Fiat Lux

Maybe it seems trivial in the face of the ongoing mega-disaster in Southeast Asia (I'm waiting for the death toll to pass 100,000 - it's pushing 80,000 so far), but actor Jerry Orbach has also died.

In performances that spanned half a century, the Bronx-born Mr. Orbach came to embody two beloved New York archetypes: the musical matinee idol, to which he gave a refreshingly modern spin with his rugged and idiosyncratic persona, and the shrewd, irascible cop, a role he honed to a razor's edge as Detective Lennie Briscoe on "Law & Order."

Orbach was a star in the original casts of Chicago, Promises Promises, and The Fantasticks, and appeared in productions of The Threepenny Opera, Carnival, and the Gower Champion production of 42nd Street, among many other stage credits.

Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of seeing Orbach perform live, although I've certainly seen plenty of episodes of Law and Order.

At least 2004 is almost over. Maybe we'll get a rest from bad news for at least part of 2005. Although somehow, I doubt it.