Many times the general public associates an actor with a role they play on a long-running television show, not realizing that often that thespian had an active career on the stage first. Jerry Orbach and Sam Waterston on Law and Order, Jason Alexander on Seinfeld, and Patricia Heaton on Everybody Loves Raymond are a few of the many actors who first trained for, cut their teeth on, and professionally performed on the legitimate stage.

The fact is the technique most often taught to American stage actors - some form of the Stanislavski Method - works very nicely on both TV and film. Although there are adjustments to be made going from the stage to television, a well-trained stage actor can usually make those adjustments fairly quickly.

The biggest changes have to do with the subtlety employed by those acting for the camera. Stage actors find that physically and vocally less is more in front of the camera. Additionally, a good film or television actor has a sound sense of how to use the camera frame to their best advantage. An actor like Michael Caine is a master at this.

For someone who has only done television or film, acting on the stage can be difficult. The stage demands that actors sustain a character for long periods of time, something the electronic media does not do. Overall, stage performing also calls for bigger actions than those needed for television and film. If someone has never been trained for the theatre, this can be intimidating.

Of course the scariest thing about acting on stage is the fact that you¡¯re in front of a live audience and if you make a mistake, you don¡¯t get a Mulligan. Even when a television show is done in front of a "live audience," there¡¯s less pressure for the actor to be perfect. If they "go up" (that is, forget their lines), they can make a joke and get a laugh while "cut" is called. They then get to try the moment, action or scene again. There is no "cut" in a live stage performance; there is only "covering" for a flubbed line, a missed entrance, or a misplaced prop.

Here are a few actors that you¡¯ve become familiar with on television who first acted on the legitimate stage.

Jerry Orbach

Orbach, who passed away in 2004, was best known as the wisecracking Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order. As a young man, he attended the University of Illinois and Northwestern University where he studied drama. After going to New York, he continued to study for the stage. He became closely associated with musicals, creating the role of El Gallo and singing the well-know opening number "Try to Remember" in the long- running musical The Fantasticks. He won the Tony in 1969 for his portrayal of Chuck Baxter in Promises, Promises; he sang the hit song "I¡¯ll Never Fall in Love Again" in that show. He also played leads in Chicago (Billy Flynn) and Forty-Second Street (Julian Marsh). Most Law and Order fans don¡¯t realize that Orbach had a beautiful, resonate singing voice.

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