Meldrick Lewis
Encyclopedia
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street
played by Clark Johnson
. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series. Born on August 27, 1962, Lewis was raised in Baltimore's Lafayette Court housing project; in Season 4, he watched its demolition and kept a brick from the rubble as a memento. He attended Lake Clifton High School and graduated in 1980. It is indicated he was raised Baptist
, but his wedding was performed by a member of the Universal Life Church
.
Meldrick has been a murder police since May of 1990. His first partner in the series was Steve Crosetti
, who occasionally irritated him with his arcane historical interests and demeanor. The two usually got along well, however, so Crosetti's later suicide
deeply unnerved Lewis. At first he refused to even believe it could be a suicide, reasoning that Crosetti, a devout Catholic
and devoted father, would never violate his faith and abandon his child. In time he accepted Crosetti's suicide, but still felt a certain dismay that he had never known Crosetti was "in that kind of pain" and apparently felt he could not tell Lewis about his problems. Stan Bolander comforted Lewis by saying that in giving up his prized vintage yo-yo as a gift to Lewis, Crosetti was in his own way saying goodbye.
He remained without a partner for a time until partnering with Mike Kellerman
, formerly of the arson squad. This partnership initially worked reasonably well, but also had its strain as Kellerman slid toward alcoholism
and humiliation when he was falsely accused of having taken bribes while in his previous position. As Kellerman kept his problems less secret than Crosetti, Lewis was able to stop a potential suicide attempt. Lewis and Kellerman had earlier found themselves arguing with each other over a Nation of Islam
group acting as a private security force in a Baltimore City housing project. During a Homicide investigation, the Muslims baited Kellerman with racial remarks and it didn't help him when Lewis agreed with the Muslims' presence in the projects as because of them, there were fewer Homicides in the projects. Lewis nonetheless forced the Muslims' leader to answer both him and Kellerman (the leader would only speak to Black Homicide Detectives about the identity of a murder suspect) during an attempt at turning the two against each other. When Kellerman and Lewis were finally able to snare drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for drug trafficking and murder, Lewis beat up Mahoney until the criminal grabbed Lewis' gun. However, Kellerman and Terri Stivers
showed up in time to prevent Mahoney from killing Lewis, and Kellerman shot and killed Mahoney during an ambiguous standoff. Although Lewis initially approved of Kellerman's actions, he later decided they couldn't be partners any more because of Kellerman's action.
During Season 6, Lewis got into an altercation with Mahoney's sister Georgia Rae and was suspended. He persuaded fellow detective Paul Falsone
to feed him information about the organization, which he used to start an internal war that eventually led to a bloodbath for both the police and the criminals. Kellerman finally admitted the truth about the Mahoney shooting - that the man had not been pointing Lewis' weapon at anyone when Kellerman shot him - and resigned in order to keep Lewis and Stivers from losing their jobs. Kellerman then asked to borrow Lewis' gun so he could commit suicide, but Lewis refused to give it to him. In Season 7, Lewis developed problems with his new partner, Rene Sheppard
, when she suffered a brutal beating and had her gun taken from her by a suspect, who shot at Lewis and nearly killed him (the bullet nicked the brim of his trademark hat). The two reached a reconciliation of sorts by the end of the series.
According to the Season 4 episode "I've Got a Secret," Lewis had a mentally ill
brother named Anthony, who was institutionalized roughly 20 years earlier as he was a danger to himself and others. Lewis confessed to Kellerman that he did not intervene on one of Anthony's suicide attempts, and even briefly hoped it might succeed as it would end his suffering and the hardships he put on the rest of the family. Lewis estimated that he last visited Anthony in 1978; he tried to do so again during this episode, but Anthony refused to see him.
Lewis had a harshly realist view of the job, and was openly critical of Tim Bayliss for putting so much of his emotional energy into the unforgiving field of police work. In the fourth season, he married a woman named Barbara Shivers on extremely short notice. The couple eventually split up. Those who knew Lewis were unsurprised at the breakup; in fact, up to the moment of the wedding many of his co-workers (particularly Munch) assumed the engagement was a hoax.
called Clark the "king of the ad lib".
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...
played by Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...
. The character was in the series for its full run and had the very first and last lines of the series. Born on August 27, 1962, Lewis was raised in Baltimore's Lafayette Court housing project; in Season 4, he watched its demolition and kept a brick from the rubble as a memento. He attended Lake Clifton High School and graduated in 1980. It is indicated he was raised Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, but his wedding was performed by a member of the Universal Life Church
Universal Life Church
The Universal Life Church is a religious organization that offers anyone semi-immediate ordination as a ULC minister free of charge. The organization states that anyone can become a minister immediately, without having to go through the pre-ordination process required by other religious faiths...
.
Meldrick has been a murder police since May of 1990. His first partner in the series was 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...
, who occasionally irritated him with his arcane historical interests and demeanor. The two usually got along well, however, so Crosetti's later suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
deeply unnerved Lewis. At first he refused to even believe it could be a suicide, reasoning that Crosetti, a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and devoted father, would never violate his faith and abandon his child. In time he accepted Crosetti's suicide, but still felt a certain dismay that he had never known Crosetti was "in that kind of pain" and apparently felt he could not tell Lewis about his problems. Stan Bolander comforted Lewis by saying that in giving up his prized vintage yo-yo as a gift to Lewis, Crosetti was in his own way saying goodbye.
He remained without a partner for a time until partnering with 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:...
, formerly of the arson squad. This partnership initially worked reasonably well, but also had its strain as Kellerman slid toward alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and humiliation when he was falsely accused of having taken bribes while in his previous position. As Kellerman kept his problems less secret than Crosetti, Lewis was able to stop a potential suicide attempt. Lewis and Kellerman had earlier found themselves arguing with each other over a Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
group acting as a private security force in a Baltimore City housing project. During a Homicide investigation, the Muslims baited Kellerman with racial remarks and it didn't help him when Lewis agreed with the Muslims' presence in the projects as because of them, there were fewer Homicides in the projects. Lewis nonetheless forced the Muslims' leader to answer both him and Kellerman (the leader would only speak to Black Homicide Detectives about the identity of a murder suspect) during an attempt at turning the two against each other. When Kellerman and Lewis were finally able to snare drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for drug trafficking and murder, Lewis beat up Mahoney until the criminal grabbed Lewis' gun. However, Kellerman and Terri Stivers
Terri Stivers
Terri Stivers is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street. She was played by actress Toni Lewis....
showed up in time to prevent Mahoney from killing Lewis, and Kellerman shot and killed Mahoney during an ambiguous standoff. Although Lewis initially approved of Kellerman's actions, he later decided they couldn't be partners any more because of Kellerman's action.
During Season 6, Lewis got into an altercation with Mahoney's sister Georgia Rae and was suspended. He persuaded fellow detective Paul Falsone
Paul Falsone
Paul Falsone is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street. He was played by Jon Seda. Born on January 6, 1969, Falsone was introduced as a long-time member of the Auto Squad at the end of Season 5, where his natural talents proved useful in...
to feed him information about the organization, which he used to start an internal war that eventually led to a bloodbath for both the police and the criminals. Kellerman finally admitted the truth about the Mahoney shooting - that the man had not been pointing Lewis' weapon at anyone when Kellerman shot him - and resigned in order to keep Lewis and Stivers from losing their jobs. Kellerman then asked to borrow Lewis' gun so he could commit suicide, but Lewis refused to give it to him. In Season 7, Lewis developed problems with his new partner, Rene Sheppard
Rene Sheppard
Rene Sheppard is a fictional police detective of the Baltimore Police Department on Homicide: Life on the Street, played by Michael Michele. At 29, Sheppard first appeared in Season 7. Rene was Miss Anne Arundel County sometime prior to joining the Baltimore Police Department...
, when she suffered a brutal beating and had her gun taken from her by a suspect, who shot at Lewis and nearly killed him (the bullet nicked the brim of his trademark hat). The two reached a reconciliation of sorts by the end of the series.
According to the Season 4 episode "I've Got a Secret," Lewis had a mentally ill
Mental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
brother named Anthony, who was institutionalized roughly 20 years earlier as he was a danger to himself and others. Lewis confessed to Kellerman that he did not intervene on one of Anthony's suicide attempts, and even briefly hoped it might succeed as it would end his suffering and the hardships he put on the rest of the family. Lewis estimated that he last visited Anthony in 1978; he tried to do so again during this episode, but Anthony refused to see him.
Lewis had a harshly realist view of the job, and was openly critical of Tim Bayliss for putting so much of his emotional energy into the unforgiving field of police work. In the fourth season, he married a woman named Barbara Shivers on extremely short notice. The couple eventually split up. Those who knew Lewis were unsurprised at the breakup; in fact, up to the moment of the wedding many of his co-workers (particularly Munch) assumed the engagement was a hoax.
Behind the scenes
Clark Johnson regularly improvised during filming and made up his own jokes and dialogue; writer and producer James YoshimuraJames Yoshimura
James Yoshimura is a Japanese American writer and producer, best known for his screenwriting work on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street and the short-lived Fox series The Jury, for which he served as a co-creator. He also co-wrote Homicide: The Movie, a made-for-television film that came...
called Clark the "king of the ad lib".