George Dzundza (Sgt. Max Greevey
)George Dzundza quit the show after its first season over a dispute with the writers and producers over scheduling and script quality. The series was originally set to film in Los Angeles, but when Dick Wolf won his fight to shoot it in New York, Dzundza did not want to relocate his family there, and thus had to divide his time between the two locations. This argument reached a breaking point when the producers threatened to sue him if Dzundza interrupted shooting to be with his wife at the birth of their child. Dzundza's actual last appearance is in "The Blue Wall," though his character, Greevey, makes ashadowy appearance in the second season opener, "Confession" through the magic of doubles.
Sgt. Max Greevey's first appearance was in "Prescription for Death." In his final episode, he was shot to death in the second season opener, "Confession," by Daniel Madigan, Jr., who wanted to silence hisgrand jury testimony on construction industry corruption.
Paul Sorvino (Sgt. Phil Cerreta)
Paul Sorvino left amicably in the middle of the third season to pursue his opera career, claiming that the brutal weather in the winter outdoor shooting scenes was ruining his singing voice. Sorvino has since pursued other roles, including that of Anthony Caruso in the ongoing Perry Mason series, and currently owns his own restaurant named "Sorvino's," appropriately enough, in New York. He made his public singing debut in August, 1996, on PBS in his program entitled, "Paul Sorvino: An Evening of Song."
Det. Phil Cerreta first appears in the second season opener, "Confession." He was wounded in the line of duty in "Prince of Darkness" and decided in the next episode, "Point of View" that with the lingering effects of his injuries, he would no longer be suitable for street duty, and thus accepted theadministrative desk position at the 110th Precinct.
Dann Florek (Capt. Donald Cragen)
Dann Florek was one of the two casualties of NBC's edict to break down the "boys' club" and put women in the series. Nevertheless, he returned to direct several episodes (among them, "Big Bang," "The Pursuit of Happiness," and "Bad Faith") and did a guest appearance in the fifth season episode, "Bad Faith." Among other things, Florek appeared in guest roles on "Wings" and "Ellen" and was a regular cast member in the Fox series, "Hardball." Florek also starred as Fred Flintstone's boss, Mr. Slate, in the movie, "The Flintstones." Florek makes his film directorial debut in "Standing in Between."
Capt. Donald Cragen appeared from the beginning of the series until his final episode at the end of the third season, "Benevolence." His disappearance from the show was not mentioned in either the third season ender or fourth season opener, and was not explained until the fifth season episode, "Bad Faith," in which we learn that he heads the Anti-Corruption Task Force.
Richard Brooks (ADA Paul Robinette)
Richard Brooks was the other casualty of the NBC's decision to incorporate more women into the show. He also appeared on the show from its inception till the end of the third season, was recently seen in guest roles on "E.R" and "Chicago Hope" during the 95-96 season, and stars in the sequel to "The Crow." Brooks made a guest appearance on L&O in its sixth season.
Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette also appeared from the beginning of the series until his final episode at the end of the third season, "Benevolence." His disappearance from the show has never been explained on the show, and was not mentioned in either the third season ender or fourth season opener, although NBC press releases at the time of the character's departure mentioned that Robinette had moved to a Park Avenue law firm. Robinette's sixth season guest appearance had him doing well as a private practice defense attorney.
Michael Moriarty (EADA Benjamin Stone)
Michael Moriarty resigned in a huff at the end of the 1993-94 season after a long, vocal, and not yet finished battle of words with Attorney General Janet Reno, who was making efforts to censor television violence. He felt that NBC was trying to silence him when two talk show appearances on the network were pulled at the last moment and his role was reduced in the fourth season episode, "Mayhem." Wolf claims this was entirely coincidental -- this episode happened to focus on the cops more than the normal
format allows, just as "American Dream" focused almost exclusively on Moriarty's character, Stone. Moriarty claims he was forced into a situation where he had to resign. As you might imagine, there is much debate on who was actually the wronged party in this exchange, and we may never know the true, complete story. However, for an eloquent and more lengthy explication of the situation, I refer you to a piece by Beverly Linton on the mailing list web page under the "Reviews and Commentary" section. Moriarty continues his jazz nightclub act, appeared in the miniseries, "Children of the Dust" a "Cagney and Lacey" television movie, and the film, "Courage Under Fire."
The much-beloved Ben Stone, frequently referred to as the "soul of L&O" for the depth of his feeling in and exploration of moral and ethical issues, appeared from the show's inception through the end of the fourth season, and his last appearance is in the episode, "Old Friends." Stone resigned his position as EADA after a witness that he forced to testify was killed in a mob hit.
Christopher Noth (Det. Michael Logan)
In a decision that stumps both viewers and television critics, Executive Producer Dick Wolf decided not to renew, or even negotiate, the contract of the most popular and only original remaining cast member at that time, Chris Noth, citing that the interaction of the detectives had grown stale and money concerns. Noth's agent, Delores Robinson, stated that Noth had not been approached to renegotiate, that the decision came as a surprise to them, and that if he'd been asked, Noth "probably would've returned to the series." Fan reaction to this, as with Moriarty's departure, was most heated, claiming that stale writing was not the fault of the actor, and joined Noth, who pronounced himself "shocked tobe out of a job."
This issue, of course, is another heated one, and more can be found in the mailing list web page's Q1.2b) "Reviews and Commentary" section as well. Chris Noth turned down a role in Wolf's new series "Feds" and has gone on to film the Sidney Sheldon miniseries "Nothing Lasts Forever" (tv), "Abducted: A Father's Love" (tv), and "Born Free: A New Adventure" (tv), and will soon appear in the films, "Cold Around the Heart" with David Caruso and "The Deli."
Det. Michael Logan, "the heart of L&O," appeared from the series pilot until the end of the fifth season, and his last episode was the season finale "Pride." Logan (inexplicably) punches a local politician during a mob scene outside the courtroom and is presumably demoted as a result.
Jill Hennessy (ADA Claire Kincaid)
Jill Hennessy decided not to renew her contract at the end of the sixth season in order to pursue a film career. She appeared in "I Shot Andy Warhol" and will do a guest spot as Kincaid in the show's seventh season.
Claire Kincaid was in an automobile accident in the sixth season finale, and is presumed to be in a coma, but will live -- unless Hennessy will do that guest appearance as a flashback or ghost. :)