Editing Jon Polito (section)

==''Homicide: Life on the Street''==
Polito was initially reluctant to audition for ''Homicide'' as he had just relocated from New York City to Los Angeles, and did not want to move to Baltimore for the series. He was initially offered a role as a Polish-American detective, but series co-creators [[Barry Levinson]] and [[Tom Fontana]] rewrote the character as an Italian named [[Steve Crosetti]] and cast him in the role. The Polish detective was also rewritten, becoming Detective [[Meldrick Lewis]], and was played by African-American actor [[Clark Johnson]].<ref name=GR>{{cite web|url=http://www.grouchoreviews.com/interviews/73|work=The Groucho Reviews|title=Jon Polito interview|date=March 5, 2005|access-date=March 22, 2013}}</ref>

The show was rating poorly and the producers were under pressure from [[NBC]] to include a new female character ([[Megan Russert]]) in the hope of gaining broader appeal. As a result, they decided to write out Polito's character at the end of Season 2. Fontana assured him that he would be brought back later in the season, but Polito was unhappy and criticized the producers publicly, an action he later said that he regretted.<ref name="GR" /> The outburst caused a rift with Fontana,<ref name="AVClub">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/article/rip-jon-polito-favorite-coen-brothers-242083|title=R.I.P. Jon Polito, a favorite of the Coen Brothers|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=September 2, 2016 |access-date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> and the Crosetti character was killed off early in Season 3, with the explanation that the detective had committed suicide. This further infuriated Polito, who again complained to the media, triggering a public dispute with Fontana. Interviewed about the situation in 2005, Polito expressed regret for his handling of the matter. He said that he and Fontana had subsequently reconciled, and as a result the Crosetti character returned to make a farewell appearance as a spirit in ''[[Homicide: The Movie]]''.<ref name="GR" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/12/02/characters-suicide-has-actor-steaming/|title=Character's Suicide Has Actor Steaming|date=December 2, 1994|author=Philadelphia Inquirer|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|access-date=March 22, 2013|author-link=Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref>