Remember How I Love You

September 14, 2009
Actor Orbach (Law & Order
), who died in 2004, wrote hundreds of poems to his wife, Elaine. During predawn hours before filming, he scribbled on sheets torn from a page-a-day cat calendar. Awakening alone, she found poems by her coffee cup: “I would read and enjoy each one, then toss it into the big soup tureen given to us by producer David Merrick.” After years, the tureen overflowed. When Orbach's poems were read at his funeral, several suggested she do a book. Along with biographical chapters, she puts the poetry in context, explaining relationship references and showbiz buzzwords in a marriage memoir many will find appealing. The poems are all light verse, and more than a few could be labeled ultralight verse. Orbach had a penchant for playful rhymes, and he could be clever, as in this poem about film locations: “Today I've a pickup at 7:45 / in less than a hiccup / I'm at Riverside Drive!” / Then Zabar's for coffee / and back down to here / on West 52nd, the QE2 pier!” Orbach's love for his wife is evident throughout these cheerful, lyrical tear sheets, a calendar of cats chased by doggerel.