Who is Jery Hewitt? Why 'New Amsterdam' Paid Tribute to the Stunt Man
'New Amsterdam' ended its season 3 premiere by honoring Jery Hewitt, and now many fans of the show want to learn more about who he was.
Every TV show has high-profile figures associated with it. There are stars, creators, and executive producers who are often responsible for promoting the show and serve as its face to the public.
Behind the scenes, though, there are plenty of people with less public profiles who are nonetheless essential to producing weekly TV. Jery Hewitt was one of those behind-the-scenes specialists on New Amsterdam.
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Who is Jery Hewitt?
New Amsterdam fans are just learning Jery's name for the first time thanks to the Season 3 premiere of New Amsterdam. At the end of the episode, the show dedicated the production to Jery, who died in between Seasons 2 and 3. Naturally, that title card made fans curious about who exactly Jery was and what role he had on New Amsterdam.
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Jery was a stunt coordinator on the show and had a lengthy list of credits in addition to New Amsterdam. Jery worked on both Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, and he also did stunt work in feature films. In fact, he was the stunt coordinator for 14 different Coen brothers movies, including No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man. He also did stunt work for films like The Bourne Ultimatum and The Warriors.
Jery died in November 2020.
New Amsterdam paid tribute to Jery in the wake of his death in November 2020. As Deadline reported at the time, Jery was referred to as "the thinking man's stunt coordinator" in part for his work on more sophisticated, adult projects.
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Jery died at the age of 71 quite suddenly, and his family released a statement in the wake of his passing. “His laser-focused attention to detail ensured the safety of those he was working with and allowed the precision of the moment to be captured on film with clarity and the true beauty of the story he was helping to tell,” the statement said.
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“Jery was honored to have worked on 14 of the Coen brothers films and his efforts brought iconic moments to life, from teaching Tex Cobb how to ride a motorcycle in Raising Arizona, to sending his wife and collaborator for the past 25+ years, Jennifer Lamb, hurtling backwards into a snake pit in the remake of True Grit," the statement continued.
Jery is survived by his wife, stuntwoman Jennifer Lamb, who was also his frequent collaborator. The couple also had four children together. New Amsterdam's tribute to Jery put a spotlight on his death months after it happened and hopefully helped more people discover his legacy. Jery worked in the world of Hollywood stunts for decades, and he made his mark on the industry in that time.
Jery's family offered those who knew him or wanted to learn more about him the option to donate to one of the causes he was passionate about. “If you would like to make a donation in Jery’s name, he was quite fond of Beautiful People Sports, Adaptive Sports for children with disabilities. Jery — no surprise there — was a frequent volunteer for them. Or to any local food pantry or near Warwick," they said.
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