Jerry Orbach and friend at the Edgars®, early 21st century.

If scheduling went as planned: 1) last night (April 29, 2015) was the presentation of the Edgar Awards at the Mystery Writers of America banquet in NYC; 2) I was there to present the award to the winner; and 3) the world now knows the winner.

It’s not clear whether I’ll be able to post the winner here on April 30, since I’ll still be in NYC, but information should be at this link. I’ll also try to access the comments and put the information there.

Getting ready for Edgars® Present, I found this old photo of the banquet,  2001 or 2002, I believe.

I’d been General Chair of the awards and Jerry Orbach had been signed up to host the evening. Before the festivities began, I noticed Jerry sitting off to the side at a small table, by himself. What?

Now, true New Yorkers do NOT make a fuss over celebrities, but I claim right to call myself a NYer when it suits (cred: 5 years at Fordham grad school) and to call myself a fan-girl from California when that suits.

That night I put on my CA hat and went up to Jerry, told him I loved Lenny Briscoe, and enjoyed a brief conversation, after which he let me have this photo taken.

RIP, Jerry Orbach (1935-2004)