Kay Howard
Encyclopedia
Kay Howard is a fictional homicide detective from Homicide: Life on the Street
. She was played by actress Melissa Leo
. In the first two seasons of the show her character was the only female detective or member of the main cast. This was in keeping with the book and the actual Homicide unit in Baltimore
of that time. However, NBC
president Warren Littlefield
felt that the lack of other female detectives was alienating the audience so this was later changed with the addition of Megan Russert
. It was stated in a special edition of Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
, the non-fiction book that the film was based on, that the character of Kay Howard was based on real Baltimore Police detective Rich Garvey.
coast; her brother Josh lives here. She also has a sister, Carrie, who appeared in a Season 4 episode (portrayed by Melissa Leo under the pseudonym Margaret May).
would later chide her for this tendency. Despite her generally rational approach she held strongly to magical thinking
as she felt some things "transcended" logic. This included varied superstition
s, which she displayed at work, and the idea that the ghost of a victim aided her in solving a case.
During Season 3, she and fellow detectives Stanley Bolander
and Beau Felton
were shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect. Howard was struck in the heart, but eventually made a full recovery and returned to work. Her family came in from the coast to visit her in the hospital; her father was especially concerned over how little information the doctors were willing to share.
In the Season 4 premiere, Howard passed a promotion exam and was elevated to Sergeant. Most of her fellow detectives had encouraged her to go up for the position, but on actually assuming the role she became alienated from them. This came in part because she seemed at first to "micromanage" them and in part simply because her position put her in a different relationship to them. Her friendship with Det. Meldrick Lewis, who had been strongly supportive of her desire to seek the promotion, grew especially stormy afterward and affected their working relationship.
as an investigation of Pembleton's concerned Tyron. Tyron would later be arrested for shooting C. C. Cox in the back while fleeing. However she later admitted to Pembleton her sexual involvement with Ed Danvers without much pressing and even commented on Danvers's "prowess" (although she indicated to Pembleton that she might have been kidding). Aside from the sex, and their shared desire to bring criminals to justice, she had little similarity to Danvers so the relationship ended at an unspecified point in the third season of the show. After this relationship she became far more reticent about personal matters to avoid being the subject of office gossip.
It was implied in the fourth season that her love of privacy, combined with her tough nature and masculine clothing, had led to some speculation that she might be a lesbian
; upon seeing Kay with a mystery date, Det John Munch
said as much, although this may have just been a tactic to get her to tell him who the man is. The DVD commentaries for the show reveal that the producers were aware that the character was extremely popular in the LGBT community.
Although she is generally "one of the team" her being female was occasionally remarked upon at the squad. The crime scene photographer J. H. Brodie expressed his infatuation with her, but due to a miscommunication she felt his expression of affection was a way to make fun of her. Det. Mike Kellerman
also stated she was attractive "because of the hair." In certain episodes she expressed concern about her sister and gender issues. In general she disliked both being deemed masculine and being treated "like a lady."
would die violently in Season 5, which was an emotional shock to her. When Season 6 began, Howard was no longer in the Homicide unit; she had been rotated into the Fugitive squad, where she decided to remain. The character was not seen again until Homicide: The Movie, when she joined the current and former Homicide detectives to search for Gee's attacker.
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...
. She was played by actress Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo
Melissa Chessington Leo , is an American actress. After appearing on several television shows and films in the late '80s, her breakthrough role came in 1993 as Det. Sgt. Kay Howard on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street for the show's first five seasons from 1993 – 1997...
. In the first two seasons of the show her character was the only female detective or member of the main cast. This was in keeping with the book and the actual Homicide unit in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
of that time. However, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
president Warren Littlefield
Warren Littlefield
Warren W. Littlefield is an American former television executive.A protégé of Brandon Tartikoff, Littlefield developed Cheers, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls as senior and executive vice president of NBC Entertainment under Tartikoff...
felt that the lack of other female detectives was alienating the audience so this was later changed with the addition of Megan Russert
Megan Russert
Detective Megan Russert is a fictional character on Homicide: Life on the Street played by Isabella Hofmann. At the time of her introduction in the premiere episode of the third season, she is a lieutenant who takes charge of the homicide unit's second shift after the previous commander's retirement...
. It was stated in a special edition of 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...
, the non-fiction book that the film was based on, that the character of Kay Howard was based on real Baltimore Police detective Rich Garvey.
Early and family life
In the Season 3 episode "The Last of the Watermen", Howard visits the small coastal oyster-fishing town where she was brought up. Though not actually stated this town is presumably in Talbot County on the Chesapeake BayChesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
coast; her brother Josh lives here. She also has a sister, Carrie, who appeared in a Season 4 episode (portrayed by Melissa Leo under the pseudonym Margaret May).
Professional life
Having been a homicide detective since April of 1991, Kay was generally portrayed as a tough female detective. That being said she was not entirely hardened by her job and at times expressed disbelief that seemingly good people were murderers. As a detective she was thorough, realistic, and generally had among the highest clearance rates in the squad. Her high rate of success was important to her as she felt that as the only woman she needed to prove herself. Megan RussertMegan Russert
Detective Megan Russert is a fictional character on Homicide: Life on the Street played by Isabella Hofmann. At the time of her introduction in the premiere episode of the third season, she is a lieutenant who takes charge of the homicide unit's second shift after the previous commander's retirement...
would later chide her for this tendency. Despite her generally rational approach she held strongly to magical thinking
Magical thinking
Magical thinking is causal reasoning that looks for correlation between acts or utterances and certain events. In religion, folk religion, and superstition, the correlation posited is between religious ritual, such as prayer, sacrifice, or the observance of a taboo, and an expected benefit or...
as she felt some things "transcended" logic. This included varied superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
s, which she displayed at work, and the idea that the ghost of a victim aided her in solving a case.
During Season 3, she and fellow detectives Stanley Bolander
Stanley Bolander
Stanley Bolander is a fictional character in the American crime drama / police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street. He is portrayed by Ned Beatty and appears in the first three seasons and Homicide: The Movie.-Character overview:...
and Beau Felton
Beau Felton
Det. Beauregard D. 'Beau' Felton is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Daniel Baldwin for seasons 1-3. He was loosely based on Det...
were shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant on a suspect. Howard was struck in the heart, but eventually made a full recovery and returned to work. Her family came in from the coast to visit her in the hospital; her father was especially concerned over how little information the doctors were willing to share.
In the Season 4 premiere, Howard passed a promotion exam and was elevated to Sergeant. Most of her fellow detectives had encouraged her to go up for the position, but on actually assuming the role she became alienated from them. This came in part because she seemed at first to "micromanage" them and in part simply because her position put her in a different relationship to them. Her friendship with Det. Meldrick Lewis, who had been strongly supportive of her desire to seek the promotion, grew especially stormy afterward and affected their working relationship.
Personal life
In her personal life, she valued privacy and the idea that having secrets had value, but was less consistent on this in the first two seasons. She did keep an adulterous relationship she had with a Lt. Jimmy Tyron, one that predated her joining Homicide, secret at first but later admitted it to Frank PembletonFrank Pembleton
Francis Xavier "Frank" Pembleton is a fictional homicide detective on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Emmy Award winning actor Andre Braugher. He is a primary character of the show through the first six seasons...
as an investigation of Pembleton's concerned Tyron. Tyron would later be arrested for shooting C. C. Cox in the back while fleeing. However she later admitted to Pembleton her sexual involvement with Ed Danvers without much pressing and even commented on Danvers's "prowess" (although she indicated to Pembleton that she might have been kidding). Aside from the sex, and their shared desire to bring criminals to justice, she had little similarity to Danvers so the relationship ended at an unspecified point in the third season of the show. After this relationship she became far more reticent about personal matters to avoid being the subject of office gossip.
It was implied in the fourth season that her love of privacy, combined with her tough nature and masculine clothing, had led to some speculation that she might be a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
; upon seeing Kay with a mystery date, Det John Munch
John Munch
Sergeant John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer. Munch first appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street. Upon that series' cancellation, the character was transplanted to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the first spin-off of the Law & Order franchise...
said as much, although this may have just been a tactic to get her to tell him who the man is. The DVD commentaries for the show reveal that the producers were aware that the character was extremely popular in the LGBT community.
Although she is generally "one of the team" her being female was occasionally remarked upon at the squad. The crime scene photographer J. H. Brodie expressed his infatuation with her, but due to a miscommunication she felt his expression of affection was a way to make fun of her. Det. Mike Kellerman
Mike Kellerman
Detective Michael Scott Kellerman is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Reed Diamond. He is a main character from seasons 4-6, 1995-1998.-Biography:...
also stated she was attractive "because of the hair." In certain episodes she expressed concern about her sister and gender issues. In general she disliked both being deemed masculine and being treated "like a lady."
Final Season
Season 5 saw her character relegated to some degree, but also showed important developments. Her former boyfriend Danvers would get engaged much to her surprise. In a later episode in the season Danvers' fiancee would be murdered, a shock for both of them. In addition her former partner Beau FeltonBeau Felton
Det. Beauregard D. 'Beau' Felton is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by Daniel Baldwin for seasons 1-3. He was loosely based on Det...
would die violently in Season 5, which was an emotional shock to her. When Season 6 began, Howard was no longer in the Homicide unit; she had been rotated into the Fugitive squad, where she decided to remain. The character was not seen again until Homicide: The Movie, when she joined the current and former Homicide detectives to search for Gee's attacker.