Merkerson moves on as 'Law & Order' ends its run

Walking a few blocks from her publicist's office to a pub, S. Epatha Merkerson is stopped four times in midtown Manhattan. An actor gushes over her in an elevator. A woman asks to have her photo taken with her - in the middle of traffic. Another points in her face and says, "I know you." And a man leaning against a building says, "I'm so sorry to see you go."

He's not alone. Merkerson had announced plans to leave "Law & Order" before NBC made its decision on whether to keep running the original of Dick Wolf's procedural cop and court dramas, which has helped sustain the network even in the leanest years.

Then, the verdict came in: "Law & Order" would be leaving the air after a remarkable 20 seasons.

Merkerson and the rest of the cast exit on Monday, May 24. For 17 years, the actress has played Lt. Anita Van Buren.

Though her character and the actress both approach life with a steely honesty, Van Buren, who wears a wig of processed hair, conservative clothes and plain accessories, is prim. Merkerson's hair is natural, in short twists; she wears large hoop earrings, a couple of charm bracelets, silver rings, an anklet, a scarf and a black skirt and blouse. She laughs often and easily, throwing back her head and just enjoying life.

Merkerson is now part of TV history, as the longest-tenured black actress in a prime-time drama. "They give me a sendoff," is all she'll reveal of her finale.

Like others who became regulars on the show, Merkerson began as a guest star. That episode, "Mushrooms," in which she played the mother of a slain child, remains her favorite.

It was 1991, and Merkerson, as usual, was in a play. She mentioned the audition to a friend, who gave her a video of the program. She was hooked from the starting "bo-boom" of the show's now-familiar music.

"Ben Stone (the former assistant district attorney played by Michael Moriarty) lost a case he had no business losing. They actually had the hero lose. Then I got this gig. It covered so much in 47 minutes.

"I became a fan of the show," she continues. "For a little while, I wouldn't read the second half of the scripts."

Then she couldn't resist. During her "Law & Order" tenure, Merkerson married and divorced, won an Emmy and a SAG award, and acted in movies ("Lackawanna Blues" brought many deserved accolades and her moment at the Emmys when she lost her acceptance speech - in her cleavage).

When the show was on hiatus, she worked in films or plays, on Broadway and off. "Law & Order," which hires New York actors to play the many guest roles, usually has a strong Broadway contingent. Merkerson beams as she talks about one former co-star and Broadway trouper, the late, great Jerry Orbach.

Being in public with Orbach, who played Detective Lennie Briscoe, was like being with the mayor of New York - except Orbach was always popular. Once Merkerson dared grumble that fans did not allow him to eat his lunch.

"'Kid, these are the people who will keep you going,'" she says, quoting him. "He always called me 'kid.'"

Orbach was shocked that Merkerson could not tell a joke. One night after a late shoot, as a car took them up the West Side of Manhattan, Orbach taught her three jokes, which shared two punch lines. He made her repeat them, and as soon as Orbach left the car, the jokes left her brain. The driver spent the rest of the ride to her home in Harlem teaching her. The next day, Orbach quizzed her; Merkerson was blank.

"He was so exasperated," she says. "If I would do anything over, I would remember those jokes."

This past season, Benjamin Bratt, who played Detective Rey Curtis, one of Orbach's partners, returned as a guest star. The story had them in a cemetery, and they learned Orbach was buried there, so they walked to his tomb.

"It was an amazing moment," she says, "that both of us were there together, and we just stood there, looking at each other and crying."

The best part of the show, she says, has been making lasting friendships with many, including Dennis Farina, Jill Hennessy and Jesse L. Martin.

Merkerson is now working on a documentary about benevolent societies in the South. Former slaves created them to take care of their own; some societies became insurance companies.

"At 57 the good thing is, I am still learning new things," she says. "I want to continue to be an actor, and I want to learn about filmmaking. I do believe I could be a good documentarian. I want to finish my documentary. As long as I am working, this is what I will do. And if it starts to fall apart, I'll do something else."