Jerry Orbach's First Wife Defends Her Son

Marta Curro, Jerry Orbach's first wife, is defending her son's recent vitriolic letter to his step-mother, which was leaked to the Post. The letter accuses Orbach's second wife Elaine Cancilla-Orbach of screwing Chris Orbach and his brother out of the $10 million estate left by their father, which they can't dip into until she dies. (The letter also blames Cancilla-Orbach for manipulating Orbach to donate his eyes after his death.) But the 75-year-old Curro, who was married to Orbach for 17 years and remained close with the actor after their divorce, says her son is right to be angry at wife #2: "She's funny looking and she wears polyester pantsuits, and that just makes me laugh. There's nothing funnier to me than stupid people being evil, because they put a tack on your chair and expect it to kill you."

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By John Del Signore in News on August 12, 2008 9:05 AM

Comments [rss]

seeker

No, it's not evil to donate eyes (or anything else) at all. It IS evil not to tell the guy's kids about it. And it IS shady to go up to someone crying next to his father's body (which is the last time he'll ever get to spend with him) and tell him he has to leave the room so that his eyes can come out, and that's the first time you hear of it.

cucarachita

So it's evil to encourage a person to donate their eyes after their death?

The ex wife sounds very petty and infantile. Probably where her brat learned got his bad personality.

seeker

Uh, you can trust Murdoch's reporters or someone, like me, who was actually THERE. And the letter wasn't all acid (I've read it in its entirety) -- the post just used the most provocative parts once they got their dirty hands on it. Chris, a "brat"? He makes a fine living doing voiceovers. All he meant to do with that letter (which was never meant to be seen in public) was to tell Elaine why he didn't want to see or speak to her anymore.

Spirit of 76

Not that I trust Murdoch's reporters that much, but the Post begs to differ. They say that he divorced her. What can you say about a woman whose biggest criticism of her competition is "She's funny looking"? Can't say anything about her character instead, other than unprovable claims of Orbach calling her every week to complain about the new girlfriend? Let's face it, she raised a brat. It's ironic that he wrote in his acid letter, "Not a single thing you've done has been dignified. All I can see are the greedy, grasping spasms of a toddler..." Take a look in the mirror.

seeker

As a friend of the family, who was there at the time, I can tell you, it was SHE who divorced HIM. Amazing. So many people talking out of their asses.

Spirit of 76

But the 75-year-old Curro, who was married to Orbach for 17 years and remained close with the actor after their divorce, says her son is right to be angry at wife #2: "She's funny looking and she wears polyester pantsuits,"

Bitter much? I think we now know why Orbach divorced her.

interlard

I guess there's no news today then?

pazzia

this article makes it sounds like the son is correct to be angry because the second wife wears polyester pants. silly.

MissPinkKate

"There's nothing funnier to me than stupid people being evil, because they put a tack on your chair and expect it to kill you."

Nastiness of this whole battle aside, that's really funny.

handsomedevil

Sure - time for a "show within the show" with lots of snarky comments from the "real cops" about TV.

eyekantspel

Everyone who argued the media correctly remained silent on the John Edwards' affair because they were focused on bigger issues, please see above.

NYLaughs

Sounds like a setup for a Law & Order episode. How very meta.

Jen Chung

Is this how we're supposed to honor Jerry's memory?!?! By flinging dirt around? Clearly there's a serious, bitter family dispute, but I wish the letter wasn't leaked--it's just sad.