1.4. Who were the former characters on the show? (NYPD Blue)
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This article is from the NYPD Blue FAQ, by Dave Chapman, Alan Sepinwall and Jeff Knapp with numerous contributions by others.
1.4. Who were the former characters on the show? (NYPD Blue)
Three of the original six cast members have since left the series
[see questions 3.2-3.4 for more details], and Gail O'Grady and
Justine Miceli just departed the show [3.11-3.12]. Their characters
were:
DET. JOHN KELLY (David Caruso)
John's father, John Kelly Sr., was a heavily decorated
detective back in the days when the Irish still ran the
department, but he was killed in the line of duty when John
Jr. was only 11. Kelly spent much of the rest of his life
trying to meet the approval of his late father, joining the
force and holding himself to an almost impossibly high
standard. Unfortunately, while John's tightly-wound nature
made him a great detective, it also distanced himself from the
people he loved, including his ex-wife Laura, who divorced him
because he didn't give her enough space. Shortly after the
divorce, John got involved with Officer Janice Licalsi, but
his efforts to clean up after a murder she committed
eventually led to him getting drummed off the force. When last
mentioned, John was making a living as a professional
bodyguard and security expert.
DONNA ABANDANDO (Gail O'Grady)
The first thing you needed to know about the lovely Miss
Abandando is that she holds a special place in her heart for
the NY Rangers, which means she loves lost causes (which the
Rangers were until they finally won the Stanley Cup in 1994
after a 50-year curse). That also explains why she agreed to
take a relatively thankless job as the receptionist (or, in
NYPD parlance, "PAA") for the 15th detective's squad, and why
she fell for nebbishy Greg Medavoy. Their affair was
complicated by his marriage, her trampy sister Dana, and an
old flame of Donna's who used to play for the Rangers.
Eventually, the stress of it all proved too much, and she
broke things off with Greg. A year or so later, she received
a job offer from Apple Computers that was too good to pass up,
and the Queens gal moved out to Silicon Valley.
DET. VINCE GOTELLI (Carmine Caridi)
Despite the 50-something Gotelli's obvious seniority, he's
stuck on the night shift at the 15, in large part because he's
pretty dim and likely couldn't close a case if he found O.J.
Simpson standing over the victim wearing a bloody glove. Vince
served as the precinct union delegate for a long term, but was
narrowly ousted by James Martinez recently.
At the end of Season Four, Vince got a bit drunk and took a
city bus for a joyride. While no charges were pressed, Vince
was forced to take early retirement. Chances are, we have
seen the last of Vince.
DET. JANICE LICALSI (Amy Brenneman)
Licalsi was a uniformed cop who had barely been at the 15th
Precinct for a week before she was approached by Mafia kingpin
Angelo Marino, who ordered her to murder John Kelly - or else
he would turn in Licalsi's policeman father, who had been on
Marino's payroll for years. Janice reluctantly agreed, but as
she got close to John, she fell in love with him, and instead
of killing him, she killed Marino and his chauffeur. The guilt
of her crime ate away at her until she finally confessed to it
months later. Kelly hired her a slick mob lawyer, and Janice
got off with only a 2-year sentence for manslaughter. Since
she was eligible for parole in six months, we can assume that
she's already out, but she hasn't shown up at the One-Five
since.
LAURA KELLY (Sherry Stringfield)
The match between Laura, a high-powered yuppie attorney, and
John, a blue-collar cop, didn't last very long once Laura
realized what an incredible control freak John could be. She
bounced around several jobs after her divorce, eventually
settling in with the Manhattan DA's office. She worked as a
riding DA in the 15th Precinct for a while before transferring
out, probably to put some distance between herself and John.
DET. ADRIANNE LESNIAK (Justine Micelli)
A beautiful but no-nonsense detective, Lesniak was transferred
to the 15 after an office romance in a Bronx precinct went
public. That experience - and her ex-lover's subsequent
descent into stalker territory - soured her on relationships
with fellow detectives, so when Martinez expressed interest,
she politely brushed him off. After he was shot, she expressed
quite a bit of maternal concern, which James and Greg mistook
for romantic interest. Eventually, their badgering of her got
to the point where Adrianne claimed to be a lesbian - a lie
which, on further consideration, had her questioning her own
sexuality. She eventually realized that she isn't gay, but all
her previous failed relationships made her unable to deal with
the notion that James was a decent guy, and she turned into a
bitchy, overpossessive shrew. James had to break things off
with her, leading Adrianne to feel more depressed than ever
over the prospect of finding happiness.
ZONE COMMANDER HAVERILL (James Handy)
Haverill was forced to retire from the Job after getting
caught on tape making racist remarks about Lt. Fancy to
Fancy's snitch, Vinny Greco. Haverill appeared to be a bad
cop, due to his presence at a mob rubout; a tidbit that
Sipowicz held over him the first time Haverill was gunning for
Fancy. After retiring, Haverill took a job as a paid
consultant to the FBI in its dealings with organized crime
figures, especially Joey Salvo. He hasn't been seen on the
show since he resigned in the 11th episode of Season Two
("Vishy Vashy Vinny"). He was mentioned by name only
fleetingly since then, but most notably with regard to his
efforts to jam up Fancy and Sipowicz during the Salvo
investigation.
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