The cue stick: A Frank Paradise cue stick owned and used for decades by “Law and Order” actor and pool expert Jerry Orbach. The cue is a 1965 Frank Paradise Level 3 Model “C” House Special.
The cue stick features a maple forearm made from a house cue with four rosewood points. The butt sleeve is pearlized plastic rings. The wrap is the original Irish linen, the ferrule is made of ivory. It is in excellent condition and ramrod straight.
The cue man: Jerry Orbach tops the list of pool playing entertainers in terms of sheer skill at our sport. I remember one of his stories by way of illustration, as told to my wife, Janine, and me...
“...Matt, I walked into a poolroom one night and was asked if I wanted a money game. I said, ‘Sure,’ and they paired me with this fellow who didn’t look like much to begin with. We played a “race ahead” [where you or your opponent must win X more games than the other to get the cash—Pool Guide] for a long time, and I couldn’t get ahead.
...I gave him my very best game, but we were even after more than three hours of dueling out out. Somebody said to me on the side, ‘Jerry, do you know who that is you’re playing for cash? It’s [all-time top player and road hustler] Cornbread Red!’”
Stage and screen star Jerry Orbach of NBC's "Law & Order", Broadway classics like "42nd Street" and Chicago, and movies including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the musical fantasy Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, passed following a long illness at the age of 69 on Tuesday, December 28, 2004.
That April, Mr. Orbach served as a special presenter at the BCA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. As pictured with this article, he played 9-Ball with Ewa Mataya Laurence before her induction to the Hall.
The Bronx-native Orbach began treatment for prostate cancer shortly thereafter. Earlier in 2004, he began production on the short-lived NBC series Law & Order: Trial By Jury after many years as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the original series.
After a session playing with Mr. Orbach at Manhattan’s posh Lone Star Boat Club, I purchased his Paradise cue. The table we used that time was a magnificent antique, one of the finest tables I have seen, studded with semi-precious stones for decorative inlays and markers. We played an 8-Ball match I’ll always remember, as on the last game, vying for defense and leaving Mr. Orbach “safe” behind my set, he made a four-cushion kick shot on the 8-ball, which had been nestled in the middle of the rail before he sank it for the win!
I can only wish I could have shown him my invention of Gopher 8-Ball, although he probably would have beaten me at my own created game, too.
The Paradise cue, considered a masterwork by one of pool’s greatest craftsmen, added to Orbach’s legend. He was known as a “shortstop”, a player just short of pro caliber at the game.
Hopefully, my Jerry Orbach cue will find a good home, some young kid out to make a name for himself in pool or on the Great White Way. Thanks, Jerry.
