End of Watch: Det. Lennie Briscoe

As an inveterate Law & Order junkie, I'm deeply saddened this morning by the passing of Jerry Orbach.

Although news of Orbach's death came as a complete surprise, it makes sense out of a series of events over the past year or so: his "retirement" as Detective Lennie Briscoe from Law & Order, supposedly to lead the cast of the new L&O spinoff, Trial By Jury; the failure of the much-heralded L&O:TBJ to appear on NBC's fall schedule, and its ongoing lack of an official midseason starting date; the impending reintroduction of Chris Noth's Mike Logan character into the franchise as a guest star on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. (I now suspect that Logan is being revived to fill the role Lennie would have assumed on the new series.)

Although Law & Order has always centered on stories and minimized the importance of its continuing characters (the reason the flagship series has been able to weather numerous cast changes during its lengthy run), Jerry Orbach's Lennie was in many ways the heart and soul of the franchise. It wasn't a demanding role, but Orbach carried it with good humor and grace for more than a decade.

Many who only know Orbach from Law & Order may not realize he was a much-lauded, Tony-winning Broadway actor. He originated the role of El Gallo in the long-running musical The Fantasticks, and was the original Billy Flynn in the stage production of Chicago. And of course, he was the voice of the singing candlestick Lumiere in Disney's greatest musical, Beauty and the Beast.

He'll be missed.