John Kelly (NYPD Blue)
Encyclopedia
John Kelly is a fictional character
in the television series NYPD Blue
. He was portrayed by David Caruso
in the first season and the first four episodes of the second season of the series.
An Irish-American who was promoted to the rank of detective at the relatively early age of 28, Kelly was a brilliant and oft-smoldering cop, whose father was a heroic cop who was murdered in the line of duty. John Kelly Sr. was a member of the previously Irish American-dominated Police Department who according to fellow officer Jack Hanlon would have made Chief of Detectives had he not been killed. Kelly always managed to stay just on the right side of the law, usually keeping his hotter headed partner Andy Sipowicz
under control. This changed when he became involved with a uniform cop, Janice Licalsi
, who murdered a mob boss named Angelo Marino who had ordered her to kill Kelly. Licalsi did this as her father, also a cop, was on the payroll of the mob boss and she was trying to protect him.
Eventually Licalsi was investigated and Kelly allowed her to destroy evidence that would have pointed to her involvement in the murder. After Licalsi confessed to killing Marino (and his bodyguard) she was tried and sentenced to two years in jail for manslaughter. It became evident to Kelly that he had no future in the job as Internal affairs
came after him for his role in trying to help Licalsi and his testimony on her behalf. IAB couldn't find any hard evidence to end his career with, but Captain
Haverill, an opponent of the 15th's detective squad commander, Lieutenant
Arthur Fancy
, had provoked Kelly into an act of insubordination and had demoted him to radio dispatch work until IAB could "find" the means to end his career. Kelly refused to accept this and resigned from the force. He was last heard to be acting as a bodyguard and security expert, and was not able to attend Andy Sipowicz's wedding because he was working in India. Lieutenant Fancy was not pleased to see Kelly's career end via Captain Haverill and would later force Haverill's retirement with an incriminating tape recording.
Kelly was married to Laura Michaels
, a lawyer, but the couple were divorced during his time on the show although they continued to have sex for a while until they both decided they were falling into old patterns which they didn't wish to repeat. He also acted as a sort of mentor to James Martinez
, a young cop in anti-crime whom he partnered for a while during the time Sipowicz was on probation; one famous episode showed Kelly walking Martinez through an intricate sequence of actions in order to get a murder confession.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the television series NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
. He was portrayed by David Caruso
David Caruso
David Stephen Caruso is an American film and television actor and producer, best known for his role of Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the TV series CSI: Miami. The role that gained him initial significant recognition was the role of Det...
in the first season and the first four episodes of the second season of the series.
An Irish-American who was promoted to the rank of detective at the relatively early age of 28, Kelly was a brilliant and oft-smoldering cop, whose father was a heroic cop who was murdered in the line of duty. John Kelly Sr. was a member of the previously Irish American-dominated Police Department who according to fellow officer Jack Hanlon would have made Chief of Detectives had he not been killed. Kelly always managed to stay just on the right side of the law, usually keeping his hotter headed partner Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz
Andy Sipowicz is a fictional character and protagonist on the popular ABC television series NYPD Blue. Dennis Franz portrayed the character for its entire run....
under control. This changed when he became involved with a uniform cop, Janice Licalsi
Janice Licalsi
Janice Licalsi formerly Gennaro was a fictional character portrayed by Amy Brenneman on the television series NYPD Blue. She appeared in 18 episodes during the first two seasons of the show...
, who murdered a mob boss named Angelo Marino who had ordered her to kill Kelly. Licalsi did this as her father, also a cop, was on the payroll of the mob boss and she was trying to protect him.
Eventually Licalsi was investigated and Kelly allowed her to destroy evidence that would have pointed to her involvement in the murder. After Licalsi confessed to killing Marino (and his bodyguard) she was tried and sentenced to two years in jail for manslaughter. It became evident to Kelly that he had no future in the job as Internal affairs
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...
came after him for his role in trying to help Licalsi and his testimony on her behalf. IAB couldn't find any hard evidence to end his career with, but Captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
Haverill, an opponent of the 15th's detective squad commander, Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Arthur Fancy
Arthur Fancy
Capt. Arthur Fancy was a fictional character and protagonist in the television series NYPD Blue. He was played by James McDaniel from Season 1 through Season 8.-Background:...
, had provoked Kelly into an act of insubordination and had demoted him to radio dispatch work until IAB could "find" the means to end his career. Kelly refused to accept this and resigned from the force. He was last heard to be acting as a bodyguard and security expert, and was not able to attend Andy Sipowicz's wedding because he was working in India. Lieutenant Fancy was not pleased to see Kelly's career end via Captain Haverill and would later force Haverill's retirement with an incriminating tape recording.
Kelly was married to Laura Michaels
Laura Michaels
Laura Michaels was a fictional character in the television series NYPD Blue. She was portrayed by Sherry Stringfield in the first season. The character was an Assistant District Attorney who was estranged from her husband John...
, a lawyer, but the couple were divorced during his time on the show although they continued to have sex for a while until they both decided they were falling into old patterns which they didn't wish to repeat. He also acted as a sort of mentor to James Martinez
James Martinez
James Martinez was a fictional character in the television series NYPD Blue. He was portrayed by Nicholas Turturro from the first episode until midway through the seventh season. He began his run on the show as a plainclothes officer in the Anti-Crime unit who made a very positive impression with...
, a young cop in anti-crime whom he partnered for a while during the time Sipowicz was on probation; one famous episode showed Kelly walking Martinez through an intricate sequence of actions in order to get a murder confession.