The Sopranos star Jerry Adler dies aged 96 as loving tributes flood in

A friend of The Sopranos and The Good Wife star announced his passing.

Hollywood actor Jerry Adler has sadly passed away at the age of 96. The star was well known for playing Herman 'Hesh Rabkin in The Sopranos and Howard Lyman in The Good Wife.

His friend Frank J. Reilly announced the death of the star, writing: "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." He later added on: "He arranged to get my son a job on the Sopranos. Many years later, my son got him a job on Rescue Me. RIP to a real one.

"P.S. my son just texted me., 'an all-time great human being. I feel fortunate to have known him'."

Alder only began this acting career in his early 60s and was able to create some memorable characters in shows such as The Good Wife, The Sopranos, Rescue Me, as well as other sitcoms, reports the Mirror.

Tributes have been flooding in from fans on social media who enjoyed many of his roles over the last 30 years.

One fan wrote on X: "If you have watched TV in the last 30 years or so, you know him as a fantastic character actor. Rest well, Jerry Adler."

While another person wrote: "RIP Jerry. Loved him as Hesh and was pleased to see him in “A Most Violent Year”. He will be missed."

A third person refenced his role in The Sopranos by writing: "Sleeping with the fishes," while one fan simply wrote: "RIP, loved him and he was a great actor."

Adler leaves behind his wife, psychologist Joan Laxman, who he had been married to since 1994.

Before becoming an actor, Alder had a successful career as a Broadway stage manager, where he worked on productions such as My Fair Lady and directed numerous theatre shows.

He then went on to first grace our screens in 1991 in an episode of CBS's Brooklyn Bridge, before securing roles on ABC's Hudson Street and The WB's Alright Already and Raising dad shows.

Turning to the big screen, the actor held notable roles in films such as Manhattan Murder Mystery, Getting Away with Murder, In Her Shoes, Synecdoche, New York, and A Most Violent Year.

In a 2017 interview, he talked about his job as an actor. He said: "You spend your whole career backstage.Nobody knows who you are or even knows your name. They don’t know anything about you.

"And then you do a television show and suddenly you’re a celebrity and everyone knows your face. It’s so weird."

Alder's passing is another loss from the cast of the hit mob series, with the show's star James Gandolfini passing away in 2013 at the age of 51. Other departures include Robert Loggia in 2015, David Margulies in 2016, and John Heard in 2017.