Obituaries

Prolific Stage and Screen Actor Ned Eisenberg Dies at 65

Eisenberg was battling two rare cancers at the time of his passing.

Ned Eisenberg
Ned Eisenberg
(© David Gordon)

Prolific character actor Ned Eisenberg has died at the age of 65 after a two-year bout with two rare cancers, cholangiocarcinoma and ocular melanoma.

Born in the Bronx, Eisenberg's Broadway credits include The Green Bird, Bartlett Sher's productions of Awake and Sing! and Golden Boy, Rocky the Musical, and Six Degrees of Separation. He received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for his 2009 performance as Iago in Othello for Theatre for a New Audience, and was among the co-founders of Naked Angels in 1987.

Known for his long-running recurring role of Roger Kressler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Eisenberg's prolific screen career included appearances on The Sopranos, NYPD Blue, Rescue Me, The Black List, The Good Wife, 30 Rock, The Night Of, Mare of Easttown, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He appeared in Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby and Flags of Our Fathers, among other films.

Eisenberg is survived by his wife, Patricia Dunnock, and their son, Lino. Dunnock said in a statement, "As Ned would say, he was attacked by two very rare assassins — cholangiocarcinoma and ocular melanoma. Over the course of two years, he bravely fought the cancers in private while continuing to work in show business to ensure that his medical coverage paid for himself and his family."