'SVU' Dedicated Their Latest Episode to Jery Hewitt

Many Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans noticed that Season 22's third episode, "Remember Me in Quarantine," was dedicated to the memory of Jery Hewitt.

While it's not uncommon for shows to commemorate the legacy of those who worked on the show with a title card, many are wondering who exactly Jery Hewitt was.

Keep reading to learn more about Jery Hewitt and his contributions to the Dick Wolf series.

71-year-old stunt coordinator Jery Hewitt (born Gerald Robert Hewitt) passed away suddenly on Nov. 21, 2020, Deadline reported.

Known for his work on 14 Coen brothers films, including The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Jery was also the stunt coordinator for every episode of the original Law & Order, as well as for all 22 seasons of the current SVU, on which he was working earlier in November.

Of his passing, Wolf Entertainment has issued a statement saying it "has lost a member of the family." Warren Leight, SVU's showrunner, joined the Law & Order family in mourning Jery's passing. "We lost an artist and a master of his craft today," he tweeted. "The SVU family sends our condolences and love to the Hewitt family. We know Jery Hewitt's keeping everyone safe in the beyond."

According to Variety, the prominent stunt coordinator worked on "more than 300 episodes of Dick Wolf programming, including Law & Order, New York Undercover, and Law & Order: SVU."

His career in film and television tallied thousands of credits in the more than four decades he worked.

Jery was married to his collaborator, stuntwoman Jennifer Lamb, who worked with him on Dick Wolf's many shows and was at his side when he passed.

He is also survived by his four children, Harry, Kevin, Sam, and Molly.

His obituary explains that the stunt coordinator graduated with a degree in Food Science from the State University of New York at Farmingdale, which "kicked off his commitment to being ecologically conscious in the use of renewable resources, well before it was in vogue."

Unbeknownst to many, the natural storyteller also harbored "a secret interest in becoming a comedic actor," which led to "accidental opportunities" in which he performed in several projects in and out of Hollywood industry.

As a stunt coordinator, he collaborated with "Oscar-winning directors including Joel and Ethan Coen, Jodie Foster, and Mike Nichols," and gained the moniker of "the thinking man's stunt coordinator" during his decades of work. 

In his spare time, he "spent several years involved with Civil War reenactments," learned how to operate a hot-air balloon, and "had a fascination with the inner workings of anything mechanical."

Jery's family held a small gathering in his memory at the Lazear-Smith & Vanderbilts Plaat Memorial Home in his hometown of Warwick, N.Y. on Nov. 27.

We are keeping Jery's family, along with his extended Law & Order family, in our hearts as they mourn his loss.