The first episode of Homicide: Life on the Street aired on NBC on January 31, 1993. The crime show was based on David Simon's book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets" which documented his time spent with the homicide unit of the Baltimore Police Department.
Although this NBC show isn't as iconic as other dramas of the decade, Simon would go on to create The Wire, one of the best dramas to ever grace the small screen. The show, which ran between 1993 and 1999, captured the day-to-day reality and ddaniark humor of a team of homicide detectives working in Baltimore.
Despite arrests and car chases being in Homicide: Life on the Street, the show was more focused on how Baltimore police detectives passed the time while trying to solve murders. It is considered one of the most realistic police dramas ever made.
In 2007, it was listed as one of TIME magazine's "Best TV Shows of All-TIME and placed #46 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list. The show garnered three straight TCA (Television Critics Association) Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Drama and was the first drama ever to win three of the prestigious Peabody Awards for best drama
Here is what happened to the cast, 30 years after this crime show first aired.
Article updated December 13th, 2023
9 Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher left the show after six seasons and two Emmy Awards to pursue a career in the movie. Although he landed roles like the archangel Cassiel in City of Angels, a breakthrough role never materialized like it did on the small screen “I've always been frustrated with the roles that are available,” Braugher explained. Other film roles include Salt, Poseidon, The Mist and The Gambler.
Andre Braugher was best known for playing Captain Raymond Holt in the police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the used car salesman Owen Thoreau Jr. in Men of a Certain Age before his passing on December 12th, 2023 at the age of 61.
Braugher had a reputation for playing characters of authority, which includes roles in Gideon's Crossing, Last Resort, House and Law & Order: SVU. He will always be remembered as an actor who played two of TV's best cops.
8 Daniel Baldwin
The second oldest of the Baldwin brothers, Daniel Baldwin has struggled with drug addiction throughout the years. As Homicide: Life on the Street was coming to an end, he overdosed at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, and in 2005 suffered another relapse. He has since become an advocate for drug awareness and appeared on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, admitting to his cocaine addiction.
Baldwin, who played Detective Beau Felton in Homicide: Life on the Street, and has also starred in Ned Blessing: The Tru e Story of My Life, Vampires Stealing Candy, Paparazzi and Grey Gardens. He also appeared in two episodes of The Sopranos.
In more recent years, he has been more famous for his reality show appearances, which include Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Wife Swap and Celebrity Fit Club.
7 Richard Belzer
The late Richard Belzer played John Munch for 23 years on Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and several guest appearances on other series.
In addition to his film and TV career, Belzer was a featured player on the National Lampoon Radio Hour, was a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show and right-wing radio shows hosted by Alex Jones. He has published numerous books on conspiracy theories, covering topics like the death of JFK, aliens and the missing Malaysia airlines flight.
Richard Belzer passed away in February 2023 at 78 years old, after dealing with respiratory disease for years.
6 Clark Johnson
The American-Canadian actor, Clark Johnson, is best known for playing David Jefferson in Night Heat, Clark Roberts in E.N.G and Augustus Haynes in The Wire as well Meldrick Lewis in Homicide: Life on the Street in all seven seasons.
Clark moved into directing. He directed some episodes of Alpha House, as movies The Sentinel, SWAT miniseries Sleeper Cell. He also directed the first and last episodes of The Shield, along with other episodes of the hit series.
5 Melissa Leo
Melissa Leo was a regular on the television shows All My Children but breakthrough role came in 1993 when she starred as Kay Howard on Homicide: Life on the Street.
Melissa Leo received critical acclaim for her performance in the 2008 film Frozen River, earning her several nominations and awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2010, Leo won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Alice Eklund-Ward in the film The Fighter.
In 2013, Leo won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role on the television series Louie and earned acclaim for her role in Mildred Pierce and The Most Hated Woman in America, where she played American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
4 Jon Polito
Jon Polito has a film and television career spanning 35 years with 220 credits. The late actor played Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and Phil Bartoli in the first season of Crime Story.
He also appeared in several movies including The Rocketeer, The Crow and Gangster Squad. He regularly appears in the movies of the Coen brothers including Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski. Jon Polito died from multiple myeloma in 2016.
3 Kyle Secor
Kyle Secor played Detective Tim Bayliss on the crime drama series Homicide: Life on the Street for seven years. His career would never quite reach these heights. He has a short-lived role on Party Of Five and appeared as Jake Kane in Veronica Mars.
From 2005 to 2006, he starred with Geena Davis in ABC's Commander in Chief. He has had many guest spots over the years, including Ghost Whisperer, The Closer and the revival of Hawaii Five-0.
2 Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty has a career that spanned five decades and includes more than 160 films. He made his screen debut in John Boorman’s 1972 Deliverance as well as appearing in Nashville, Network (which he was Oscar-nominated for) and All The President's Men.
He made an impact playing Otis, the bungling henchman of Gene Hackman's villainous Lex Luthor in the first two Christopher Reeve Superman movies.
Alongside his recurring role in three series of Homicide: Life on the Street, the late actor played Dan's father on Roseanne. On Broadway, he won a Drama Desk Award for his portrayal of Big Daddy in a revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Ned Beatty passed away in 2021 due to natural causes at 83 years old.
1 Yaphet Kotto
Although he played Lieutenant Al Giardello in the NBC crime drama, Yaphet Kotto is best known for his role as Parker in Alien. His other big screen roles include The Running Man, Live and Let Die and Midnight Run.
The late actor was Emmy-nominated for his performance as the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 1976 TV movie Raid on Entebbe. He allegedly turned down Billy Dee Williams’ Star Wars role as Lando Calrissian and Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yaphet Kotto passed away in 2021 at 81 years old.
