# Lennie to leave "Law and Order"? Say it ain't so! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652 "2004-03-26T23:30:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/1 "2004-03-26T23:30:37Z")
[According to E!](http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13790,00.html?tnews) Jerry Orbach is leaving the show at the end of the series. That’s a damn shame. It’s some comfort that he will supposedly be in yet ANOTHER new L&O spinoff series. I was amazed to read that he’s 78 years old. He looks in his late 50s or early 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/2 "2004-03-26T23:48:03Z")
He will be hard to replace. Never seemed like Orbach was reciting dialogue, he just was that character. I found the episode in which he fell off the wagon particularly memorable. With _NYPD Blue_ winding down and William Peterson threatening to leave _CSI_, TV copland is looking a little anemic. May be time for me to check out _The Shield_. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/3 "2004-03-26T23:57:30Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > [URL=http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13790,00.html?tnews]I was amazed to read that he’s 78 years old. He looks in his late 50s or early 60s. Check your math, **Boyo**. He’s 68. 🙂 That’s still pretty old for a detective, isn’t it? I’d think he’d retire before now, but maybe detective Brisco is supposed to be younger than that… ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/4 "2004-03-26T23:57:39Z")
If they don’t get someone reeeeeeeally good to replace him, that show’s done. They can handle one pathetic actor dragging them down, (Elizabeth Rohm), but not two. **Murcielago** - _The Shield_ is the best show on TV right now. You owe it to yourself to rent the first two seasons and start catching up on the 3rd. (Best first episode of any show, ever). ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/5 "2004-03-26T23:59:28Z")
If Lenny Briscoe and Gus Grissom quit, the terrorists will have won. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/6 "2004-03-27T00:25:34Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > If they don’t get someone reeeeeeeally good to replace him, that show’s done. They can handle one pathetic actor dragging them down, (Elizabeth Rohm), but not two. Oh man, she is the WORST. There is nothing to her character, it’s like she has learned her lines phonetically before tossing them out in front of the camera. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/7 "2004-03-27T00:29:27Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > [According to E!](http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13790,00.html?tnews) Jerry Orbach is leaving the show at the end of the series. Uh, wouldn’t they ALL have to leave at the end of the series? 😃 OTOH, I suppose they could transfer to one of the others if they wanted to… ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/8 "2004-03-27T00:46:30Z")
What does it say about me that my heart sank when I saw the thread title, and when I read the linked article, I started to cry? Oh Lennie, we’ll always have reruns (and I do mean _always_). **Leaper** – **Boyo Jim** is apparently using the word series in the British sense, meaning season, although I checked his location, and as far as I know, Madison, WI is part of the U.S. One good thing about Law & Order – it was specifically structured to survive cast changes and has done so brilliantly so far. I just hope the latest spinoff will be worth watching to see Jerry. I don’t watch any of the current spinoffs. I guess the announcement that Ed will be promoted means that I won’t get to see my dream recast – Chris Noth returning as an older, wiser Mike Logan. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/9 "2004-03-27T01:08:40Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > If Lenny Briscoe and Gus Grissom quit, the terrorists will have won. Presumably, Gus is Gil Grissom’s lesser-known brother. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/10 "2004-03-27T01:14:07Z")
I wonder if Chris Noth wants to come back from Staten Island. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/11 "2004-03-27T01:55:00Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Uh, wouldn’t they ALL have to leave at the end of the series? 😃 > > OTOH, I suppose they could transfer to one of the others if they wanted to… Sorry, I meant season. And **Santos L. Helper** , I meant 78. Do a google news search for his name and you’ll find multiple references to his age. Personally, I don’t think Elizabeth Rohm is any worse an actress than Angie Harmon, but she’s way lower on the Babe scale. Jill Hennessy, IMO, was best in both categories. Wasn’t there some kind of “Create the L&O series you’d _like_ to see” thread a while back? ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/12 "2004-03-27T02:07:08Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > And **Santos L. Helper** , I meant 78. Do a google news search for his name and you’ll find multiple references to his age. Both the site you originally linked to, [E-Online](http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,11925,00.html) and [the Internet Movie Database](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001583/) list his birthdate as October 20, 1935, which would make him 68. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/13 "2004-03-27T03:26:21Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > Personally, I don’t think Elizabeth Rohm is any worse an actress than Angie Harmon, but she’s way lower on the Babe scale. ? Angie seemed tough and confident. Rohm seems timid and scared. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/14 "2004-03-27T03:51:56Z")
> [@Santos L Halper](#): > > Both the site you originally linked to, [E-Online](http://www.eonline.com/Facts/People/Bio/0,128,11925,00.html) and [the Internet Movie Database](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001583/) list his birthdate as October 20, 1935, which would make him 68. My bad. I saw [these](http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/3/23/tvnradio/7527264&sec=tvnradio) [two](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4482773/), the first of which is apparently wrong, and the second of whch refers to Orbach as 78 years old in_the year 2014._ ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/15 "2004-03-27T04:05:59Z")
Hate to say it, but _Law & Order_ is in desperate need of a shake-up, and bidding adieu to Lenny might just give the writers the impetus they need to get off the second-rate Ellery Queen/CSI-style plots and back to something a little more down to earth. Well, I can hope, anyway. **Dooku** and others are right, though—Elizabeth Röhm so needs to go. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/16 "2004-03-27T04:09:39Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > [According to E!](http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13790,00.html?tnews) Jerry Orbach is leaving the show at the end of the series. Well, this opens the door for the filming of “Dirty Dancing II!” I can’t wait! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/17 "2004-03-27T04:14:21Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > My bad. I saw [these](http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2004/3/23/tvnradio/7527264&sec=tvnradio) [two](http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4482773/), the first of which is apparently wrong, and the second of whch refers to Orbach as 78 years old in_the year 2014._ They are both the exact same article, with the exact same ten-years-from-now line. Elizabeth Rohm is a worse actress than Angie Harmon. She is also a worse actress than an elm tree. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/18 "2004-03-27T04:42:33Z")
Like **Nonsuch** , I think Jerry Orbach leaving could really give the show a shot in the arm (they could bring back Profaci!). Not only have I gotten used to the high cast turnover, I kind of expect it out of this show. But the turnover for the past several years has been in secondary roles like Lawyer #2, Detective #2 and District Attorney – the meatier roles have been filled by Orbach, Sam Waterston and S. Epatha Merkerson for a while, and that needs to change. Heck, I wouldn’t mind if Waterston headed off into the sunset as well. But it just wouldn’t feel right without Lt. Van Buren. Don’t get me wrong – I wouldn’t mind another change in Lawyer #2, but it’s not because I find Rohm that loathsome. It’s more that she’s got a colorless role than Rohm herself. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/19 "2004-03-27T04:48:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Presumably, Gus is Gil Grissom’s lesser-known brother. Gil Grissom’s brother died on [Apollo I?](http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Apollo204/zorn/grissom.htm)😉 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652/20 "2004-03-27T05:04:04Z")
God dammit. Who’s going to provide the snappy one-liners at the end of the very first scene??? Jerry don’t go ☹ ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lennie-to-leave-law-and-order-say-it-aint-so/236652.md?page=2)