Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Jerry Orbach, Eye Donor
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This morning's subway commute made us do a double take. Because we saw Jerry Orbach looking at us and the other riders from an ad! The Eye Bank for Sight Restoration has launched an advertising campaign to encourage people to become eye donors. As it happens, today, the Daily News has a story about the Orbach donation:
The Broadway and TV star donated his eyes when he died in December 2004, giving sight to two women who needed new corneas.
"I cannot remember a day that went by where he didn't say, 'I want to donate my eyes,' " Orbach's widow, Elaine, recalled yesterday.
A prostate-cancer patient at the time of his death at age 69, the Bronx-born Orbach did not donate any other organs, she said. "He never wore glasses. He could read in the dark, practically - just this wonderful vision he was so proud of."
Radio and TV ads use Obrach's son Chris as the voiceover who says, "For two New Yorkers, his greatest role was that of an eye donor." The Daily News's headline is "Years after his death, Orbach still a class act." Ain't that the truth. Elaine Orbach also told the News, "He believed in the body continuing, if it's possible. What greater gift than if you must pass this world: that if something is still working, to give [it] to somebody who doesn't have a chance? I just believe he's very happy about that. This was his wish."
The Eye Bank for Sight Restoration has information about eye donations. And we miss Jerry Orbach very much.
Tagged
advertising
As
broadway
bronx
celebrities
daily news
death
Elaine Orbach
health
jerry orbach
new yorkers
news
News: NYC
people
radio
subway
The Broadway
the daily news
The Eye
tv
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .