Ned Eisenberg

Eisenberg was born in The Bronx in 1957, where he grew up in the Riverdale neighborhood.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/arts/television/ned-eisenberg-dead.html|title = Ned Eisenberg, New York Actor Known for ‘Law & Order,’ Dies at 65|last = Diaz|first = Johnny|date = March 1, 2022|accessdate = October 20, 2024|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}} He graduated from Riverdale Junior High School in 1972 and from there went on to the Performing Arts High School, a subsidiary of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. He described himself as a "street-style" actor, coming up through the ranks rather than academic programs, and his training included jazz-dance classes with Betsy Haug.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

Eisenberg had a leading role in the film Key Exchange (1985), followed by a major tour of the Broadway play Brighton Beach Memoirs, and guest starred on various 1980s television series such as The Equalizer and Miami Vice. This led to a starring role in the television comedy The Fanelli Boys, which also starred Christopher Meloni and Joe Pantoliano. He also played supporting roles in films such as The Exterminator (1980), The Burning (1981), Slayground (1983), Moving Violations (1985), Air America (1990), Last Man Standing (1996), Primary Colors (1998), A Civil Action (1998), Woody Allen's Celebrity (1998), and Experimenter (2015).

In 1987, he cofounded the Naked Angels Theatre Company with longtime friend Fisher Stevens.{{Cite web|date=1994-06-22|title=THEATER REVIEW: Naked Angels Ascend to New Heights|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-22-ca-7053-story.html |access-date=2021-07-03|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}

Beginning in 1997, Eisenberg appeared on the NBC series Law & Order, typically playing a defense attorney. He had a recurring role on spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as defense attorney Roger Kressler. In 1999, he appeared in the first season episode of The Sopranos ("Denial, Anger, Acceptance") as Ariel. He also continued his film career by appearing in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award–winning drama Million Dollar Baby (2004) and played the role of photographer Joe Rosenthal in the 2006 film Flags of Our Fathers, also directed by Eastwood.

Eisenberg was married to actress Patricia Dunnock, and had one son.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ned-eisenberg-dead-law-order-svu-1235101408/|title=Ned Eisenberg, Attorney Roger Kressler on 'Law & Order: SVU,' Dies at 65|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 28, 2022|accessdate=February 28, 2022|last=Barnes|first=Mike}}

Eisenberg died from complications of cholangiocarcinoma and uveal melanoma at his home in Jackson Heights, Queens, on February 27, 2022, at the age of 65. In the last two years of his life, Eisenberg continued to work while fighting cancer in private, ensuring that he and his family still had medical coverage and financial stability due to his earnings.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-01 |title=Stars who died in 2022, who died today yesterday, celebrity deaths today |url=https://www.wonderwall.com/celebrity/stars-we-lost-in-2022-544600.gallery |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=Wonderwall.com |language=en-US}}

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• {{IMDb name|251999}}
• {{IBDB name|76215}}
• {{IOBDB name|2143}}

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Category:1957 births

Category:2022 deaths

Category:20th-century American Jews

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:21st-century American male actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male television actors

Category:Deaths from cancer in New York (state)

Category:Deaths from cholangiocarcinoma in the United States

Category:Deaths from uveal melanoma

Category:Jewish American male actors

Category:Male actors from the Bronx

Category:People from Riverdale, Bronx

Category:People from Jackson Heights, Queens