Who Knew Actor Jerry Orbach Was Such A Romantic?

By lemondrop posted Nov 20th 2009 4:03PM

Jerry Orbach with wife Elaine Orbach dancing

Jerry Orbach was a tough guy on TV, but off-screen he wrote love letters and poems for his wife.

The late Jerry Orbach might be best remembered for roles such as tough New York detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order or the man who tries to put Baby in a corner in Dirty Dancing, but who knew that he was such a romantic?

Over the course of their 25-year relationship, Jerry wrote love poems to his wife Elaine (pictured with him). Now they're compiled in Remember How I Love You: Love Letters From an Extraordinary Marriage. Lemondrop: 107-Year-Old Woman Contemplating 23rd Marriage

Jerry would leave the short-but-sweet notes next to her coffee cup so that she'd have a "good morning poem" when she woke up. Lemondrop: A Love Letter Handwritten Just For You

(His tough Law & Order shooting schedule often required him to come home when Elaine was asleep, and he'd still be sleeping when she was awake.)

When Jerry died in 2004, a family friend asked to read some of the poems at his memorial service, and that's where the idea for the book took shape. It's a collection of the notes and Elaine's memories of life with Jerry.

Elaine passed away earlier this year right after the book was completed. Lemondrop: Meet the Duchess of Death

Read some of Orbach's letters on Lemondrop's photo gallery