravo , Sir! RIP

[MsYahsicazibe]

charismatic and sympathetic to the late Jerry..

[4Topwood]

Multi-talented, much missed.

And what a lovely voice.

[unclerogue]

I caddied in a Celebrity Pro-Am Golf tournament for Andy Bean back in the 1990's and Jerry was one of his partners. He was such a distictive personality... very polite and friendly... a real class act.

[ToraYashaChan]

@unclerogue I'm jealous. I would have loved the opportunity to meet him. Unfortunately I wasn't at an age where I could ever get that opportunity to meet him. Orbach was pretty much the reason why I watched the original Law & Order series. I Loved his character on that show. I think I've probably watched almost every single episode that he was on throughout the years. He brought this humor to the show that was really lost after he left. He was a great actor and is greatly missed.

[savnsan]

Bravo, Mr. Orbach. You are missed. So is Lenny Briscoe - but at least I have reruns.

John, thank you for this lovely tribute.

[Dirschbag]

I had no clue the guy from Law and Order did musicals!!!!

[bigeeezy]

A great post

Thank you

[SueBeaWho]

When he was young he sorta had that John Cassavetes look. In my opinion BOTH VERY handsome. :-)

[Novaboing]

Beautiful. Well done and thank you.

[skewlboypin]

yeah, great voice, and a looker...even when he wasw in Law&Order he was still kinda cute. Most guys don't have that kind of shelf life.

[SueBeaWho]

Handsome dude and fantastic sexy voice!!

[jsabat28]

This was a really great tribute to Mr. Orbach.

Great job...

[SpringAwakened]

Beautiful song, beautiful actor. This song always makes me cry, not just because it's so gorgeous, but because Jerry's interpretation of it is just....it hits ya.

[wiccanlove1]

He was one of the most talented people to have ever graced the screen.......movie and television.

[Aggromerchant]

DC probably isn't the right place for a Jerry memorial , but, damn, it wouldn't be entirely inappropriate.

On second thought, put outside a pool hall somewhere.

[Aggromerchant]

My favorite American: Jerry.

DC probably isn't the right place for a memorial, but, damn, it wouldn't be entirely inappropriate.

[studiousgal]

Ah, Jerry Orbach, we miss you!!!

[corrys]

I never realized until today that Jerry Orbach could sing! This is one of my favorite songs and only thought it was sang by Andy Williams. The video brought tears to my eyes. I sure liked to watch Jerry in Law & Order.

[m3rrys0ngstr3ss]

@corrys Dude, he was also the voice of Lumiere!

[ryoushii]

I like the pics from Promises Promises too

[njva17420]

I remember my folks getting the LP of "The Fantasticks" early in its long run on Sullivan Street. My Dad really liked Jerry Orbach. I think he must have heard about Jerry from some earlier work of his, tho' I don't know. I always recalled that when seeing Jerry Orbach in "FX", "Dirty Dancing", and especially "L&O".

[neilnsue]

I loved him as Lenny on Law and Order. It was later that I found out about his other life as a wonderful singer and dancer-what an awesome talent. He also was a really nice guy. I do really miss him. He left too soon! RIP

[justdeepblue]

He was a cool guy -Thanks for posting.

[truth2748]

He had a good life and was loved my many.

[cruxto]

I always like Jerry Orbach. The first time I saw him was in the movie FX with Brian Brown. Orbach played a wiseguy. Then later I saw him on the sitcom Golden Girls , he played Dorothy's date.

[skiprydell1]

The best, most original (literally) version of this perfect song.

[csh]

thx for posting. man i miss him! :-(

[KDVinson]

Thanks for posting this.

[christopher242424]

Wow, where did he make Lili?

[bagot6]

@christopher242424

From what I can find, it was his first Broadway show. Pre. 1961.

[christopher242424]

@bagot6 Why on Earth I wasn't born 26 years before I did? I'd kill to see Lili. Well, being a new-born baby wouldn't help. It would be better if I had been born 40 years before my birth.

[bagot6]

@christopher242424 Tell me about it! Everyone tells me I'm stuck in some sort of time warp. Like it's a crime to like music twice as old as yourself..

[drdos1943]

@bagot6 If it is a crime to like music twice as old as yourself, then it must be a felony to enjoy music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. I had the privilege of seeing Jerry Orbach's performance as El Gallo in The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in 1961. He was a true artist.

[rakeuiff]

@bagot6 This production at The Sullivan Street Theater was an off Broadway production.

[bagot6]

@rakeuiff Thanks rakeuiff, I was referring to his production of 'Lili' though ; )

[ZombieBriscoe]

@bagot6 Do you mean "Carnival"? (It was the stage adaptation of "Lili", which was itself an adaptation of a novella.)

There used to be a really great video with Jerry singing "Her Face" from Carnival on the Ed Sullivan show, but sadly it was taken off Youtube a couple weeks ago and I haven't been able to find it anyplace else. (Anna Maria Alberghetti was in the clip too; she was excellent as well!)

[bagot6]

@ZombieBriscoe I stand corrected :) Certain places call it Lili and some call it Carnival. It ran from April 13th 1961-Jan 5th 1963 if anyone's interested :)

[PecanSandees23]

So lovely to see Jerry through the years.  I was a kid when I saw the original Chicago with Jerry, Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon. What a treat. Thank you for posting this.

[megarouge2001]

Is that James Earl Jones at 1:26?

[PecanSandees23]

@megarouge2001 Yes. That was a shot from the 1968 Tony Awards. The winners were James Earl Jones (I think for The Great White Hope). Julie Harris (I don't recall for what), Angela Landsbury (I think for Dear World) and Jerry Orbach for Promises Promises.

[crystalfer]

@PecanSandees23 TY for that .. I was wondering the same thing. I believe Julie Harris won that year for "Forty Carats"

[nancyfloressantos]

Everlasting song........

[robertatheo]

Loved him at both ends of his career - a true class act!

[moosekarloff]

He was one of the very few performers who was deeply, vastly, unrelentingly talented.

Lennie Briscoe is a small part of the entire role.

R.I.P. to one of the true greats of the modern American musical stage.

[l11432]

god bless us all

[SueBeaWho]

Beautiful video, beautiful tribute. TY!

[TheCaptainT]

Great song.

[thewillofthe313]

I looked this song up after watching The Golden Girls and they referenced it.

[redhead529]

Jerry, you could do it all; act, sing, dance. We miss you!

[1clarinet1981]

i've only seen jerry o as the jewish, new york city detective, on law & order...

wow, what a wonderful voice, although you'd never know thru the NY city accents on L&O...wow, jerry, you were MAJOR AWESOME!...i'll have to u-tube some more JO places!

[gwylliion]

look up some of his stuff from 42nd Street. (they have a performance from the TONYs from that show, Lullaby of Broadway is the song).

[charmoka]

This is awesome... thanks. It's a pity that his version done later at the White House has been deleted. That sure made the eyes moist....

[jansonp]

I agree, charmoka!  I hope someone else puts it back up.

[cmulwee001]

Good rarely heard original version. I also like the version by The Brothers Four.

[waxxjf]

I knew that he sang, but had never heard a song of his till a friend just linked Me to this, very much so impressed. Big fan of his from law and order.

[DavidinIrving]

Yes, he was a special man. He was espcially generous when we had dinner after seeing him in "42 Street" God bless his family

[Wellch]

Was the movie version any good?

[logancody07]

Jerry you are sorely missed. Who will replace you? No one. The day you left us the lights on broadway grew a little dimmer as well as our movie and TV screens. What an entertainer ... What an entertainer.

[steelguy04]

Jerry was a much more accomplished Broadway performer than his TV roles indicate. He's a Tony winner-42nd Street, Promises,Promises and a truly great stage singing voice. From El Gallo (pronounced El guy-o) to Murder She Wrote to Lenny Briscoe, he truly was great. R.I.P

[nancyfloressantos]

One of my all-time favorite songs.......a very beautiful version...."try to remember and if you remember.........then follow.....".

[TonyJenRock1]

ONE OF MY FAVORITE BROADWAY SHOWS Jerry was a fantastic actor a classy guy.

[Seattlecarnut]

Jerry Orbach. The first time I saw him was in the movie Dirty Dancing, with the now late Patrick Swayze. I've never known him to be a Broadway performer.

[catfan]

This track came off the 1962 album "Off Broadway," which is definitely available. Superb album, and superb work from a man so many of us miss after almost five years!!! Jerry, we miss you!!

[h49h49h49]

Thank you for posting this...... it is the definitive version of this song - Jerry Orbach - I only knew him as an actor - I really should get out more...

[kinksfan1956]

great performer - we should follow him!

[TheDiana822]

Can't thank you enough for this video post.

[ssolomonny42]

Wow Jerry did it better than any one. This was lovely.  I danced with my son to this beautiful version of "Try to Remember". I'll always love Jerry for this lovely song. He really was wonderful.

[BleuJean]

Whoa. Jerry looks hot at 0.53.

[ntrimm]

Thanks very much. So good to be able to hear him again after some #%$^& removed his other video of the song. You ever get down to Elizabethton, TN I'll buy you a burger and fries.

[11777766]

Jerry Orbach was a B'way musical star for several decades, and was in many big hits. He .finally began his TV career when there were few and fewer good musical roles. But his singiing in the Fantasticks was great, and it was the longest running off-Broadway show ever.

[Brummel25]

Happy Birthday,Jerry ( 74 )

October 20, 1935 --- December 28, 2004

[sammipink]

wonderful didnt realize he could sing

[poltallach]

Thank you! The original vid of Jerry singing this in The Fantastics was removed. Why...we don't know!

[budooo]

Great video. Jerry Orbach was one of my favorite actors. I miss him a lot.

Charles

[mrsandoz]

Beautifully done!

[l11432]

Wonderful!!!!