The official Law & Order thread

[Brian in Mesa]

Michael Imperioli Joining Law & Order
Source: NBC
December 2, 2004

The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli, the most recent recipient of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, has been signed to fill in for NBC's Law & Order star Jesse L. Martin while he stars in the upcoming film version of Rent, creator and executive producer Dick Wolf announced today.

Imperioli will play the younger detective, nephew and partner of Joe Fontana (Dennis Farina) for the final few episodes of Law & Order's 2004-2005 season. The Emmy Award winning Wolf Films/NBC Universal Television Studio series is currently in its 15th season on NBC.

"For the past six years, Jesse has been an 'actor's actor' – an incredible performer, total professional and he is liked by everyone. He had an opportunity to reprise a career-making role that is very important to him, and we wanted to make it work. We look forward to his return to 'Law & Order' for season 16," Wolf said.

"I am very grateful to everyone at Wolf Films and NBC Universal Television, especially Dick Wolf and Jeff Zucker, for allowing me this once in a lifetime opportunity," Martin said. "I'm going to miss Dennis (Farina), Epatha (Merkerson) and the rest of the cast and crew, and I can't wait to return next year."

Imperioli added, "Dick and his team tell great New York stories and I am excited to be a part of it....and I'm glad to be on the right side of the law."

Martin is currently in his sixth season as Detective Ed Green on Law & Order and was an original cast member of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Rent," creating the role of Tom Collins, which he is slated to play in the film version. He also appeared in recurring roles on the Fox series Ally McBeal and 413 Hope Street.

Imperioli is best known to television audiences as the hot-headed Christopher Moltisanti on the Emmy Award winning HBO series The Sopranos. He won the Emmy last September for his high profile role and has also appeared in numerous films and television series. He stars in the upcoming ABC telefilm The Five People You Meet in Heaven and he also appeared in a guest-starring role on Law & Order in 1996 and Wolf's Fox series New York Undercover in 1997.

Law & Order is a Wolf Films production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio and airs on Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on NBC. Dick Wolf is creator and executive producer; Matthew Penn, Eric Overmyer, Roz Weinman and Peter Jankowski are executive producers.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Okay, so who was everyone's favorite? I liked Angie Harmon.

Carey Lowell.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

'L&O' Star Orbach Fighting Cancer

Thursday, December 02

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)

Long-time "Law & Order" star Jerry Orbach, currently shooting the latest spinoff of the NBC franchise, is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

Orbach, 69, was diagnosed in the spring and has since been receiving treatment for the disease, the most common form of cancer among men in the United States. He hasn't had surgery, says his manager, Robert Malcolm.

"We expect he'll be fine," Malcolm tells New York's Daily News. "He's been playing golf, shooting his episodes and doing real well."

 

[KingLouieLouie]

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/celeb/articles/1229orbachdies.html

'Law & Order' star Orbach dies at 69
Associated Press
December 29, 2004 NEW YORK - Actor Jerry Orbach, who played a sardonic, seen-it-all cop on TV's "Law & Order" and scored on Broadway as a song-and-dance man, has died of prostate cancer at 69, a representative of the show said Wednesday.

Orbach died Tuesday night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment, Audrey Davis of the public relations agency Lippin Group said.

When his illness was diagnosed, he had begun production on NBC's upcoming spinoff "Law & Order: Trial By Jury," after 12 seasons playing Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original series. His return to the new show had been expected early next year.

On Broadway, the Bronx-born Orbach starred in hit musicals including "Carnival," "Promises, Promises" (for which he won a Tony Award), "Chicago" and "42nd Street."

Earlier, he was in the original cast of the off-off-Broadway hit "The Fantasticks," playing the narrator. The show went on to run for more than 40 years.

In a 2000 Associated Press interview, Orbach said the role in the acclaimed "Law & Order" brought him "wonderful security" rare in the life of an actor.

"All my life, since I was 16, I've been wondering where that next job was gonna come from," he explained. "Now I take the summer off, relax, and I know that at the end of July we're gonna start another season."

He said he didn't know "where I stop and Lennie starts, really. ... I know he's tougher than me and he carries a gun. And I'm not an alcoholic."

"I know I wouldn't want to be him," Orbach sums up. "I guess THAT'S where I stop and he starts."

Among his film appearances were roles in "Dirty Dancing," "Prince of the City" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors."

I would like to express my deepest condolences....He definitely will be missed......

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I would like to express my deepest condolences....He definitely will be missed......

Same here.

All I could say when I heard the news today was "Wow."

Very sad.

BIM

 

[CQ]

He was what made me a L&O fan. I never liked any of the other L&O's because he wasn't on them. He truly made the show what it was. I cried my eyes out the episode when he retired. That was what, last season? This season? I forget. Anyhow, I haven't watched it since. He was an amazing actor, great talent!

 

[thirty-two]

I would like to express my deepest condolences....He definitely will be missed......

Oh my gosh, he died? Man.. that sucks.

Condolences to his family and friends...

 

[Brian in Mesa]

300 attend Orbach funeral

AP - Jan. 1, 2005

NEW YORK -- Jerry Orbach was mourned with music, memories, and meditation yesterday during a funeral where he was eulogized as the quintessential New Yorker on the long-running TV police drama ''Law & Order."

''He always knew his lines -- and yours too," joked costar Sam Waterston, who joined about 300 people for the hourlong secular service at Riverside Memorial Chapel on Manhattan's West Side.

Orbach, a Broadway song-and-dance man who achieved his widest fame as wisecracking Detective Lennie Briscoe on ''Law & Order," died of prostate cancer Tuesday at 69.

The secular service drew dozens of show business figures, including Chris Noth, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello, Tony Roberts, Michael Imperioli, Brian Dennehy, Benjamin Bratt, and Malachy McCourt.

Broadway legend Chita Rivera remembered Orbach from their ''Chicago" onstage partnership in the 1970s. ''This huge silhouette would appear in a fedora, smoking a cigar," she said. ''There was our anchor. There was our rock in a pinstriped suit."

Ed Sherin, executive producer of ''Law & Order," called Orbach ''my best friend -- and I imagine there are a lot of people here who would say the same."

He described Orbach as a man who would ''break into song" at any moment, while also enjoying a reputation as ''a deadly poker player" and avid golfing partner.

''I loved playing golf with Jerry more than I loved golf," said Sherin, adding that Orbach was not a strict scorekeeper when playing with a friend.

The actor was equally gracious on the set of ''Law & Order," the director said, pouring juice for nervous, dry-mouthed colleagues or whispering lines to them if they forgot them.

Orbach lay in a simple wooden coffin draped with white blossoms under the chapel's blue and gold vaulted ceiling. A half dozen pews marked ''Friars Club" were filled with fellow members of the New York organization famed for its celebrity roasts.

The service ended with a guitar rendition of ''Lullaby of Broadway" and ''Try to Remember" -- the signature song of the off-Broadway hit ''The Fantasticks" that launched Orbach's rise in New York theater in 1960.

Orbach, who won a Tony Award in 1969 for ''Promises, Promises" on Broadway, played Briscoe on ''Law & Order" for a dozen years, and was already at work on an upcoming spinoff series, ''Law & Order: Trial by Jury."

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Anyone see the last L&O? Green got shot in the line of duty and now that case is carrying over to L&O:TBJ. First time I've watched the newest show, which is what they're obviously trying to do - get new viewers...especially since the death of Orbach who was to be on this show.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

L&O:SVU and L&O:TBJ are doing a crossover with both episodes showing on Tuesday night.

 

[abomb]

OK, so D-Dogg and I were wondering how many episodes of L&O there have been. I did some research and here is the tally through December 2005;

Law & Order = 360
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit = 150
Law & Order: Criminal Intent = 98
Law & Order: Trial By Jury (Cancelled) = 12

Total....620.

That's a lot of good shows. There is a marathon on New Year's Day on TNT (TNTHD).

A-Bomb

 

[thirty-two]

I dont know what it is, but I never got into this show (either of them).

But I will say, the past two months, I've watched more L&O episodes than I ever have. I love Jesse L Martin's character the best. I also enjoy L&O:SVU. I love the chick detective, she is cool.

Anyway, I think I will watch the marathon that's going to happen on New Year's. I need a "new" show to follow since ER is the only one left of my favorites

 

[Brian in Mesa]

My wife and I still watch this show (any of the series) whenever we can.

Besides the newest episodes on NBC - TNT, USA, and even BRAVO have carried these shows recently. Court-TV even had a L&O:TBJ marathon, showing all of the episodes.

 

[abomb]

Yeah, I have really been suckered into it recently since it is on Universal/TNT HD.

SVU is my favorite.

A-Bomb

 

[thirty-two]

I watched a couple more episodes tonight. 2 of the 3 were crossover ones.

I love those!

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I also enjoy L&O:SVU. I love the chick detective, she is cool.

Quick bio:

Mariska Magdolina Hargitay - Born in 1964...daughter of the late actress Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay (divorced in 1964, for the second time). On the night of June 29, 1967, Hargitay and two of her brothers were asleep in the back seat of the car their mother and her boyfriend, lawyer Sam Brody, were riding in when it smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer. Mansfield, Brody, and their driver were killed instantly. Had the children not been lying down, they, too, would have been killed. But, miraculously, they escaped with minor bruises. Hargitay, who has no memory of the accident, was left with a zig-zag scar down the side of her head.

Now married to Special Victims Unit actor Peter Hermann. They are expecting their first child soon.

 

[thirty-two]

Quick bio:

Mariska Magdolina Hargitay - Born in 1964...daughter of the late actress Jayne Mansfield and former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay (divorced in 1964, for the second time). On the night of June 29, 1967, Hargitay and two of her brothers were asleep in the back seat of the car their mother and her boyfriend, lawyer Sam Brody, were riding in when it smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer. Mansfield, Brody, and their driver were killed instantly. Had the children not been lying down, they, too, would have been killed. But, miraculously, they escaped with minor bruises. Hargitay, who has no memory of the accident, was left with a zig-zag scar down the side of her head.

Now married to Special Victims Unit actor Peter Hermann. They are expecting their first child soon.

Who is he? If he is Mariska's partner on the show, then that is HOT!!!!

Thanks for the story... when I was watching it last night, my mom told me that story. She kept talking about it, too. I was like.. "Mom... stop talking to me about getting decapitated!" And she was like "What! That's what happened!"

Anyway...

 

[Brian in Mesa]

He plays defense attorney Trevor Langan. He's not on every episode though.

 

[thirty-two]

He plays defense attorney Trevor Langan. He's not on every episode though.

damn i got all excited!

I havent seen him in an episode yet - he's cute though.

When exactly do the new L&O shows air (all of them). All I watch are the ones on TNT.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Nielsen Steps in for Hargitay on SVU
Source: Variety
February 1, 2006

Actress Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) has signed on to guest star on six episodes of Law & Order: SVU, temporarily replacing star Mariska Hargitay, says Variety.

Nielsen will fill the void as Hargitay takes a maternity leave of absence. Bringing in guest actors to fill in for series stars is nothing new for the "Law & Order" franchise; last year Michael Imperioli starred in four episodes of the mother "L&O" ship while Jesse L. Martin filmed Rent.

Nielsen will appear as a multilingual warrants detective who's assigned to the Special Victims Unit when Hargitay's character is put on temporary assignment.

It's unlikely Nielsen will extend her stay beyond the six episodes, given her schedule.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Ludacris to Appear on Law & Order: SVU
Source: NBC
March 23, 2006

Actor/rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges will make his television debut as a guest-star on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, episode "Venom" (Tuesday, March 28th at 10 PM ET/PT). 'Ludacris,' who picked up a SAG and Critics Choice Award for Best Ensemble cast for his role in the Oscar-winning Crash, turns in a powerful performance as Darius, a family member of Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T).

In taking a role on "SVU," Bridges said, "I have been a fan of Dick Wolf's 'Law & Order' for a long time. When I was approached to work on 'SVU' and read the script there was no way that I could turn down this amazing opportunity. The character was so rich and the storyline so complex that I knew it was something I had to do. I am looking forward to working with the incredibly talented cast and crew at 'Law & Order: SVU' in my continuing quest to learn and grow as an actor."

"We are thrilled to have Ludacris join us as Ice-T's nephew for a groundbreaking episode of 'SVU'. His talent and charisma will guarantee a memorable show," said Executive Producer Neal Baer.

The complex storyline puts Det. Fin in a difficult position, which pits him against his colleagues who suspect his son Ken (Ernest Wadell) in a double homicide. Fin also finds himself in a showdown with his ex wife Terry Randall (Lisa Gay Hamilton), Ken's mother. The story takes an emotional and unexpected turn when Fin discovers a family secret that sheds some new light into his family's relationship with Darius.

"Venom" was written by veteran writer/producer Judith McCreary who has worked on the show in its early years.

 

[abomb]

Cool!

A-Bomb

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Law and Order is one of my favorite shows. I own just about all of the seasons that are available on DVD and it is usually the show that I watch while I am winding down for bed.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Farina Exits, Govich Joins Law & Order
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
May 31, 2006

Dennis Farina is leaving NBC's crime drama Law & Order after two years, while Milena Govich, who co-starred in Conviction, Dick Wolf's midseason drama for NBC, has come on board Wolf's flagship "L&O" series.

On "L&O," from Wolf Films and NBC Universal Network TV, Farina played Detective Joe Fontana, who investigated crimes and apprehended suspects with partner Edward Green (Jesse L. Martin).

Farina had succeeded longtime "L&O" star Jerry Orbach, whose character on the show, Detective Lennie Briscoe, transitioned to Wolf's Law & Order: Trial by Jury until Orbach's death in late 2004.

Govich is said to be considered for two roles on "L&O" -- the new partner of Detective Green and a new cop joining the department -- with sources indicating that she likely would fill the void left by Farina and work alongside Martin.

After airing Wednesdays since its launch in 1990, "L&O" will move to Friday in the fall.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Chevy Chase to Guest Star on Law & Order
Source: NBC September 26, 2006

NBC announced today that Emmy winner and comedy superstar Chevy Chase (Caddyshack, Fletch) begins filming this week on NBC's "Law & Order." Chase guest stars as a television celebrity who is pulled over for drunk driving while wearing blood-soaked clothes, and whose religious prejudice comes out after his arrest. The episode titled "In Vino Veritas" is slated to air on Friday, November 3, 10-11 p.m ET/PT.