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Actor Jerry Orbach has died of prostate cancer.

A publicist for the show "Law and Order" says the 69-year-old actor died last night in Manhattan after several weeks of treatment.

The award-winning actor has portrayed New York City police Detective Lennie Briscoe on the crime-and-justice drama "Law & Order" for the past 12 seasons. When his illness was diagnosed, Orbach had started production on NBC's upcoming series "Law and Order: Trial By Jury." His return to the new show had been expected early next year.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that Orbach was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had been receiving treatment for the disease since last spring.

Beyond his TV experience, Orbach is a veteran actor of both the stage and the big screen. Orbach won a Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical for "Promises, Promises" in 1969 and was nominated for Tonys for his performances in "Guys and Dolls" in 1965 and "Chicago" in 1976.

Orbach starred in other hit Broadway musicals, including "Carnival" and "42nd Street."

He played Baby Houseman's father in 1987's cult classic, "Dirty Dancing." He also appeared on film in "Prince of the City" and "Crimes and Misdemeanors."
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I always thought it was a pretty good show. I liked the original much better than all 50 of the spinoffs.

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"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."