Beau Felton
Encyclopedia
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. Donald Kincaid, from David Simon
's nonfiction book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
, which the series was based on.
Beau Felton is a hardheaded tough guy from the Billytown area of Baltimore
; his partner in the series is Det. Kay Howard
. The two of them are friends, and insist that there is no sexual tension between them.
Felton is married to Beth Felton, though by the beginning of series their marriage is on the rocks. They have three young children - a boy, Zack; a girl, Alley; and an unnamed baby - to whom Beau is very close. Beth, who is emotionally unstable, eventually empties out their house in the third season, disappears with the children, and does as much as she can to prevent him from seeing his children. About this time, Felton begins an affair with Lt. Megan Russert
, although she soon breaks it off. After Beth leaves, Felton begins to drink heavily and his police work suffers as a result; Howard becomes disgusted with him following a binge in which he loses crucial evidence for a seemingly unsolvable case, assigned to her from the late Steve Crosetti
's caseload.
In spite of an office dress code, Felton never wears a tie unless required to for a special occasion like testifying in court; Homicide executive director Barry Levinson
said this was a "big character point" for Felton.
During a raid in the third season episode "The City That Bleeds", Felton is shot, along with Det. Howard and Det. Bolander
. Beau is wounded in the neck and leg, but the bullets miss all major organs and arteries; Howard and Bolander, meanwhile, are far more seriously injured. Felton is the first to recover, though he carried a lot of the guilt over Kay being hit. He is the first to go back on duty, but his recovery, coupled with Beth leaving him for good, worsens his drinking problem. After Felton loses his temper over a minor incident, and blames it on his recovery, Lt. Al Giardello
bluntly tells him he had never been good enough for Homicide, even before he was shot, citing Felton's drinking and personal problems.
Due to unsuccessful contract negotiations with actors Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty
, Felton and Bolander were written out of the series after season 3.
The narrative reason for the characters' absence is given in the season 4 premiere, in which Giardello reveals that Felton and Bolander got drunk and engaged in embarrassing and grossly inappropriate behavior while attending a police/firefighter convention in New York City
. Both are suspended for 22 weeks without pay, a reference to the then-standard length of a network drama's TV season. Bolander chooses to retire when his suspension is up, while Felton drops out of sight. During Season 5, Giardello often complains about Felton's unknown whereabouts, and rumors began to spread that he had resigned in disgrace following his suspension.
In the two part season finale of Season 5 ("Partners and Other Strangers" and "Strangers and Other Partners"), Felton is found dead in his house, a shotgun blast having destroyed most of his skull. The evidence first point to suicide, but M.E. Julianna Cox
soon determines that he had been murdered with a pistol shot to the back of the head; the killer then used the shotgun to stage the suicide.
Giardello soon learns that Felton had actually spent the last six months working undercover
for Internal Investigations Division (IID)
, under the direction of Detective Stuart Gharty
. Felton was helping the IID and the FBI build a case against a massive auto theft ring, but an information leak led to his cover being blown. He was personally murdered by the auto kingpin, who managed to evade capture. Beth wants nothing to do with Beau's funeral, so Howard and Russert have to make the arrangements. A memorial for Felton is established in the police headquarters, and attended by the governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore.
The investigation of Felton's murder leads the detectives to remember Felton, although most of these memories prove unpleasant. The episode illustrates these memories with flashbacks consisting of brief clips from the first three seasons; these clips are Baldwin's/ Felton's only appearance on the show after season 3 (although Baldwin would later provide a cameo as Felton in the TV movie following the show's cancellation).
The last "appearance" of Felton was in the 2000 TV movie Homicide: The Movie
, where he and Detective Crosetti
are seen in a kind of afterlife playing cards in the squad room and waiting for the next arrival - who turns out to be Giardello himself.
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...
portrayed by Daniel Baldwin
Daniel Baldwin
Daniel Leroy Baldwin is an American actor, producer and director. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Daniel Baldwin is known for his role as Detective Beau Felton in the popular NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street...
for seasons 1-3. He was loosely based on Det. Donald Kincaid, from David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
's nonfiction book, 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...
, which the series was based on.
Beau Felton is a hardheaded tough guy from the Billytown area of 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...
; his partner in the series is Det. Kay Howard
Kay Howard
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...
. The two of them are friends, and insist that there is no sexual tension between them.
Felton is married to Beth Felton, though by the beginning of series their marriage is on the rocks. They have three young children - a boy, Zack; a girl, Alley; and an unnamed baby - to whom Beau is very close. Beth, who is emotionally unstable, eventually empties out their house in the third season, disappears with the children, and does as much as she can to prevent him from seeing his children. About this time, Felton begins an affair with Lt. 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...
, although she soon breaks it off. After Beth leaves, Felton begins to drink heavily and his police work suffers as a result; Howard becomes disgusted with him following a binge in which he loses crucial evidence for a seemingly unsolvable case, assigned to her from the late Steve Crosetti
Steve Crosetti
Det. Steve Crosetti is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by actor Jon Polito for the show's first two seasons. He is believed to be based on Baltimore Police Department Det...
's caseload.
In spite of an office dress code, Felton never wears a tie unless required to for a special occasion like testifying in court; Homicide executive director Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
said this was a "big character point" for Felton.
During a raid in the third season episode "The City That Bleeds", Felton is shot, along with Det. Howard and Det. 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:...
. Beau is wounded in the neck and leg, but the bullets miss all major organs and arteries; Howard and Bolander, meanwhile, are far more seriously injured. Felton is the first to recover, though he carried a lot of the guilt over Kay being hit. He is the first to go back on duty, but his recovery, coupled with Beth leaving him for good, worsens his drinking problem. After Felton loses his temper over a minor incident, and blames it on his recovery, Lt. 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...
bluntly tells him he had never been good enough for Homicide, even before he was shot, citing Felton's drinking and personal problems.
Due to unsuccessful contract negotiations with actors Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
, Felton and Bolander were written out of the series after season 3.
The narrative reason for the characters' absence is given in the season 4 premiere, in which Giardello reveals that Felton and Bolander got drunk and engaged in embarrassing and grossly inappropriate behavior while attending a police/firefighter convention in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Both are suspended for 22 weeks without pay, a reference to the then-standard length of a network drama's TV season. Bolander chooses to retire when his suspension is up, while Felton drops out of sight. During Season 5, Giardello often complains about Felton's unknown whereabouts, and rumors began to spread that he had resigned in disgrace following his suspension.
In the two part season finale of Season 5 ("Partners and Other Strangers" and "Strangers and Other Partners"), Felton is found dead in his house, a shotgun blast having destroyed most of his skull. The evidence first point to suicide, but M.E. Julianna Cox
Julianna Cox
Julianna Cox is a fictional chief medical examiner in the TV show Homicide: Life on the Street for seasons 5-6, played by actress Michelle Forbes....
soon determines that he had been murdered with a pistol shot to the back of the head; the killer then used the shotgun to stage the suicide.
Giardello soon learns that Felton had actually spent the last six months working undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
for Internal Investigations Division (IID)
Internal affairs (law enforcement)
The internal affairs division of a law enforcement agency investigates incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force...
, under the direction of Detective Stuart Gharty
Stuart Gharty
Stuart Gharty is a fictional character played by Peter Gerety in the television series Homicide: Life on the Street.He is introduced in the season four one-shot episode "Scene of the Crime", as a cowardly patrolman who allows two drug dealers to murder each other rather than venture into a housing...
. Felton was helping the IID and the FBI build a case against a massive auto theft ring, but an information leak led to his cover being blown. He was personally murdered by the auto kingpin, who managed to evade capture. Beth wants nothing to do with Beau's funeral, so Howard and Russert have to make the arrangements. A memorial for Felton is established in the police headquarters, and attended by the governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore.
The investigation of Felton's murder leads the detectives to remember Felton, although most of these memories prove unpleasant. The episode illustrates these memories with flashbacks consisting of brief clips from the first three seasons; these clips are Baldwin's/ Felton's only appearance on the show after season 3 (although Baldwin would later provide a cameo as Felton in the TV movie following the show's cancellation).
The last "appearance" of Felton was in the 2000 TV movie Homicide: The Movie
Homicide: The Movie
Homicide: The Movie is a television movie that aired 13 February 2000, one year after the completion of the American police drama television series Homicide: Life on the Street...
, where he and Detective Crosetti
Steve Crosetti
Det. Steve Crosetti is a fictional character on the television drama series Homicide: Life on the Street portrayed by actor Jon Polito for the show's first two seasons. He is believed to be based on Baltimore Police Department Det...
are seen in a kind of afterlife playing cards in the squad room and waiting for the next arrival - who turns out to be Giardello himself.