Homicide Articles
Various articles from the Homicide Tribute on Maryland's Sunspot News Site
The Scene of the Crimes
Rabid fans of the Baltimore police drama are traveling from all
over this weekend to see the stars of 'Homicide Live!' and
enjoy the gritty side of our city.
While gabbing online with "Homicide: Life on the Street" fans
last summer, Maura Crowther, a technical writer from Toronto,
tossed out a suggestion: Why not meet in Baltimore, munch a
crab cake and get to know one another in person?
The first unofficial "Homicon" took place in October. About 30
"Homicide" fanatics, including Crowther, came from as far as
California to experience Fells Point, drink at Koopers Tavern --
where the NBC show's cast and crew really hang out -- tour
taping sites and just maybe bump into someone like Reed
Diamond, the good/bad cop whose permanent dark night of the
soul speaks eloquently to this mordant ilk and who was in town
for a guest appearance after being banished from the force.
On Sunday, many of those same folks will again hoist one at
Koopers, this time before heading to Center Stage for
"Homicide Live!," the cast's annual opportunity to get silly,
parody their on-air personas and meet their ardent following.
This is the fifth year for the cabaret-like show, a benefit for
the Fells Point Creative Alliance and the future Patterson
Cultural Center.
Last year, the show sold out at the tiny Vagabond Players
theater in Fells Point, largely because of the volume of tickets
purchased via the Internet by fans as far afield as Oregon and
Miami. This year, fans feel a particular urgency about getting
here, as this may be the show's last season. An unconfirmed
rumor has it that Parvesh Mehta, the "poet laureate" of the
"Homicide" online newsgroup, will fly in from India to attend.
Such out-of-town passion may surprise you, the local, more
casual "Homicide" fan, who tunes in for the pleasure of watching
a staged car chase down your alley, or the perverse thrill of
seeing art imitate death in Baltimore. Talk to these far-flung
devotees, however, and they may teach you a thing or two about
your town, especially if your faith in its character is a
day-to-day affair.
They may also tell you that it's not easy being them. Outside of
"Homicide's" online community and Baltimore itself, "being a
fan of the show is a pretty lonely business. One tends to get a
lot of blank stares and shrugs," says Amanda Paulette, a
25-year-old graduate student who will drive from Yorktown,
Va., for her third "Homicide Live!"
A harmonic convergence of elements is what attracts Paulette
and other out-of-towners: The show's realism, its credibly
imperfect characters and the fact that it is taped in the
Waterfront, Daily Grind and other real places with real names
in a way that makes it "of" as well as "about" Baltimore.
"The idea of walking on the same streets, eating in the same
restaurants, and drinking in the same bars that our favorite
detectives do holds a strong appeal for the fans," says Nabeil
Sarhan, a 22-year-old Harvard research scientist who will
attend with his mom and girlfriend.
They like Baltimore
And then there's the plucky, weary, sparkling, seedy character
of Baltimore itself, an endearingly quirky city with its own
wobbly moral valence. It's a place these visitors view as a glass
half-full, rather than half-empty. Which is just about right.
"Homicide" tourists are, by definition, realists. Otherwise
they'd spend their vacations on the West Coast. Besides, if
Baltimore's glass were full, they probably wouldn't savor it as
much. The city would appear too perfect, too much like a
Hollywood fake, re-created with impossible verisimilitude.
This will be Kelly Y. Kinlow's first "Homicide Live!" The
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student loves the way
Baltimore looks so real on air: "There are so many TV shows
that only show the suburban neighborhoods or only show the
inner city. It's nice to see a city portrayed to actually have
regular blue-collar-type neighborhoods and blue-collar people,"
Kinlow says.
"I could open my own `Homicide' tour-guide business with all
the people I've shown around Fells Point over the last year,"
says Kathy Wilhelm, a 36-year-old Shrewsbury, Pa., resident
and avid "Homicide" fan.
When Crowther, 31, first visited Baltimore, she was a little
worried. "Was it really going to be like Disney World, where the
castle is just hollow?" she asked herself. She was concerned
that she might "lose the magic of its show But it turned out to
be just the opposite. The show seems more real to me now and
the characters seem more real."
This "Homicide Live!" is Crowther's first, but she has made a
habit of visiting Baltimore regularly. Before her epiphany, if
anyone had told Crowther she would willingly "get in the car and
drive nine hours and meet people I met on the Internet in a
city with one of the highest murder rates in America, I
probably would have said, `Sure.' [It would have seemed like
an] utterly ridiculous thing."
When "I think about it, it really does boggle the mind," says
Crowther, a tad sheepishly. "It's just a TV show. I hate to say
it; it really has had an impact on my life. It introduced me to
people who are absolutely creative and talented I never would
have known before. And the show really inspired me in terms of
my own writing."
Paul Patterson, 39, will fly in from Chicago with his brother. He
has watched the show since its post-Super Bowl premiere in
1993. As an African-American male, "I enjoy the positive
portrayals of the leading characters," says Patterson, who
works in circulation for the Daily Southtown, a suburban
newspaper. "You just don't see a lot of African-American males
in leads like this."
Patterson's fascination with "Homicide" has led him to
subscribe to the Baltimore Sun. His friends tease him about
knowing more about Baltimore than Chicago. They tease him,
too, about his anticipation: "People roll their eyes and ask,
`You're going to Baltimore and you're excited about it?' "
(Patterson pays no mind: He's studying a Baltimore map so he
can trace "Homicide's" travels through the city.)
`Infatuated'
A Richmond paramedic who once worked in Baltimore for an
ambulance company, James L. Jenkins Jr., says he is
"infatuated" with Baltimore and tries to get to "Homicide"
shoots whenever possible. He's allowed to walk freely around
the set, peer through viewer monitors and chat with cast
members. Jenkins, 29, often contributes police patches to the
Waterfront's collection in hopes of seeing them on air, which he
occasionally does.
As part of the Homicon festivities last year, Cheryl Rabin, a
former patrol sergeant and now information coordinator for the
greater Kansas City Convention and Visitors Center, organized a
tour of Baltimore sites seen on "Homicide." She was
undeterred when the bus driver asked, "Are you sure you want
to go into these areas?" Visitors saw the rowhouse where
Bayliss was shot, traveled through drug kingpin Luther
Mahoney's domain, saw Pigtown, the Reservoir Hill lot where
the body of a little girl was discovered and the lot where her
television counterpart's body was found. At most sites,
"Homicide" fanatics hopped out and snapped photos.
Jenkins, who took the tour of streets he already knew well,
was apparently the only one who noticed that in one
neighborhood, some kids tossed rocks at the bus, shouting
something like, "K mart is that way."
Crowther has a vague theory about the appeal of "Homicide."
Those drawn to its flawed heroes and troubled town "tend to
have a bit of darkness in themselves" or have experienced
trauma in their lives. "The show works as a catharsis for them,"
she says.
In the same vein, Jennifer Moses, a 24-year-old fan flying in
from Charleston, W.Va., cites the episode "A Many Splendored
thing," in which Det. Frank Pembleton "tells his partner that he
must learn to embrace his dark side before he can fully
understand himself. I thought this was such a good moment
because it articulated the fact that we all have an aspect of
ourselves that we'd rather ignore -- but rather than ignore
these aspects we must make peace with them."
Then there's good old-fashioned sex appeal. Kinlow, the
Milwaukee college student, confesses, "It wasn't the show's
greatness that first got me hooked. It was Clark Johnson's
face. I was flipping channels on a Friday night and saw what I
thought (and still think) was one of the most gorgeous men that
I'd ever seen!"
Crowther and others are disappointed in the show this year, and
disappointed that it may not return next fall; a decision is
expected in May. "It's not the show it once was maybe it's just
time to wrap it up. On the other hand, what am I going to do
without `Homicide'?"
Originally published on Mar 4 1999
Homicide' in cyberspace
Television: The show has a counterpart on the Web, and
tonight's episode brings the "Second Shift" to the tube.
By David Zurawik
Sun Staff
"Homicide: Life on the Street" becomes "Homicide: Death in
Cyberspace" tonight in a new twist on the old trick of crossover
episodes.
We've already seen "Homicide" cross over with another
prime-time NBC series, "Law & Order," in an effort to boost
ratings. The crossovers involved detectives from both series
working on the same case, often with the New York cops coming
to Baltimore and the "Homicide" crew going to New York.
But tonight, the crossover is between two media, as "Homicide"
joins forces with its online sister production, "Homicide:
Second Shift," which can be found on the Web at http: //www.
nbc.com/homicide. The on-air/online crossover is a first for the
network, according to Thomas Hjelm, director of interactive
programming and executive producer of NBC Digital
Productions.
For those not familiar with it, "Homicide: Second Shift" is an
online companion to the weekly drama series broadcast on NBC
-- an online companion in a "parallel medium," in the words of
Hjelm.
"Second Shift" is a drama about the homicide detectives who
take over when the men and women of "Homicide: Life on the
Street," who work for Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), end
their work shifts. Think of it as a drama produced to be
broadcast on a computer screen instead of a television set.
"Second Shift" has its own cast of actors and its own story
lines. So far, four episodes have been filmed on location in
Baltimore using the same sets as "Homicide: Life on the
Street." Normally, what you see when you visit the Web site
are still photographs and pages of script from "Second Shift."
While the episodes are written and produced by NBC Digital
Productions, all have to be approved by Tom Fontana, executive
producer of "Homicide."
Tonight's TV episode deals with a man who stages ritual killings
on the Internet, "streaming" images of the murders. Hjelm
describes them as "interactive snuff films." "Second Shift"
Detectives Bonaventura (Michael Ornstein) and Austin (Murphy
Guyer) team up tonight with "Homicide" Detectives Sheppard
(Michael Michele) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) to investigate.
The online images of the ritual murder are fairly graphic. They
involve a woman with her hands tied above her head and a man in
a mask about to plunge a knife into her chest. To participate
fully in the streamed video, you need Microsoft Media Player
software, which you can download for free. Only Microsoft
software will work, though, and, not surprisingly, Microsoft is
the sponsor for "Homicide: Second Shift," according to Hjelm.
Online visitors to NBC have been able to witness the ritual
murder and follow the "Second Shift" investigation of it since
Wednesday.
In that story line, the "Second Shift" detectives determined
the online killing was a hoax involving an actress and no real
murder was involved.
But tonight on television's "Homicide," bodies are discovered,
and we learn that online murders are taking place. The
detectives track the killer and invite him to stage another
ritual killing online on Bayliss' home page on the Web.
Hjelm says tonight's television episode is totally self-contained
and can be enjoyed by viewers whether or not they have made
any online visits or ever heard of "Second Shift."
As to what's on Bayliss' home page, Hjelm says, "Well, you know
that part of his character arc has dealt with explorations of his
sexuality, so that's something you can find referenced on his
home page, as well as his interest in Eastern mysticism. Put it
together, and you've got Bayliss' Web site. A Buddhist's Guide
to Bisexuality is what it amounts to."
Finally, something we can all relate to.
Originally published on 02/05/1999
Look out, 'Nash Bridges'
TV: Prizes, schmizes; NBC would rather have higher-than-CBS
ratings from 'Homicide.'
By David Zurawik
Sun Staff
PASADENA, Calif. -- "Homicide: Life On the Street" received
more critical acclaim last night, when it was picked for its
Outstading Achievement in Drama by the Television Critics
Association at the group's 13th annual awards ceremony here.
Andre Braugher, who plays Detective Frank Pembleton on the
NBC show, was also honored by the 175-meember critics' group
with its award for Individual Achievement in Drama.
But the celebrated cop drama returns to production today in
Baltimore for its fifth season with a sword hanging over its
head.
Earlier this month, executive producer Tom Fontana told The
Sun that he feared NBC might cancel "Homicide" at the end of
this season if the series' ratings did not improve.
Warren Littlefield, president of NBC Entertainment,
confirmed those fears in an interview here over the weekend,
saying "Homicide" has to beat CBS' "Nash Bridges," a cop show
starring Don Johnson, if it wants to stay on the air.
Last year, "Homicide" finished third in its time period behind
ABC's "20/20," which overwhelms all competition from 10 p.m.
to 11 p.m. Fridays, and "Nash Bridges."
"We love the show and we want it to continue. But we have to
be competitive," Littlefield said.
"We're comfortable that we can't beat '20/20' in the time
period, but we want to be the highest-rated drama, and that's
achievable," he added.
"We're doing everything we can, and Tom Fontana is doing
everything he can to make that happen. It's a personal favorite
of mine, and I'd hate to see it go. But it has got to be the
highest-rated drama at 10 on Friday night if it's going to
continue," Littlefield concluded.
As part of that improvement effort, Littlefield said
"Homicide" added a new actress to the cast last week, Callie
Thorne. The only information Littlefield and NBC publicists had
on her is that she had been in an NBC pilot this spring that did
not make the fall schedule. They said they did not know what
her role on the series would be.
NBC said Fontana had more information on Thorne. But Fontana
was in New York and unavailable over the weekend.
When asked about the dismissals of Melissa Leo (Sgt. Kay
Howard) and Max Perlich (videographer J.H. Brodie) at the end
of last season, Littlefield said, "I think one of the things we've
learned -- and no one has taught us better than Dick Wolf
(executive producer of "Law & Order") -- is that change in a
show is good. So, Tom felt we could make some changes and
improve the show."
Both Leo and Perlich were involved in widely publicized police
stories off-camera. Perlich's problems involved a dispute with
neighbors and possession of a gun, while Leo made headlines
after filing charges against ex-husband John Heard for stalking
her and their child.
The new season of "Homicide" episodes will air starting Oct. 17,
NBC announced.
Originally published on 05/14/1999
Detective Mensch
Actor: A dark comic with a sweetheart of a soul, Richard Belzer
has found a new life with 'Homicide.'
"THE BELZ: Act One" FADE IN.
INTERIOR: COMEDY CLUB/WASHINGTON -- NIGHT
Easy, babe. First we got to steer clear of Dupont Circle. Yeah,
it's Friday night and you're missing "Homicide," but Richard
Belzer is doing stand-up comedy at the Improv, somewhere in
unparkable Washington.
"He came a long way to entertain you," the opening act
announces at 11: 30. Then Belzer dawns, a reed in black with a
face Keith Richards would envy. Shades mask Belzer's baby
browns. Yeah, I really broke my ass to be here.
Belzer came all the way from Baltimore, where a role on the
NBC drama "Homicide" has transformed his career. I play
Detective John Munch, and I'm having the time of my life,
Belzer says at the Improv.
In "Homicide's" one-hour plays, John Munch is a one-man Greek
Chorus. "He says what everyone else is thinking," says
executive producer Tom Fontana. "He just talks the truth."
Munch is rude, insensitive and would be shot dead by his own if
he wasn't so damn right all the time.
And Munch, bless his carping heart, has delivered Richard
Belzer to Baltimore. The 52-year-old actor and comedian has
become a Charm City fixture: His mug is on coffee mugs, he
shares the air with Marc Steiner, he even lights up Baltimore's
Washington Monument at Christmas. Belzer spreads himself
thinner supporting local causes from public radio to private
hospitals.
He's everywhere. There, he's walking along Thames Street. No,
you go up to him and tell him you love the show. He probably gets
that all the time. He just looks like he belongs on "X-Files."
Well, babe, you took too long because there he goes ...
L Right before our eyes, Richard Belzer has turned the corner.
INTERIORS: EXPLORERS CLUB/HARBOR COURT HOTEL:
AFTERNOON
"Our first flowers in bloom," says Harlee McBride, peeling
through a photo album. Her husband of 12 years, Richard Belzer,
is the family photographer; McBride is the woman in the hat,
pictured often in their French jardin. By the looks of it, Belzer
is wild about McBride and Old English roses. His photography is
downright sunny.
L Owning a home in France must do this to a road-tested cynic.
"I know," McBride says, "it's so un-him." Belzer's reputation is
restored by a Belzer photograph of "The Big Book of
Conspiracies." (Tip: Don't get him started on the Warren
Commission.)
Deep in the jungle of the Explorers Club, a glass of Silverado
wine and a champagne cocktail appear. McBride air-lifts two
walnuts from the nut bowl; she's read somewhere that walnuts
contain a cancer-fighting agent. Belzer successfully slugged his
way through testicular cancer in 1983, so pass them walnuts.
Belzer witnessed friends John Belushi and Freddie Prinze
self-destruct on drugs, but it was cancer that seized his
attention. Radiation treatments can make a man switch from
cocaine & co. to yoga. Belzer calls cancer a cosmic slap in the
face. The point is he changed his act.
"No matter what happens, his will is so strong," McBride says.
"It's his best feature."
Belzer and McBride met a long time ago in a galaxy far, far
away. Los Angeles, 1981. It was a simpler time, a time before
police recognized Belzer from TV. Actress Harlee McBride was
doing Ford commercials and free theater. Nothing great. She
made a soft-porn movie called "Young Lady Chatterly" and she
was pictured in Playboy. That wasn't the ticket, either.
At 31 and divorced, "I was trying to find out what I like to do
alone," McBride says. "I like to laugh is what I like."
No better place than the comedy clubs, where Robin Williams,
Steve Martin and Richard Lewis were working. A friend told
her: Harlee, you gotta meet Richard Belzer. "They referred to
him as 'The King,' " she says. Well, "I didn't come to meet some
struggling comedian."
But bring me a bottle of champagne, and we'll see, she said.
What McBride saw was a twice-divorced comic with a perm. "I
thought he looked like an accountant."
"So, you're a comedian," she began. "Are you funny?"
"Are you beautiful?" Belzer said. His timing was perfect.
All right, so he's funny and quick, McBride thought. The next
scene is her West Hollywood apartment, where friends have
crashed. It's just funny Belzer and beautiful McBride having
cocktails. "I told him the beds are full, and he gave me a look
that was so sweet," she says. "Then he gave me a little hug, just
a
little hug to say it's OK."
She hugged back and "we melted into each other's arms."
Belzer is this sweetheart of a soul, McBride says.
"That's a jackpot for most women," she says. "He just wasn't
successful at the time."
INTERIORS COMEDY CLUB/MANHATTAN: NIGHT, LATE.
In the early 1970s, 20 years before Munch, Richard Belzer was
simply known as No. 12. He was the 12th nobody auditioning to
emcee at Rick Newman's club on First Avenue between 77th
and 78th in Manhattan. Belzer was asked back for the next
seven years, and the main room at Catch a Rising Star became
Belzer's Court.
Every millennium, God delivers a shipment of funny souls. And
Newman was there to catch them in his "Studio 54 of the
Comedy World." The A-list included: Belushi, Gilda Radner,
Williams, Jay Leno, Prinze and Newman's main man, Richard
Belzer.
"He just stood out," Newman says. We're all drawn to the Dark
Side, with its smart and sexy angles. Belzer nailed the part. "Go
figure, with that face."
A typical Belzer night at the Catch started around 9 p.m. and
ended around 3 a.m. Sometimes six nights a week. For seven
years. Belzer stayed late and worked hard at comedy school. He
knocked over tables to spar with hecklers. His routines
included a Mick Jagger impersonation and "Menachem Begin on
Acid." Belzer was politically incorrect before the term was
minted.
Maybe his in-your-face comedy kept him from "breaking out."
Ah, but the memories, Newman says. One night Belushi was
belting out his Joe Cocker impersonation, when Williams and
Belzer decided to sing back-up.
Real singers, such as David Bowie and Warren Zevon, were big
Belzer fans.
"They used to almost have to carry me out on a stretcher, I
was laughing so hard at his act," says Zevon, who invited Belzer
to join him on tour. Just a couple of excitable boys loose in
America.
Belzer started going places. He appeared in "The Groove Tube,"
a 1972 cult classic that also featured Chevy Chase's movie
debut. He was the co-host of a morning radio show in New York
called "Brink and Belzer." And, in 1975, he warmed up audiences
for a new variety show called "Saturday Night Live." But Belzer
always came home to Catch a Rising Star, where a warm mike
waited for him. Seven years is a long gig. Many of Belzer's
peers had moved out and up. Belzer had become such a
successful cult hit he nearly went broke.
Was his destiny to be forever respected and forever unknown?
His options were ugly.
Go back to being a dock worker, truck driver or census taker?
Go back to Connecticut, where he had written obits and covered
Rotary Club meetings for the Bridgeport Post? Go back to the
beginning -- his parents' kitchen in a Bridgeport housing
project?
"I had to make my mom laugh or I'd get my ass kicked by her,"
Belzer told People magazine in 1993. "Our kitchen was the
toughest room I ever worked."
His mother, Frances Belzer, died in 1964. Charles Belzer, his
father, killed himself four years later. His son was 22 and
didn't know what hit him.
Turning to comedy saved him, friend Rick Newman says.
A star was born at Catch a Rising Star, but it was time for
Belzer to leave the nest. He chipped away through the 1980s,
appearing in movies such as "Night Shift," "Author! Author!" and
"Scarface." He was a host for Fox's "The Late Show" and
starred in his own HBO comedy special. In 1986, Belzer
appeared on the first "Comic Relief." He did his stand-up on
Carson and Letterman.
Still, McBride kept her day job as a secretary at Disneyland.
The real world, as anyone knows, is no safe bet.
INTERIOR: FELLS POINT/ROW HOUSE -- MORNING.
In 1992, a Baltimore-based drama called "Homicide: Life on the
Street" headed into production. Every part had been cast
except for the opinionated, ex-hippie named John Munch. "You
got to have a hunk," the NBC brass told executive producer
Tom Fontana. One fine morning, executive producer Barry
Levinson heard Richard Belzer romping on the radio with
Howard Stern. He liked what he heard. Belzer, an opinionated
ex-hippie, read and read for the part of Munch.
When the NBC brass called again, Fontana broke the news.
Well, Belzer's great, Tom, but ... he's not a hunk.
"We're aware of that," Fontana replied.
Munch's debut was auspicious. Andre Braugher, like 42 million
others, watched as the first show aired after the Super Bowl
in 1993. The Cowboys had finished devouring the Bills, when
Munch let rip his "I'm not Montel Williams!" riff.
"That made me sit up," says Braugher, who plays Detective
Frank Pembleton.
Since that Super Sunday, Belzer has had his moments. But he
has rarely commanded center stage in this ensemble cast the
way Braugher and others have. Belzer works the edges.
Tomorrow night's episode, however, showcases Munch -- from
his Pikesville childhood to the murder of his high school
sweetheart. It's arguably Belzer's finest performance.
"We've established other backgrounds, but we've never looked
back into his past. What made Munch is fascinating," says Anya
Epstein, who often writes for Munch from the Fells Point
rowhouse that serves as the show's den of writers.
"To see him just as a jester would be a disservice," Epstein
says. "He's the Jewish presence on this show. He knows what it
feels like to be both on the inside and outside."
David Simon, who wrote the book on which the show is based and
writes for the show, says Munch is more than a fun character.
He's deceptively useful.
"Munch," Simon says, "is a great vehicle for writers to
introduce the outside world into the self-contained world of
the squad room. Here's a guy who still has this window on the
world -- although maybe it's a little cracked."
Munch doesn't define himself by his job like, say, Frank does.
"People ask me 'Is Munch a bad detective?' He's not tearing
things up, but when I'm watching him, I'm seeing a guy like the
detectives I knew," Simon says.
John Munch could be the most well-adjusted cop on the show.
It's a scary thought.
INTERIOR: FELLS POINT/BAR, COFFEE HOUSE --
EVENING.
The Thames Street tavern, site of tonight's "Homicide"
get-together, is like a scene in John Munch's bar: Don't look,
the evil Luther Mahoney is knocking down a cold one. Luther's
nemesis, Meldrick Lewis, foolishly has his back to Luther.
Detective Mike Kellerman busts in. Handsome son-of-a-gun. ,X
Don't stare, but he and the new medical examiner are
embracing. The assistant M.E. (played by Harlee McBride) waits
at the bar for her date.
"You doing a story on Belzer? He's a helluva actor," says Clark
Johnson, who plays Lewis. "Say nice things about him." (It
sounds like an order.) Johnson is planning to visit Belzer and
McBride at their "Hulk Hogan Estate" later this year. Didn't
you wonder how they could afford a home in southern France?
During a 1990 cable show, Hogan put Richard Belzer in a
wrestling hold. Hogan is a human pectoral muscle; Belzer is 150
pounds of wit and grit. Theirs was a match made in court. As
Hogan's hold took hold, McBride watched as "Richard dropped
to the floor like a rag. I knew this was too long for comedic
timing." Belzer sued, settled out of court with the Hulkster
and used the dough for a down payment on the home in France.
Speaking of Belzer, he arrives with an arm around a departing
"Homicide" director. "Richard is an original," the director says.
Someone else says, "He'll do anything for you." Like what? Like
helping a colleague get through a bad day.
"Richard is very good at gathering us in," says actress Melissa
Leo, who is in the middle of a child custody battle with her
ex-husband John Heard.
"Richard," says Leo, who plays Sgt. Kay Howard, "gathered me in
when I was having my ... upheavals."
INTERIOR: BRIGHTON'S/HARBOR COURT -- NOON.
Belzer orders two eggs up corraled by potatoes. He selects
Earl Grey tea from his favorite waiter in Baltimore, Kit.
Newspapers are available, but Belzer has already read his
customary five for the day. A diligent comic has to keep up, he
says.
Lunch with Munch is a many splintered thing. He's open to any
topic, especially a few favorites: He loves McBride and their
grown daughters, Bree Benton and Jessica Erin; he's bonded
with Baltimore's because I feel an affinity for city people and
their struggles; the key to acting is less is more and nothing is
best; and "Homicide," quite simply, has transformed my life.
But Belzer is a little droopy. Maybe it's the 12-hour "Homicide"
days, coupled with this business down I-95. Belzer headlines
tomorrow at the Improv in Washington. He hasn't done stand-up
since May at the re-opening of Newman's Catch a Rising Star.
Belzer feels out of shape, maybe a little soft. It's like getting
back in the ring after a long time, you know?
At the Improv the next night, Belzer weaves a monologue
where one-liners are beside the point. Is this an act or an
assault? Babe, he's not here to chat:
I think we should drive a stake through Nixon's heart just to
be sure. ... The mainstream press is just an arm of the state. ...
Ah, yes, the greatest UFO of all time: the single bullet theory.
... Nice tie, pal, they couldn't guess your weight, eh? ...
A Belzer riff then gets left for dead on Connecticut Avenue.
You want structure? Then, read a book, the comic says. I'm
just a drunk actor trying to make you laugh.
It's bedtime. Take care, watch 'Homicide' and drive safely,
says Richard Belzer.
He did come a long way to entertain you.
Originally published on Feb 20 1997
Braugher Power
What 'it' is: There's no defining what makes 'Homicide' star
Andre Braugher such a force of nature on the screen.
After two helpings of Bertha's mussels with garlic butter,
Andre Braugher wants a smoke. He steps outside the landmark
Fells Point restaurant and commands a park bench, where he
frees a Marlboro from the pack.
A panhandler appears with a fresh black eye and a stale story.
Mr. Braugher measures the man. Obviously, the guy is drunk and
was just kicked out of a bar , says Mr. Braugher, who keeps his
money in his pocket. "I wish I could give away skills."
Andre Braugher's skill is acting. He plays "Homicide's"
Detective Frank Pembleton -- the bald one in the big cast. "I'm
thinking of legally changing my name to that bald-headed black
guy," Mr. Braugher says. You know him when you see him. Try to
take your eyes off him. As Frank Pembleton, Mr. Braugher gets
in your face with his coiled temper, killer smile and existential
rap. And Columbo's raincoat has nothing on Frank's.
The media has described Mr. Braugher as prime-time's "best
actor" or "best unheralded actor" or "most interesting
African-American character." But labels run the risk of limiting
and pigeonholing an artist. What does "the best" mean, anyway?
It's meaningless, Mr. Braugher says. It's the woork, the work!
Another panhandler appears in this waterfront square. The
woman tells her story of sickness and desperation. This also
could be an act. "A case-by-case basis," Mr. Braugher says,
giving the woman a buck. She was believably needy.
Everybody is an actor, but some are better than others.
Family first
Dinner with Andre involves many mussels, a little
knuckle-cracking on his part, and some wordplay for our dining
pleasure.
"I am not an actor. I am a man who acts," Mr. Braugher says.
That sounds like Frank Pembleton: talking in
Shakespeare-speak, twisting something on its head, examining
and analyzing until a distinction is made and a truth exacted. "I
am not an actor. I am a man who acts." That is Andre Braugher,
and he means his priority is his family.
A newspaper article on "Homicide," which begins its fourth
season Oct. 20 (10 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11), displayed a photo of
the cast, featuring Frank Pembleton carrying a gun. At his
rented house in Homeland, Mr. Braugher showed the article to
his 3-year-old son, Michael. But first he folded the newspaper
to cover the gun. There will be no guns in the Braugher house.
Andre is guarded by something else. He inspires respect and
affection from people who know him and work with him. People
call him their friend, but privately they wonder whether they
are his friend. He is charming, magnetic and ultra-professional,
but the man can also be distant.
"So, what it is you really want to know? You're beating around
the bush about something," says Mr. Braugher, playfully
interrogating.
Mr. Braugher says reporters try to get inside his head and
discover what it is that makes him express himself so
passionately and intensely on the stage and screen. Mr.
Braugher's acting has never been called "wacky" or "zany."
"Passionate" and "intense" are his shadow descriptions.
"People want to put their hands on it, but I have no idea what it
is," he says. "It lives in the imagination. It is what God gave
me."
Many actors are passionate, says his wife, actress Amy
Brabson. Brau, as she calls him, exudes passion, but he also
knows what it is he is feeling and what we are feeling.
"Watching him is like holding up a mirror," she says. Ms. Brabson
plays Pembleton's wife on the show; their sweet chemistry isn't
staged.
They met in New York City, where they were in acting school in
the '80s. Met at a bar. Great legs, Mr. Braugher thought. She
thought, here is this engaging man introducing himself. Her
friends found his presence intimidating. Her friends wondered
about this serious man in her life. "This sounds terrible, but I
did have a good friend ask me, ÔAmy, is he good to you?' "
They've been married four years and tend to two careers,
while raising Michael -- who comes first. (This month they
decided to adopt another child.) Andre, Amy and Michael
frequent the playground or go to the Al Pacino Cafe for that
Egyptian pizza. Backed by their steady baby sitter, Amy and
Andre duck out each Saturday to eat at a French restaurant or
go to the theater.
"You have to be very special to get me to give up a Saturday
night," Mr. Braugher says.
Braugher sightings
Here in Fells Point, the City Pier masquerades as the Baltimore
City Police Department. The blue paint is chipping off the
lamplights at the front entrance of "Homicide's" main set on
Thames Street. A fortune cookie's message is taped to the
staff door: "Now is the time to try something different."
Filming for the show's new season began in Baltimore in late
July. Cast newcomer Reed Diamond (who plays Mike Kellerman)
had found an apartment in Fells Point and was seen on break at
the Daily Grind. Melissa Leo (Kay Howard) was spotted biking
through Fells Point on her 10-speed. And everyone's favorite
"Homicide" habit returned -- street closings during filming.
Under stainless-steel skies, the actors and producers were
officially welcomed back by Gov. Parris Glendening and Mayor
Kurt Schmoke at a media-laced reception outside Baltimore's
Hollywood Diner July 21. "Homicide" cakes featured red
droplets of frosting posing as blood in the outlines of murder
victims. It was hard to stomach, considering it was one day
after a mother and four children were killed while waiting at a
bus stop on Woodlawn Drive.
"It is kind of morbid, what we do," said Mr. Braugher --
pondering the show, the cake and the Woodlawn tragedy. "It
feels like we're a fictionalized version of ÔHard Copy.' " It
feels, well, distasteful.
Other "Homicide" actors met the press. "I was excited to see
the skyline and stadium again," said Kyle Secor (Detective Tim
Bayliss) driving in from New York City. "I walk to work. I feel
like a cop walking the beat," said Clark Johnson of Fells Point,
the man playing Detective Meldrick Lewis. "Everybody here is
so cooperative and friendly, and people in Baltimore aren't
jaded," said Richard Belzer, who plays Detective John Munch.
"I belong to this city," said Andre Braugher.
The "stay-at-home kind of guy" doesn't hit the "Homicide"
hang-outs, such as the Thames Street Tavern, that hold parties
for the gang. Fans won't find him at Baltimore's Downtown
Athletic Club, where cast members Johnson and Secor play
hoops. Mr. Braugher doesn't play basketball. He's an NFL fan,
and you won't see him at Camden Yards, either.
"Andre's only exercise is coffee and cigarettes," says Mr.
Johnson, who does not come to bury his friend but to rib him.
While the hip watch is "Belzer sightings," there have been
Braugher sightings at the Daily Grind, across the street from
the City Pier. The actor prefers a booth in the back to drink his
decaf and smoke Marlboros until he is due back on the set.
It's a private booth for a private man working in the most
public of professions.
The evolution of Frank
"Homicide: Life on the Street" debuted after the Super Bowl
in January 1993. Critics fell for it, and all nine viewers loved its
smart, jump-cutting, scruffy qualities. Produced by Baltimore
filmmaker Barry Levinson, "Homicide" is filmed almost entirely
in the city. We can catch glimpses of Highlandtown taverns,
Pulaski Highway motels, West Baltimore alleys, Memorial
Stadium and rowhouse after rowhouse. The show is even filmed
in some of our homes, and watch the furniture, please.
But the show became a network orphan. It was shown on
Wednesday, then Thursday, then Friday nights. Cast and crew
members never knew if the show would survive. But this season
is secure; NBC ordered 22 episodes, which promise to feature
more on-camera violence -- and more Frank Pembleton.
In the first season, Detective Pembleton had hair (not much)
and a kid (pictured on his desk). He got his man at any cost. As
the series stumbled on, Mr. Braugher's character lost the hair
and kid but gained an identity. Jesuit-trained Frank struggles
with his Catholic faith, speaks of existentialism and personal
redemption, and works to save the souls of everyone else.
Frank Pembleton is a messenger sent from God to ferret out
evil, Mr. Braugher says.
Beginning with last season, Mr. Braugher's reputation started
to spread like news of a pay raise. His pow, in-your-face,
is-this-legal? interrogation scenes in "the box" made memorable
television.
"Andre is a great actor, and we all know that, and he knows that
without tooting a horn about it," says Mr. Johnson. "I call him a
cheap Sidney Poitier."
Tom Fontana is one of the show's executive producers and
writers. As producer of another highly acclaimed drama, "St.
Elsewhere," Mr. Fontana felt blessed to work with the likes of
Denzel Washington, Alfre Woodard and now Andre Braugher.
"They make my work sing," he says. "I admire Andre for his
fearlessness and his complete indifference in terms of the
audience feeling sympathetic toward his character. He has the
courage to play the scene exactly the way he should." Damn any
negative fan mail.
This season could be Mr. Braugher's break-out year in
prime-time television. Who knows, but the strength of the show
is and should remain the ensemble cast, he says.
"I don't think Frank's character can carry it," Mr. Braugher
says. "And I'm not fond of this wishy-washy moralizing. I
started out playing a cynical cop -- with a sense of humor and all
these different things. Now I'm sort of the conscience of the
show. . . . I got to care about everybody.
"There's a whole bunch of cases where I just can see my
character saying, ÔI don't care. If you want to moralize about
it, you can. I'm moving on to the next dead body.' "
Engineering to acting
When moralizing, Joe Mannix used a combination of right
uppercuts with body punches. The 1960s TV detective seemed
to care only about his TV secretary, Peggy Fair. Peggy was
smart, pretty, black and under-used on the show. A shy, bookish
and overweight kid named Andre Braugher watched her on
Saturday nights at 10 at his home in Chicago.
Andre would become the only actor in his family. His father was
a heavy equipment operator for the state of Illinois, and his
mother was a postal worker. Andre was the baby in the family
of four kids. He found a boy his own age on television. Corey
Baker was on every Tuesday night on NBC. Corey was Julia's
boy, and "Julia" was the first comedy series to star a black
female, Diahann Carroll.
In 1970, Mr. Braugher saw James Earl Jones -- bald, black and
with the voice of Vader -- star in "The Great White Hope." My
god. Mr. Jones became heavyweight champion Jack Johnson.
What a role, what a role model. Yet, Mr. Braugher had no
immediate plans to step on stage and express himself. It's a
safer and tidier world inside books and inside libraries. At
Stanford University (after attending Catholic prep school), Mr.
Braugher was playing the role of a mechanical engineering major.
"I was spending too many hours in the library," he says. "I didn't
know how to dance, and I had never dated."
A college friend urged him to audition as Claudius in "Hamlet."
With no acting experience, the mechanical engineer got the
part. And after each performance, people applauded. "Wow, this
ain't bad," he thought. Actors speak of their motivations, and
Mr. Braugher's original motivation was to get a date. Then he
caught the acting bug and realized what it could do for him.
"I could get out and get in the middle of life," he says. "I don't
want to spend all my time on the sidelines, watching people play
this game called life."
The Juilliard School in New York City auditions roughly 800
people a year for the drama school, which emphasizes classical
training. Only 22 of them gain admission. In 1984, Mr. Braugher
came to Juilliard. Passion, meet technique.
"I think he was highly individual in the way he attacked his work.
There was a lot of stuff he wanted to get out, especially a lot
of anger," says John Stix, Mr. Braugher's first-year acting
teacher and a former artistic director at Center Stage. "Andre
has a grasp of the world and a maturity that goes well beyond
any cultural boundaries.
"His dream was to be outstanding."
At Juilliard, Mr. Braugher learned to dance. At Juilliard, Mr.
Braugher starred in "Othello" ("It is the cause, it is the cause,
my soul") and in "Hamlet" ("He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again"). He "got" Shakespeare and
has never let go. He impressed his teachers with his technique,
and challenged them with his opinions.
"Andre does not suffer anything easily; he questioned
everything," said Juilliard director Michael Kahn. Mr. Kahn later
produced "Othello" at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington
and his Iago was Andre Braugher, who remains devoted to the
play: "Othello was the model of the broken-hearted guy."
Mr. Braugher quotes the Bard at work. "Constantly. Without
fail," Clark Johnson says. "I had to smack him one time with the
back of my hand. He thanked me for that."
Mr. Braugher quotes the Bard at home. He was leaving for work
the other day and quoting from Shakespeare's "King Richard
II." Andre began, "We are amazed . . ." His 3-year-old picked up
the line on cue, ". . . and thus long have we stood . . ."
". . .to watch the fearful bending of thy knee," Mr. Braugher
finished.
ÔGlory' days
After Juilliard, Mr. Braugher made the transition from theater
to film when he played Thomas Searles in the 1989 film "Glory"
-- the story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the
first black fighting regiment in the East during the Civil War.
He earned dazzling reviews and proudly sat by his phone in Los
Angeles for three months. "They" were going to call -- it was
just a matter of time.
The phone was mute.
"I'm never going to put my life on hold like that again," he says.
He auditioned in 1992 for the role of Detective Frank
Pembleton, having fallen for the script mainly because he
couldn't tell whether the guy was supposed to be white or black.
He was interesting and challenging and intense. Frank was a
man. "And I can do a man."
He gets advance tapes of "Homicide" and watches each
performance, dissecting his role. "Did they use the earnest
take or the cynical one?" Mr. Braugher spots glitches in his
acting that are lost on the rest of us.
"He can be a pain, but the truth is, nine times out of 10, the
thing bothering him is wanting to make the work better," says
Mr. Fontana. "And nine times out of 10, he is right. I always
listen when Andre speaks to me."
Mr. Braugher recently finished filming a courtroom thriller with
Richard Gere called "Primal Fear." He has appeared in the films
"The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson," "Murder in Mississippi"
and HBO's "The Tuskegee Airmen." He'd like to play a romantic
lead or try comedy. Try anything. He has time, after all. The
man is only 33.
When the Emmy nominations were announced earlier this year,
the name Andre Braugher was absent. Among many others,
"Homicide" producers were baffled and miffed. Mr. Braugher
was even a little baffled. The kid from Chicago has always
wondered how funny he could be in one of those rushed
acceptance speeches.
The Emmy thing bugged Mr. Braugher for about a day. His L.A.
experience had made a powerful impression. The phone might
ring or not, he might be nominated this season or not -- heck, he
could be out of television by next March when they're done
filming the new season. He's an actor; he's used to
unemployment.
When he's finished with "Homicide," Mr. Braugher will move the
family to New York City, where his wife's stage career is and
where he would do just fine back with the theater, back with
Shakespeare.
"He must have told you about his dream, right?" Ms. Brabson
says. "He dreams of going to law school."
Imagine an Andre Braugher closing argument.
Maybe it's magic
After last season, Mr. Braugher called Mr. Fontana. Is there
anything I could be doing better, and if so, please let me know,
the actor asked. "The God's honest truth is I really couldn't
think of anything," Mr. Fontana says.
He doesn't really know what it is either. The it that lives in the
imagination. The it that makes Andre Braugher do what he does.
Yes, he trains hard and drives himself hard and drives people
around him hard. But something about it is easy, too.
"I think there is a pocket of magic inside him," Mr. Fontana
says.
That's it -- a pocket of magic.
Originally published on 05/14/1999
Homicide: Still on the street
The ratings haven't been all that the TV honchos would like, but
Baltimore's finest is hanging in there for a sixth season.
By Chris Kaltenbach
Sun Staff
From its post-Super Bowl debut in 1993 to its coming
NBC-mandated get-better-ratings-or-die sixth season,
"Homicide: Life on the Street" has earned every bit of its
reputation as one of television's top dramas.
Not that its run has been without problems. Despite its
high-profile introduction -- not only did it debut in a time slot
guaranteed to produce big ratings, but its executive producer
was Oscar-winner (and Baltimore expatriate) Barry Levinson --
the show has never been a ratings smash. Last year, it finished
third in its Friday-night time slot behind ABC's "20/20" and
CBS' "Nash Bridges."
And its refusal to fit into the television mainstream -- in both
structure (the show favors thought over action) and location
(set in Baltimore, with interiors filmed inside an abandoned
Fells Point recreation pier) -- has done little to endear it to
television's powers-that-be. How else to explain the show's
near-criminal neglect at the hands of the Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences?
But oh, what the show has going for it.
Inspired by former Sun reporter David Simon's 1991 book,
"Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," the show's depiction
of intense police questioning has added a new term to the
American lexicon: putting someone "in The Box." It has
introduced a rogues' gallery that encompasses both the riveting
(Luther Mahoney) and the ridiculous (Kellerman's bad-news
brothers, who stole Babe Ruth's uniform). It has featured
death by bowling ball, death over a pen and death in tribute to
Edgar Allan Poe.
It's also weathered cast changes that would have sunk a lesser
show. Ned Beatty, Daniel Baldwin, Jon Polito and Melissa Leo
have gone. Michelle Forbes and Reed Diamond showed up.
Isabella Hofmann and Max Perlich showed up -- then were gone.
This season, three new regulars will join the cast. Two were
part of last season's death-of-Beau-Felton episodes: Jon Seda
as auto-theft detective Paul Falsone and Peter Gerety as
Detective Stuart Gharty of Internal Affairs. (Both have been
re-assigned to the homicide unit, thanks to the department's
new rotation policy.) The third, Callie Thorne's Detective Laura
Ballard, is a brash Seattle transplant who shows up prepared to
suffer no fools lightly.
So, "Homicide" marches on, each year embraced a little more
warmly by the Baltimoreans who call it neighbor. Just ask
production designer Vince Peranio, whose job includes scouting
locations throughout the city and its environs.
"Many locations we've gotten have been merely because [the
owners] were such fans," says Peranio, himself a native
Baltimorean. "You go to these wonderful mansions in Ruxton and
stuff -- what you're offering them as a location fee is a
pittance. But they say, 'Oh, that's one of my favorite shows.
Yeah, sure, you can film here, you can do a murder in my church.'
"
Season 6 of "Homicide" kicks off Oct. 17. Here are what those
in front of and behind the camera say about their show.
ANDRE BRAUGHER
Tenure: 6th season
Character: Detective Frank Pembleton
Extra-curriculars: Being overlooked by the Emmys, lecturing on
Shakespeare to area high-schoolers
On the show's evolution: Collectively, our characters had to
become much more humane, likable and accessible. Because
after a while, no one digs characters that they can't see into.
So the opaque quality of our characters had to be finally
dissolved and [the characters] made absolutely translucent.
On character development: I would rather keep the
opaqueness, because it allows me a greater range of expression,
because anything can happen. But once we find ourselves in a
place where the audience is allowed to see into the frailties and
vulnerabilities inside the characters, then a kind of emotional
consistency wells up. . . . Eventually it does move your character
within a smaller circle. Anything is possible for the character
we can't truly see inside, because they maintain an element of
mystery.
On Pembleton's stroke last season: That challenge was quite
interesting, but of course, the television show can't contain a
sensitive portrayal of a complicated rehabilitation and remain
an action-packed cop show.
On the ratings: I think we can be patted on the back and
applauded until the day we are canceled. We really have to
understand the demands of the marketplace, which demands
that we do a certain kind of show. . . . We are still a business,
even though we are in the business of putting together art.
KYLE SECOR
Tenure: 6th season
Character: Detective Tim Bayliss
Memorable on-air moment: During a visit to New York, tried to
hit on Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy
on NBC's "Law & Order"). No dice.
On the development of Bayliss: I'm really happy with what's
happened to him over those last six years. There's really been a
growth, from being this rookie who's learning things to going
through a period of becoming a little bit more cynical about the
work to finding a way of dealing with . . . [his] personal issues
through his work -- and that's helped the cases that he's been
investigating.
On the visual style: In the first season, we had a camera that
moved around a lot. There were a lot of people out in television
land vomiting watching it, because of the ride that they were
on.
On on-screen violence: It's not something that I'm really happy
about. But it's something that seems to be in style right now,
for these types of shows.
On TV's influence: I don't know until this world comes to an end
if any of this stuff really makes any difference at all, if having
violence on TV, and the way that we show violence on TV, will
have any impact. I don't think that people are watching our show
necessarily and are going out and committing homicides, crimes.
. . . There's a lot of suffering in my character's life, there's a
lot of suffering in the world, and I hope that we're holding up
some mirror to that. Maybe that's the best that you can do.
MICHELLE FORBES
Character: Chief Medical Examiner Julianna Cox
Tenure: Second season
Self-description: Flawed
Extra-curriculars: Sported a tire-track on the bridge of her
nose while playing the Bajoran Ensign Ro Laren on "Star Trek:
The Next Generation"
On her character's evolution: I don't drink as much on the show
anymore. I came in very strong, . . . drank a lot, fell in love with
the wrong men, spoke too fast. But I think a lot of that's been
tempered.
On her character vs. herself: On a human level, we're both
women. But she's someone very different from me. We have
separate flaws. We know what hers are, and I would be quite
silly to disclose mine to you.
On researching her role: That's what the imagination is for. I
have all the information I need. As far as witnessing an autopsy,
no. If I played someone who were pregnant, I wouldn't
necessarily have to go out and get pregnant in order to play that
role.
On the male-dominated squad: It's primarily a male profession
as well. I think that's realistic. It's only just recently, in Los
Angeles, that I've noticed there's this big push as far as
female cops, but that's only fairly recently. . . . For whatever
reason, that's reality.
On the ratings: I know not from ratings. I know not from
awards. I care not.
CLARK JOHNSON
Tenure: 6th season
Character: Detective Meldrick Lewis
Self-description: A guy who does his job
Defining moment: Coming to grips with the suicide of his
partner
Extra-curriculars: Teamed with Richard Belzer to nab a hapless
bad guy who stumbled onto the set and mistook the actors for
real cops; special-effects technician on such films as "The Fly"
and "Videodrome"
On his character's ambition: Meldrick's not going to be chief of
police, nor would he want to be. Meldrick's buying lottery
tickets, hoping to get his 20 years and get a fishing boat.
On the ratings: We get like 12 million people a week watching
us. If 12 million people watch us, and we're apparently doing
well overseas . . . I don't think that you can appeal to everybody
with a show like this, and I don't think that we should be trying
to. Let "Nash Bridges" have all the people that don't want to
watch us. I think we're doing OK, myself.
On what viewers can expect: We have 20 more of these to do
this season, and I have no idea where we're going.
On life after "Homicide": I want to focus more on directing and
writing. I've said this from the very first season, the very
first episode: This is the best TV I'll ever do. I can't imagine
doing anything that's more challenging than this has been, so I
would try to steer toward features, steer toward directing.
YAPHET KOTTO
Tenure: 6th season
Character: Lt. Al Giardello
Self-description: The anchor
Extra-curriculars: Got into a shouting match while "discussing"
religion with a guy on a Baltimore street corner; in October,
plans to marry Tessie Sinahon, whom he met at a Philippines
airport; family research shows he is the great-great-grandson
of Queen Victoria
On how "Homicide" has changed: We're missing Danny [Baldwin],
we're missing Ned [Beatty], we're missing Melissa [Leo]. We're
not doing as many jump cuts and camera moves. Our stories
[now] more reflect action, rather than just talking about it.
On Giardello's stature: He steps in and brings, through his
hard-nosed policies, some quiet into what could become a
runaway storm.
On life as the chief: My character's in a strange position. While
he is the center of a storm, the bulwark of the storm, there is
not much information in terms of who he is. . . . To start giving
the anchor frailties and stuff, he'd no longer have that kind of
power.
On work vs. art: I took a big cut in salary to do this. I have not
gained financially by doing this show; I did it for creative
reasons. And with the help of God Almighty, now it's time for
me to go back to work and make some money. My creative
juices have been satisfied. . . . For me to love my art that much
again, I would have to be a damn fool. And my mother didn't
raise no fool.
RICHARD BELZER
Tenure: 6th season
Character: Detective John Munch
Self-description: Lenny Bruce with a badge
Extra-curriculars: Not quitting his night job as a stand-up comic
and cynical raconteur; flicking on the Washington Monument
Christmas lights; "arresting" a real-life bad guy who stumbled
onto the set and mistook him and Clark Johnson for real cops
On his character: He's always dark, he has a gallows sense of
humor, he's very opinionated, he reads a lot. The rest of the
squad looks to him for that cynical take on things. He's always
there to point out the chaos.
On Munch's development: We've learned more about him over
the years, but he's basically the reflexively cynical guy that he
always was. I always find it corny when a character on a TV
show changes radically in a short period of time. I don't see any
major changes coming, but you'll find out more about him, which
is always interesting.
On life after "Homicide": I'm just hoping that Andre
[Braugher] will let me ride on his coattails. He's going to be a
major film star, and maybe I can be his sidekick, or play the
heavy.
REED DIAMOND
Tenure: 3rd season
Character: Detective Mike Kellerman
Self description: A broken man
Defining characteristic: Lives on a boat
On innocence lost: For me, the journey of Mike Kellerman has
been about a man trying to grow up and become a man, and he's
faking it. He has this very black-and-white view of the world; he
believed there was good and bad, and good always won out and
bad was put down. He found that's not true.
On Kellerman's place: He's not a supercop. Andre's character,
Frank Pembleton, this guy's a supercop. [The audience needs] to
see a guy who's constantly struggling. He's more of a
meat-and-potatoes kind of guy on the show. He's certainly less
cerebral and a victim of his own decisions and choices.
On changes in "Homicide": In the beginning, it was very close to
the book. But you can only have a year or two of procedural
drama; at a certain point, you need to add other things. I feel
like, when I came on, there was a need for some energy and
some action, and that was something I could provide for the
show.
On fighting the good fight: I've always felt that an Emmy
nomination would just be death for the show. Because once
we're part of the mainstream, then we've lost everything that
makes us unique. I think being the underdog, being isolated,
away from the studio and Los Angeles, has made this show a cut
above.
On the end: If this is the last season of "Homicide," my only
prayer is that they let us know early so that we can go off with
dignity and flair.
DAVID SIMON
Title: Producer
Tenure: 3rd season
Nickname: Non-Fiction Boy
First script: Episode 10 (with David Mills), "Bop Gun" (aired Jan.
6, 1994)
On reality: The journalism's the journalism, television drama is
television drama. They both have their purposes, and they are
not similar. I was very conscious that when I sold a book of
journalism, it was not going to stay journalism. Nor did I want it
to. If that book was put onto TV precisely as it occurred, we
would be getting 9 shares, and it would be a very short-lived
series.
On pleasing the suits at NBC: They often want more of a chase
than we're willing to give them. Most arrests are two
detectives ++ walking up to the door and saying, "Is Pee-Wee
home?" We do a lot of that. [But] every now and then, the
network wants our guys to run, maybe jump out of a helicopter .
. . . There's prices that you pay for any medium, and to be on
NBC Friday nights at 10 . . . if viewers want a perfect
documentary, they've got to go to PBS.
On the bottom line: To credit NBC, they've given us a lot of
rope. They won't give us all of the rope. . . . They've given us
more rope than they've given a lot of shows. I'm sure there are
a lot of people back in Burbank who think, "If we'd given them
less rope, they'd have a 20 share by now."
On change: When Ned Beatty elected to leave the show, and
particularly after [Jon] Polito had left, we had lost the older
guy who can speak for the past, the older-generation guy in the
squad room. And we felt it in Seasons 4 and 5. . . . That's why
bringing on Peter Gerity. We really liked what he brings to the
squad room.
On ringing true: There are moments when Clark Johnson is doing
just routine police procedure where I almost believe he's a cop.
He has sort of the temperament of a couple guys I knew.
JAMES YOSHIMURA
Title: Supervising producer
Tenure: Sixth season
First script: Episode 3, "Son of a Gun" (aired Feb. 10, 1993)
On blood and guts: We're trying to tone that down, actually. To
be honest, it got out of our hands a little bit in the third season.
. . . When our detectives got shot, when we showed them
graphically getting shot and slowed down the action -- when
Felton [Daniel Baldwin] gets shot in the neck and in the side,
Ned [Beatty] taking one in the head, the Kay Howard character
taking one in the heart -- the ratings went up so much. . . . We
got a little too carried away with that, we got a little
intoxicated, said "Ooh, look at the numbers jump." That's the
battle of trying to get ratings points.
On then vs. now: If you look at one of our earlier episodes, all
our guys are kind of like, very cryptic and very cynical. They
still are, but every so often, they'll pop a human moment, maybe
to their partner, maybe to their wife.
On why Pembleton's stroke was a ratings bust: I don't have the
answer to that. I thought we had set up, at the end of the
previous season, something that would really interest the
audience. Then, when the numbers came out, we were just
mystified.
On what to expect this season: At least in the first four or five
episodes, the Pembleton-Bayliss partnership is going to be
featured. The network wants that, too -- we seem to do a little
bit better with the audience when they're the focus.
On the Emmys: It's gotten to the point where it's a joke, and
we expect not to be recognized. We've won so many other
awards, you'd think we would at least get nominated for
something. . . . It's become a shrug of the shoulders. There are
some people in the writers' office who always will say it's not
fair, but what are you going to do? If we walk away with that
kind of sour taste in our mouths all the time, we wouldn't be
able to keep writing the show we want to write.
JULIE MARTIN
Title: Supervising producer
Tenure: 4th season
First script: Episode 18, "Happy To Be Here" (aired Nov. 18,
1994)
On delving into the characters' personal lives: I think for the
most part it has been a change for the better. I think when you
live with characters, you can only get away with [ignoring their
personal lives] for so long. I think the audience really wants to
know more about the people. . . . Hopefully, we've achieved the
right balance.
On Bayliss: I think what we're going to see this year with him is
going to be exciting. He has a lot of personal difficulties. We've
never seen him in a relationship with a woman, he's always had a
back-and-forth relationship with Pembleton, as far as regarding
him as something of a father figure. I think what we're going to
see with those two is more equality of the partnership. No
longer is Pembleton the better detective; Bayliss is coming
along.
On the male-dominated cast: I like the reality of it, [because]
it is a male-dominated profession. . . . Certainly, I wouldn't be
adverse to having another woman on the show.
On mass appeal: It certainly would make our lives a lot easier if
more people were watching the show. It would be more fun for
us. It's certainly no fun being in third place. . . . I think it
depends on what our competition is. "Nash Bridges" is a more
accessible, more friendly-type show. It doesn't require you to
think as much. . . . We're doing a smart, dark, difficult show. I
would like to think that the millions of people who do watch our
show would be enough.
Homicide's "victims:" Some cast members who have come and
gone.
Detective Stanley Bollander
(Ned Beatty)
"The Big Man" was in the cast when show debuted in 1993.
Character left after three seasons when he was suspended for
running nude through a hotel lobby during a police convention,
then retired.
Detective Steve Crosetti
(Jon Polito)
After two years with the squad, character killed himself;
partner Meldrick is still dealing with the aftermath.
Dr. Carol Blythe
(Wendy Hughes)
Medical examiner; left in 1994. On-screen romance with
Bollander.
Detective Beau Felton
(Daniel Baldwin)
Left cast but was pivotal to last season's finale, when
character's body turned up. Off-screen romance with Isabella
Hofmann (Russert).
Sgt. Kay Howard
(Melissa Leo)
Tough cookie and the only woman who survived from Day 1, she's
already gone as this season begins, with her character stuck in
the Fugitive Unit. Off-screen, plagued by high-publicity
child-custody dispute with ex-boyfriend John Heard.
Videographer J. H. Brodie
(Max Perlich)
Joined cast in 1995, giving directors even more opportunities
to use shaky hand-held camera shots. Ousted after end of last
season. Off-screen, had assault and handgun charges dismissed
after dispute with neighbor in Baltimore.
Lt. Megan Russert
(Isabella Hofmann)
Joined cast in 1994 as one of two women on squad. Character
ran off to Parisian romance but returned temporarily for last
year's season finale. Off-screen romance, baby with Daniel
Baldwin (Felton).
Originally published on Aug 31 1997