Herbert Edelman

Herbert Edelman (November 5, 1933 – July 21, 1996)

Edelman was an actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best-known roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls. He also had a recurring role on the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere. After serving in the United States Army as an announcer for Armed Forces Radio, he enrolled in Brooklyn College as a theater student, but eventually dropped out. He later worked as a hotel manager and as a taxicab driver. One of his fares was director Mike Nichols, who in 1963 cast Edelman in his breakthrough Broadway role, as the bewildered telephone repairman in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park. Edelman reprised his role in the 1967 film version. He appeared in the movie versions of Simon's The Odd Couple (1968) and California Suite (1978). He also appeared in an installment of the Japanese movie series Otoko wa Tsurai yo in 1979. From 1984-88, he had a recurring role on St. Elsewhere. Edelman also appeared in ten episodes of Murder, She Wrote between 1984 and 1995, most frequently appearing as New York Police Department Lieutenant Artie Gelber. His last role was on an episode of Burke's Law. Edelman died at age 62 of emphysema. He is interred at Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens, New York.