Kay Harvey. Kay Harvey?
No. But, that’s what Melissa’s character’s name was at one point. Kay doesn’t exist in David Simon’s Homicide: Life on the Killing Streets. She’s a mash up of a detective named Bertina “Bert” Silver, a woman, and Rick Garvey, a guy who for a while had a 100% conviction streak - for about a year. Kay Howard topped that.
So, as an ode to Garvey: Harvey. Then, to protect Garvey from being oddly associated with a woman who topped him as a detective - they named her Howard. Or, maybe it’s that obscure superstition of naming a character after the ‘tall, white, pooka’…
I wish I had been a fly on the wall for her audition. I imagine Melissa was as tough, surprising, ambitious, and as proud of her job as she ended up portraying Kay for five seasons. Hard on herself as well. A person who had to survive as an outsider.
From what I understand, there weren’t supposed to be any women on the show to begin with.
That changed and we were glad it did. Because for five glorious seasons, we got to be in scenes with and witness the brilliance of Melissa Leo. She was unlike any actress I’d ever acted with up to that point. A total original - fierce in her convictions and her protection of the unique character of Kay Howard. A true collaboration between her, Tom Fontana, and the other writers.
Melissa was brave at a time when other actresses on TV weren’t allowed to be, or, didn’t allow themselves to be brave because of the culture. She was the only one brave enough to use a Bawlmer dialect for the entire series. She was distinct - slight of build, stunning to look at with that hair and, what I would call her fine Irish features.
There was a desire for freedom and joy; and yet a deep pain standing side by side within her. Kay Howard walked proudly, hands in pockets, in suits, sometimes ties as the show went on; talked outta the side of her mouth, lifted herself up to full height at the slightest suggestion of a confrontation, and put the fellas on alert. She got entry into the men’s club because she was so good at what she did, but was resentful of all it stood for.
She insinuated herself into the conversation with her body language. Leaning in, not missing a thing, and reminding everyone - I’m here. I belong. So good at making the other detectives uncomfortable when they forgot she was a woman, not just another detective. And that pride in her accomplishments.
Myself and others felt a strong pull of empathy towards Melissa, but, at the same time, her hand could fly up into our faces. Some she let in. Other, not so much. She was careful that way. Which, in retrospect, makes sense, with everything that was happening in her life early on in the series.
I’m not sure when it began, but Melissa was in a custody battle with her former boyfriend, John Heard. Good actor, shit person. They had a son together, Jack. John followed her to Baltimore, stalked her, harassed her, assaulted her boyfriend, and at one point was accused of kidnapping their son.
Melissa did everything she could to protect Jack and herself and then took her ex to court. She never backed down. She also reached out for help to people on the crew like Ron Johnson. Ron had worked in social services in Canada and had experience in mediation. He went with her once when Heard had kept their son too long during a court-ordered visit. He was able to convince him to release the boy into Melissa’s care without making the situation worse. Yet another example of how close our cast and crew were.
She and Danny Baldwin were great partners together. Perfect casting; on of the most exacting and professional of the squad with an untidy troublemaker who pined to do better. Danny is at his best working with her, especially when he’s messing up and trying to right it with her, or in his softer moments of concern for his partner.
We didn’t work a ton together. I remember certain episodes, like Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. For two detectives dealing with the anxieties of quitting smoking, it presented a lot of opportunities for humor which she played beautifully and made for a happy time.
Some of the great stories I’ve heard speak to her adventurous spirit and her desire to break norms. Jeff Gordon reminded me that she got into rock climbing around the 3rd or 4th season, which I remembered. What I didn’t know is that she used to secretly practice climbing up the wall of the Pier, while we were shooting. Then, repel down after making it to the third-floor window and do it all over.
After she left Homicide, I didn’t see much of her. I remember running into her on a hike up Runyon Canyon in LA. It was great to see her, but that feeling of having been colleagues on the same show at one time wasn’t there. We didn’t have a lot to say to each other, but I certainly felt some of the old fondness.
A couple of years after that she won an Academy Award for The Fighter. I had seen the movie and I was, again, blown away by the depths of her resources.
Selfishly, I hope we see each other again one day. If we do, maybe I’ll remind her how a few of us fell hard for her during one episode.
Kay Howard. Carrie Howard?
Melissa Leo. Margaret May?
The Wedding. In that episode, an ‘actress’ named Margaret May played Kay’s sister, Carrie. It confused the hell out of a bunch of us, we had no clue it was coming and she didn’t break character. Ever. Carrie was the complete opposite of Kay and in a way the producer’s response to NBC’s constant notes about making Kay more attractive, wearing makeup, and all that nonsense. Margaret May/Melissa chewed it up. She was so freaking good - she rattled us, intrigued us, and had us lusting after her. But, it wasn’t just sexual; it was more of a lusty admiration for her talent, her skill, and her humanity…along with the other.
Carrie brought out an aspect of Kay that Melissa, through her vast talents, had withheld in service of Kay. And how great that she got to do that. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to not meet Carrie, or, Margaret May…I’m still confused.
Cheers! Have a great Sunday.
Melissa as Kay was so groundbreaking. Kay was a woman in the 90s doing "a man's job," and, for what it's worth, better than most of the men around her! And, I imagine to her mind, without using her femininity (dressing up, makeup, etc.) but instead solid, hard work to rival any man. I was really disappointed when the show seemed to run out of things for her to do once she became a Sergeant because she could go toe to toe with any male character in that squad room! LOL And, unlike most other characters, I think in those first 5 seasons, she had interactions with every regular character - interesting ones, too. Consider her conversations as equals with Frank; the very respectful way Mike and John (Munch) treated her; her standing up to Gee and their mentoring relationship; engaging in a friendly way with older detectives Stan and Steve; being kind to Tim and Beau; giving as good as she got with everyone; even finding mutual respect for Megan and their shared though different love of Beau. She was a valuable addition to what, per the book I believe, was supposed to be an all-male cast in the beginning.
As for Melissa Leo, I really respected that - per her keen perception of Kay - she didn't want to "dress like a girl," "wear a ton of makeup," or especially be a trophy cop, if that makes sense. I'm guessing she felt it didn't fit Kay, and she didn't want to portray that all hardworking female detectives had to be that in order to succeed. I feel bad for the female detectives of Homicide who came later (not so much Megan, but the female characters of seasons 6 and 7). It wasn't the actors' fault, but how why those later female characters were added and how they were written to satisfy the network - to add "sex appeal" while sacrificing being 3-dimensional. I think Megan accomplished what they might have been looking for while being hardworking and a leader and if they were looking for more of that, I wish they had stuck with that hybrid model. That's part of what made Homicide such a special show - it (at least in the beginning) looked like a real squad room, not a Hollywood set. Melissa, as Kay, was a big part of that. Unlike Frank, who could be an off-putting, prima donna showing off his theatrics in the box (and I really *like* Frank! LOL), Kay just low key did the dang job and let the board speak for itself.
Sorry - off my soapbox! LOL My main point is that it was and still is really refreshing to see a hardworking woman whose character is defined by her efforts and talent rather than stereotypes, especially in what was (and still is to some degree) what a male-dominated field where women have to work harder than men to be taken seriously. Hats off to Melissa for bringing Kay to life and helping make her a fully realized character!
Kay Howard is my favorite female tv character of all time (hell my reddit username is her), possibly because I was 18 when the show debuted and her character just hit at that perfect time.
Thanks for this blog/podcast, currently binging on it at work (when i probably should be actually working!)