Death anniversary of Herb Edelman

When the news of Herb Edelman's death made the rounds in the summer of 1996, colleagues and companions immediately paid tribute to his enormous commitment to the art of acting. For a wide audience, he remained unforgotten above all as Stan Zbornak, but his work extended much further. As early as the end of the 1960s, he appeared in “The Good Guys”, a sitcom in which he impressed with his down-to-earth humor. In the cinema, he was seen in the comedy “The Odd Couple” (1968), where he appeared alongside Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as policeman Murray. He also played a supporting role in “Barefoot in the Park” (1967) and proved that he could make an impact with just a few scenes. Regardless of whether he was acting on the big screen or in television series, you could always sense his calm way of credibly filling a role with life.

Behind the scenes, he was described as someone who promoted cohesion on set. He knew how to make room for the quiet moments in humorous productions and how to bring out nuances in more serious material that would otherwise have been easily overlooked. In “Golden Girls”, he received two Emmy nominations for the role of Stan Zbornak, which showed that his performance went far beyond pure situation comedy. Instead of just presenting Stan as a quirky supporting character, he gave him credibility and even a certain degree of vulnerability. Herb Edelman had long since demonstrated this talent in other series and TV films, for example through guest appearances in formats such as “Murder, She Wrote” or “MacGyver”. His ability to shape a character in such a way that the audience saw a little more than just a simple plot line always shone through.

On the anniversary of his death, many people remember not only his most famous series role, but also his broad range as a character actor. He was not a man for grand airs, but left the impression of a versatile artist who filled his roles with uninhibited authenticity. Especially in an industry in which loud self-promotion is often the order of the day, his unobtrusive presence had a beneficial effect. Even today, you can still see his face in reruns of old films and series and feel the warmth he brought to every scene. In this way, Herb Edelman remains in the memory of many who remember an actor whose work quietly but lastingly resonates to the present day.