The Sopranos actor Jerry Adler has died at the age of 96.

The passing of the star - who was best known for his role as Herman ‘Hesh’ Rabkin in the acclaimed HBO drama - was announced on social media on Saturday (23.08.25) by his friend Frank J. Reilly.

Reilly posted on X: “The great actor, my friend Jerry Adler, died today at the age of 96.

“You know him from one of his iconic roles, which he had from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65.”

Adler also starred as Howard Lyman in drama series The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight and as the New York fire chief Sidney Feinberg in the FX series Rescue Me.

Jerry was the cousin of the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler and spent much of his career working in theatre.

The New York native was a part of more than 50 Broadway productions and worked as the stage manager on the original stage production of My Fair Lady in 1956 - which starred a young Julie Andrews.

He took up acting later in life and appeared in films such as Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery and alongside Joe Pesci in The Public Eye.

Jerry gained popularity following his acting career and spoke of how life changed after taking up the profession in his 60s.

He said 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.

“And then you do a television show and suddenly you’re a celebrity and everyone knows your face. It’s so weird.”

Jerry’s Sopranos alter ego Hesh was a Jewish loan shark and a trusted advisor to Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) - and the actor explained how he defied doctor’s orders to accept the part as he had to have an operation at the time.

He said: “I was stricken with terrible stomach pains and went to my doctor in New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. I wound up with gastric problems and required an operation.”

Adler left the hospital the night before he was due to appear on set against medical advice and promptly returned after filming his scenes in order to continue his recovery.

The actor is survived by his wife, psychologicist Joan Laxman, whom he had been married to since 1994.

Malcolm McDowell doesn’t watch his daughter-in-law Lily Collins in Emily in Paris.

The 82-year-old actor’s son Charlie McDowell is married to Lily but he confessed that he has no interest in watching her in the Netflix series.

Malcolm told People: “To be honest with you, it’s not my kind of thing, and Lily knows that.

“But I’m the biggest fan of my daughter-in-law. I think she’s absolutely one of the great actresses.”

The A Clockwork Orange star hailed the “beautiful aura” that Lily, who is the daughter of musician Phil Collins, possesses which makes her standout on the screen.

He said: “She has such a beautiful quality.

“As far as I’m concerned, when she’s on the screen, there’s nobody else on it, because she’s not only a good actress, but she has a beautiful quality. I suppose, it’s a sort of charisma.”

Even though he doesn’t watch Emily in Paris, Malcolm believes that the French capital owes “a great debt” to Lily, 36, for the tourism she has brought in thanks to the series.

He said: “I’m sure (it) has gone up so much from people in the United States watching and going, ‘Yeah, let’s go to Paris.’”

It isn’t the first time that Malcolm has waxed lyrical about his daughter-in-law as he suggested last year that Lily has similar qualities to Breakfast at Tiffany’s icon Audrey Hepburn.

He said: “Lily is absolutely a star. I’m in awe of her work. I think she’s one of the best young actresses around.

“I love watching her — she’s got that Audrey Hepburn kind of thing going, which is indefinable in a way, but it’s there.”

McDowell added: “There’s a sort of light that shines behind the eyes somehow. She’s really fantastic. And she’s just like that, by the way — when you meet her, she’s what you meet and what you see is what you get. She’s delightful.”

Malcolm also explained that he doesn’t see his son and daughter-in-law as regularly as he would like because he lives in the US while they are based in Europe.

He said: “They’re both wonderful people. I don’t see enough of them. They live in Europe a lot of the time, so I don’t really see them that much, but when I see them, it’s always great to just hang.”