Tenthouse Theater of Chicago · Public domain

Jerry Orbach originated the role of El Gallo in the off-Broadway premiere of The Fantasticks, the first person to sing what became the show's standard, 'Try to Remember,' and later won a Tony Award for Promises, Promises. He spent over a decade as NYPD Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order, a role terse and weary enough to anchor the show through several spin-offs, and lent his voice to Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast.