On Tuesday night, the world lost a true icon of Broadway and television drama – and I lost one of my absolute favorite actors – Jerry Orbach.

Most famous for his role as Detective Lennie Briscoe on TV’s Law & Order, a role he played for the last twelve seasons, he was also a successful Broadway star, headlining such classics as Carnival, Chicago, 42nd Street, and Promises, Promises – for which he won a Tony Award.

Personally, I am very, very sad that Jerry Orbach has passed away. I am a huge fan of Law & Order and watch at least four episodes every night. Whenever I watch the show, I love the trademark wisecrack that would come out of Detective Briscoe’s mouth in each episode. Of all the characters on that show, Orbach did an excellent job of bringing Briscoe to life, and through his brilliant acting, really made you believe that he was a hardnosed, sardonic, seen-it-all cop. Thanks to Orbach, Briscoe seemed like a guy you wanted to be friends with – and someone who you never wanted to see at the other end of the interrogation table.

Recently, Orbach left the flagship show of Law & Order to launch the third spin-off from the original series, Law & Order: Trial By Jury. Premiering in the beginning of 2005, Orbach had already shot a few episodes of the show, and will now have to be “killed-off” due to his tragic loss. I truly believe that now that he is gone, the show will never be the same.

When I found out that he died, I was completely devastated. I was sitting at my desk at work with Pierre and he was showing me a website about his father’s book. On the site, I saw a link in Spanish that said, “Actor Jerry Orbach, Muerto.” When I asked Pierre for a translation; he said that it meant that Jerry Orbach had died. I immediately went to Yahoo! News praying that the link was either incorrect or a hoax – and realized to my horror that it was, in fact, true.

Considering that he had so many fans, friends and colleagues, I am obviously not the only one who is sad that he is gone. Upon hearing the news of Orbach’s death, Dick Wolf, the creator and executive producer of the Law & Order series released this statement, “I’m immensely saddened by the passing of not only a friend and colleague, but a legendary figure of 20th century show business. He was one of the most honored performers of his generation. His loss is irreplaceable.” Even Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was a frequent guest on the show when he was Mayor, said that Orbach was, “a friend to all New Yorkers and a devoted ambassador of the city.”

Born in the Bronx in 1935 to a vaudeville-performer father and a radio-singer mother, Orbach is survived by his second wife, Elaine, whom he met doing Chicago and married in 1979, and two sons from his first marriage, Chris and Tony. On Wednesday night, the lights on Broadway marquees were dimmed for one minute at curtain time in honor of Orbach’s memory – and for the rest of my life – my heart will be dimmed with sadness now that Jerry Orbach is gone.

Rest in peace Mr. Orbach, I will miss you very much.