JANUARY 2, 2005 --

There is a scene in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" where George Bailey, played by James Stewart, is told by his father, played by Samuel Hinds, that he was "born older."

I was saddened to hear a radio report of the death of Jerry Orbach, and also surprised that he was only 69 years old. Perhaps, like George Bailey, it is just that he was born older, a thought not discouraged by his distniguished career in
theatre, films and television of so many years' standing.

I saw Mr. Orbach on stage only once -- in "Carnival," the musical based on the movie "Lili." Some 40 years after "Carnival" opened, I happened to spot Mr. Orbach in the Inwood section of Manahattan, on location with "Law & Order" miles north of midtown.

I hastily purchased a disposable camera, and, getting back to the set, shouted a compliment about his work in "Carnival." Mr. Orbach walked over, took the camera
from me and, handing it to an assistant director, asked her to take a picture of the two of us, saying, "We go back a long ways."

That picture and a few others appeared in The Voice, a now-defunct weekly that was published in Winsted, CT -- yup, Ralph Nader's hometown. (Mr. Nader's writing also appeared in The Voice.)

One year later, I spotted "Law & Order" on location in the Riverdale section of The Bronx, and got another photo of Mr. Orbach, with Jesse L. Martin, into The
Voice. (This photo is on-line. Google "Jerry Orbach Winsted" to click The Voice website for this photo -- along with others of that second "Law & Order" on-location story.)

Sam Waterston's eulogy at the funeral service for Mr. Orbach has been widely reported. The reports I have seen did not include Mr. Waterston's observation that
there was no wall between Jerry Orbach and cast, crew -- or fans. I, of course, learned this in way-upper Manhattan, in February 2001.

And now, nearly four years lster, on the sad occsion of our loss of Jerry Orbach, Mr. Waterston prompts this fine-tuning of the message of Federalist 57 -- that in our society there isn't supposed to be a wall between our leaders and us.

Following Jerry Orbach's Funeral on Dec. 31 -- Law & Order's Sam Waterston (Jack McCoy), S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren), followed by Chris Noth, formerly Det. Mike Logan.