Gary D'Addario
Encyclopedia
Gary D'Addario is a retired police commander, television technical advisor and actor from Baltimore, Maryland.
D'Addario joined the Baltimore police department in 1967. An Italian-American, D'Addario advanced in the department easily during the days of the BPD's brief "Holy Roman Empire", the time period from 1981-1984 under former Commissioner Frank Battaglia
where Italian-American police officers of Baltimore briefly controlled the previously Irish-American dominated department. D'Addario served as a shift lieutenant in the Baltimore Police Department homicide unit for 10 years during his career. He was a Captain in 1998 and continued to hold this rank in 2002. He was promoted to Major in 2003. He retired at the rank of Major in 2004. The 37-year veteran of the department was forced to retire by new Commissioner Kevin P. Clark
in 2004 as part of Clark's unpopular turnover of veteran command staff.
It was in his capacity as a homicide shift lieutenant that he became one of the subjects of David Simon's non-fiction book about the homicide unit, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
. Simon followed D'Addario's shift within the unit for a year and wrote an account of their activity.
The book was adapted into an NBC television series called Homicide: Life on the Street
and D'Addario inspired the character Al Giardello
on that series. D'Addario had a recurring role as SWAT team commander Jasper in Homicide. He also worked as a technical advisor on Homicide primarily as a source on the Baltimore Police Department and a liaison between the production and the department. Simon later moved from writing books to television and became a writer and producer for the series. D'Addario was a technical advisor for Simon's next project, the Emmy-award winning miniseries The Corner
, and had a small role as a desk sergeant.
D'Addario served as a technical advisor on the first two seasons of Peabody award winning The Wire
. The Wire was also created by Simon. D'Addario had a recurring role as the gambling addicted Grand Jury Prosecutor Gary DiPasquale in The Wire. Simon has speculated that D'Addario's first appearance on the series in the season 2 episode "Undertow
" coincided with his forced retirement. Simon wrote to Mayor Martin O'Malley
to ask if there was any link and seeking confirmation that other city employees did not risk losing their jobs by appearing on the series and received no response. D'Addario stood down as technical advisor because he was no longer part of the police department but continued to appear on the show until its conclusion.
D'Addario joined the Baltimore police department in 1967. An Italian-American, D'Addario advanced in the department easily during the days of the BPD's brief "Holy Roman Empire", the time period from 1981-1984 under former Commissioner Frank Battaglia
Frank Battaglia
Frank Battaglia is a former Baltimore Police Department officer who was Commissioner of the Department between 1981 and 1984.-Biography:Battaglia was the only Italian-American police commissioner of Baltimore, controlling a police department previously dominated by Irish-American police officers...
where Italian-American police officers of Baltimore briefly controlled the previously Irish-American dominated department. D'Addario served as a shift lieutenant in the Baltimore Police Department homicide unit for 10 years during his career. He was a Captain in 1998 and continued to hold this rank in 2002. He was promoted to Major in 2003. He retired at the rank of Major in 2004. The 37-year veteran of the department was forced to retire by new Commissioner Kevin P. Clark
Kevin P. Clark
Kevin Clark is a former commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, who held the position from early 2003 until November 2004. A former NYPD officer, Clark's term as police commissioner was strained with both the mayor and police department as Clark was involved in domestic issues and an...
in 2004 as part of Clark's unpopular turnover of veteran command staff.
It was in his capacity as a homicide shift lieutenant that he became one of the subjects of David Simon's non-fiction book about the homicide unit, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
. Simon followed D'Addario's shift within the unit for a year and wrote an account of their activity.
The book was adapted into an NBC television series called Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
and D'Addario inspired the character Al Giardello
Al Giardello
Alphonse Michael Giardello, Sr. is a fictional character from the television drama Homicide: Life on the Street. The character was played by Yaphet Kotto...
on that series. D'Addario had a recurring role as SWAT team commander Jasper in Homicide. He also worked as a technical advisor on Homicide primarily as a source on the Baltimore Police Department and a liaison between the production and the department. Simon later moved from writing books to television and became a writer and producer for the series. D'Addario was a technical advisor for Simon's next project, the Emmy-award winning miniseries The Corner
The Corner
The Corner is a 2000 HBO drama television miniseries based on the nonfiction book The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon and Ed Burns and adapted for television by Simon and David Mills. It premiered on premium cable network HBO in the United States on April 16,...
, and had a small role as a desk sergeant.
D'Addario served as a technical advisor on the first two seasons of Peabody award winning The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
. The Wire was also created by Simon. D'Addario had a recurring role as the gambling addicted Grand Jury Prosecutor Gary DiPasquale in The Wire. Simon has speculated that D'Addario's first appearance on the series in the season 2 episode "Undertow
Undertow (The Wire episode)
"Undertow" is the fifth episode of the second season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Steve Shill...
" coincided with his forced retirement. Simon wrote to Mayor Martin O'Malley
Martin O'Malley
Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as the 61st Governor of Maryland. Previously, he served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. He is currently the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.-Early life, education and career:O'Malley...
to ask if there was any link and seeking confirmation that other city employees did not risk losing their jobs by appearing on the series and received no response. D'Addario stood down as technical advisor because he was no longer part of the police department but continued to appear on the show until its conclusion.