How the Late Jerry Adler Got His Start as an Actor: Guest Column

Jerry Adler , the celebrated character actor best remembered as Hesh on The Sopranos , died Saturday in New York at age 96. A veteran Broadway stage manager, the Brooklyn native didn’t turn to acting until he was 62. Here, writer-director Howard Franklin writes how he came to hire Adler for his first job in front of the camera. — Mike Barnes

In 1991, I was directing The Public Eye , a neo-noir starring Joe Pesci about a shutterbug modeled on the 1940s photographer known as Weegee. The casting director, Donna Isaacson, had credits that included 10 years of Cohn brothers movies and would soon be named head of casting at Fox. In other words, she was an ace.

Jerry Adler , the celebrated character actor best remembered as Hesh on The Sopranos , died Saturday in New York at age 9