# "Detective Lennie Briscoe," a posthumous tribute **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453 "2011-10-22T16:28:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/21 "2011-10-23T10:34:47Z")
The ADA’s are a whole 'nuther conversation. I actually never liked any of them. Maybe Serena Southerlyn a little bit. But for BAD prosecutors… ahhhh, no one was a bigger-badder more satisfyingly messed-up train-wreck-in-slow-motion than Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti). Okay, I’ve accidentally crossed over into L&O;SVU territory, but she was worth mentioning. Loved Fred Thompson. And REALLY loved Tamara Tunie (Melissa Warner, ME)–what a stunningly beautiful woman. Here’s a [list](http://www.imdb.com/list/Ah7FCZPgZNA/)I stumbled across on [IMDB.COM](http://IMDB.COM). Covers my favs, too, only leaves out a couple. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/22 "2011-10-23T11:44:43Z")
One reason I was sorry to see the show end was that the last season had quite a good cast - Lupo and Bernard in particular were the best detective pairing they had since Briscoe left. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/23 "2011-10-23T12:38:44Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I also rather admire the way that Orbach kept working on the show until it got the point where he only had a few more weeks left to live. While he was working within the L&O franchise when he died, he wasn’t on _Law & Order_ any more at the time. He’d semi-retired from _Law & Order_ at the end of the 2003-2004 season and continued the character in _Law & Order: Trial by Jury_ where he would be a district attorney’s investigator but had only done a couple episodes when he died. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/24 "2011-10-23T21:03:52Z")
> [@blinkie](#): > > He was also one helluva song and dance man. I’m surprised nobody has mentioned yet that he was the original Billy Flynn in the original production of _Chicago_. One of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite actors; I wish to hell I’d have had a chance to see that! ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/25 "2011-10-23T21:34:42Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I didn’t get into Law & Order until a couple of years ago, but it’s just about everyday viewing now- TNT seems to have it in reruns about four hours a day, and more on the weekends. One of our nicknames for the show at home is Law & Orbach, although we like Jack McCoy just about as much as much as Lennie and there were a lot of other good actors in there over the years (J.K. Simmons is a favorite of mine, S. Epatha Merkerson was always good, and my girlfriend is a fan of Rogers, the medical examiner). And still no love shown to LO’s best character: Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and his Bart Simpson sidekick. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/26 "2011-10-23T21:39:42Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has mentioned yet that he was the original Billy Flynn in the original production of _Chicago_. One of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite actors; I wish to hell I’d have had a chance to see that! Not to mention that he was the first El Gallo in the original off-Broadway production of [The Fantasticks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantasticks). Here he is singing [Try to Remember](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPoxZ1NPBY). It’s hard imagining Lennie Briscoe singing this one… ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/27 "2011-10-23T22:54:35Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > My ex-wife used to regard Orbach as Briscoe as the only real good to watch the show. I didn’t agree with that, but he was a terrific character > > ETA: She actually also really liked the original lieutenant (I forget his name), before S. Epatha came along. I never really understood why that was, though. I heard an interview with S. Epatha Merkerson and what she said was that NBC came to Dick Wolf and bascially told him to get some women on the show or it would be cancelled. That’s when they brought her and Jill Hennessy to the show. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/28 "2011-10-24T04:14:07Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’m surprised nobody has mentioned yet that he was the original Billy Flynn in the original production of _Chicago_. One of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite actors; I wish to hell I’d have had a chance to see that! Yup, a very talented guy. You can maybe see him briefly in _Guys and Dolls_ (1955) here, although judging by the YouTube comments not everyone’s convinced: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ5zoqYRS0k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ5zoqYRS0k) And you can hear him here, from _Aladdin and the King of Thieves_, singing one of my favorite recent Disney songs: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKKbuIw\_QbU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKKbuIw_QbU) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/29 "2011-10-24T04:21:24Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > And still no love shown to LO’s best character: Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) and his Bart Simpson sidekick. I can’t take any scene with Robinette seriously because of that haircut. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/30 "2011-10-24T05:47:15Z")
> [@](#): > > And you can hear him here, from _Aladdin and the King of Thieves_, singing one of my favorite recent Disney songs: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKKbuIw\_QbU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKKbuIw_QbU) and his other well known [disney performance.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afzmwAKUppU) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/31 "2011-10-24T12:03:05Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Here he is singing [Try to Remember](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycPoxZ1NPBY). It’s hard imagining Lennie Briscoe singing this one… Can you imagine Patrick Swayze telling him that nobody puts Baby in a corner? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/32 "2011-10-24T12:40:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > One reason I was sorry to see the show end was that the last season had quite a good cast - Lupo and Bernard in particular were the best detective pairing they had since Briscoe left. I agree. I was just saying to my SO that the last group of detectives and lawyers was the best there had been since the beginning (I’m including everything from Stone/Robinette/Logan/Greevy all the way to McCoy’s start). Serena Southerlyn will always be the turd in the punchbowl to me (sharing the honor with Detective Cassidy), but I think that’s a combination of wooden acting and the “shocker” last line from her that made no sense whatsoever. I really enjoyed Abby “No deals for anyone. Hang 'em all” Carmichael, but I think my favorite was either Rubirosa or Borgia. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/33 "2011-10-24T13:29:46Z")
Watched a bunch of L&O yesterday… so soothing to the soul. I’d forgotten how much I liked Det. Fontana with his fancy suits and smooooth manner. He and Green made a good team. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/34 "2011-10-24T14:16:05Z")
Jerry Orbach was also the star of the Broadway musical \*\*\*Promises, Promises. \*\*\* So, wouldja believe Lenny Briscoe was the first man who ever sang “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”? He also won by a landslide the one time he was on _ **Celebrity Jeopardy!** _ ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/35 "2011-10-24T15:36:46Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > and his other well known [disney performance.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afzmwAKUppU) Aww, that’s what I came in here to say! I always loved Lennie, but I admit, the candlestick was always right there in my imagination, ruining the tough guy moments.😛 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/36 "2011-10-24T17:20:36Z")
For your pleasure… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7TYA8gEj-I) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQL8eKks5N0) ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/37 "2011-10-24T18:13:06Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > I looked it up and apparently he didn’t marry her, it’s just that Briscoe slept with one of Munch’s ex wives. Although, to be fair, I think they were both married enough times that it was bound to happen. 🙂 > > It was revealed in a crossover, but may have been long enough ago to have been an L&O/Homicide one. Not sure though. I can’t believe that I still remember this but it was one of the Law and Order Homicide Crossovers when Briscoe and Curtis went down to Baltimore. I think that the show really hit it’s stride when it was Briscoe and Curtis as the detectives. I also though that Ben Stone was the more believable of the prosecutors that they had. I quit watching when Briscoe retired. It just wasn’t the same thing for me. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/38 "2011-10-24T18:57:15Z")
Originally posted in his Obit thread. About 6 years ago, I spent a week with Jerry and his wife Elaine. In Marrakech, Morrocco. I was shooting a job with Robin Leech for the Food Network. Jerry and his beloved were hosting a segment and they were with us for the week. As is frequently the case when on the road, the lines that usually separate crew from talent soften a bit. Add to that the fact that he was regular people, and just trust me when I say the crew enjoyed every moment with him that week. The day before we flew out, I demurred from the group’s plans to go to the Suik ( pronounced Shook ), the huge open-air market, to buy gifts. My father was having open-heart surgery that day. I needed to stay close to the hotel through the midday into afternoon Marrakech time to get updates from the east coast of the USA. ( 6 hours off the clock ). Jerry and Elaine also chose to spend a quiet day at the hotel. I was at the pool, reading my book. They came and sat a few rows away, and when they saw me, Jerry called me to come over and sit with them. They were kind and supportive when I told them why I’d held back. When lunchtime came, they insisted that I sit and have lunch with them as well. After maybe a 2-hour visit, they went to nap and I stayed at the pool. I asked why they didn’t go shopping, and it was then that Jerry told me face to face of the illness. I’ve never told this story to a soul until now,. Since he has died it seems highly irrelevant to protect his privacy. He didn’t talk about it more than a few sentences, and I sure didn’t badger him with questions. He chose to share, with the explicit feeling that I was not a gossip. The celebrity angle is not an issue- when somebody looks you in the eye, and says " people do not know about this back at home ", that means they never will. Not from me. I never betrayed that trust. They were very much in love, those two. I’m extremely sad to hear that he finally has died. The guy was easy-going, humorous, FILLED with stories. I asked him about Broadway and boy did he love talking about the old days. When I told him I’d been in “Annie Get Your Gun” in the 7th grade, he just cracked up. I never worked “Law & Order”, and so never had any other contact with Jerry or Elaine. He was a fun, gentle soul and the world can always use more of those. ETA: He said something to me that day that I’ve just remembered in re-reading this old post. He did talk about L&O. He said words to the effect that " Once you’ve had it and lost it, and get a chance to have it again, every single day is a gift. I go to work knowing I got a second chance. " His career really slowed and stuttered for quite a while before L&O. Dude was appreciative and humbled by the work. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/39 "2011-10-24T21:09:08Z")
Thank you for that, Cartooniverse. That made me cry (in a good way). I love the guy more than ever now. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453/40 "2011-10-25T01:19:47Z")
Good story - thanks. Have you kept in touch with his widow? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/detective-lennie-briscoe-a-posthumous-tribute/600453.md?page=3)