Jerry Adler, an actor best known for portraying Hesh Rabkin on The Sopranos, died at the age of 96. His family confirmed his passing via an orbituary post uploaded on Dignity Memorial. The orbituary read:"Jerry Adler passed away on August 23, 2025, at the age of 96. Born on February 4, 1929, Jerry was a resident of New York, New York."On the personal front, Jerry was married three times. As per his biography on IMDb, his first wife was Dolores Parker, with whom he had three children. Following his divorce from Parker, he tied the knot with Cathy Rice in March 1978. Not much is known about their marriage or divorce. Jerry then married psychologist Joan Laxman on July 3, 1994. They were together for more than 30 years.Jerry and Joan spent many years living in Roxbury, Connecticut, a home that had equestrian facilities to sustain Joan's love for horses. As reported by CTPost, in 2017, they moved to New York City's Upper West Side when they decided to live a simpler and more urban lifestyle.According to a 1992 report by The New York Times, Jerry had four children and three of his four daughters resided in California, which was one of the main reasons Adler relocated to California, just before an unanticipated change of career into acting. He had spent many years as a stage manager and director on Broadway, which paved the way to his acting career.Jerry Adler: Acting and family legacyJerry at The Sopranos 25th Anniversary Reunion: WISE GUY David Chase and The Sopranos - 2024 Tribeca Festival (Image via Getty)One of his daughters, Laura Adler, built a career as a casting director for television series such as Better Off Ted and American Dreams. Meanwhile, Jerry Adler's grandson, Joe, has appeared in various projects such as The Maze Runner and Grey's Anatomy.Jerry's other daughter, Lisa, had a particularly important role in his transition to film. Her childhood friend, casting director Donna Isaacson, ended up giving Jerry his first major motion picture role in The Public Eye. He appeared in The Sopranos in 1999, in their pilot episode, and remained on the show until its final season in 2007.The news of Jerry Adler's death was confirmed by his close friend Frank J. Reilly. He mentioned in his tribute that Jerry began his acting career at the age of 65 and left behind an enduring legacy of memorable characters. Reilly further wrote 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 had from many of his guest appearances. Not bad for a guy who didn’t start acting until he was 65."In addition to Jerry's immediate family, he came from a distinguished theatrical family. He was the son of Phil Adler, the general manager of the seminal Group Theatre. His cousins were the legendary acting teacher Stella Adler and actor Luther Adler, and his great-uncle was Yiddish theater star Jacob Adler.