
Today is the first anniversary of the passing of the actress and director, Adrienne Shelly, whose death at age 40 last year gained headlines not just because of her minor fame but because of the macabre circumstances surrounding it. Her death, initially thought a suicide, turned out to be a murder disguised as a self-inflicted death. Most American movie-goers didn't know her name. She appeared in mostly obscure indie movies of the 1990s and was a favorite of director Hal Hartley; in some ways, she was more the "Queen of the Indies" than Parker Posey.

Homicide was a procedural before that term became fashionable to describe such shows, and each week, Baltimore homicide detectives (or "murder police," as they called themselves) would solve, or attempt to solve, several murders over the course of any given episode. In 1994, it was still a powerful and innovative drama in its prime, several years away from its inevitable dilution at the hands of NBC network executives.

Throughout the episode, Bayliss remains troubled. By 2007 standards, Bayliss's reaction to these underground communities seems almost quaint. But, of course, this episode aired originally in January of 1994, and was written in 1993, well before the Internet enveloped popular culture and made such things easily findable with the click of a mouse.

She then presents him with an unexpected reward: a leather jacket of his own. He initially refuses, but Quinn replies, forcefully, that he will indeed take it. He relents. The episode ends with a sequence involving Bayliss wandering the club scene wearing his new leather accessory.

Television critic David Bianculli certainly took notice of Shelly's performance. On the date the episode ran, he observed that "[g]uest star Adrienne Shelly, of the 1990 cult movie 'The Unbelievable Truth,' makes a stunning impression as the shopkeeper."1 A year later, when the episode reran, he noted that "[i]t's a wonderful episode, and Ms. Shelly's Tanya is a wonderful character."2 Bianculli was not the only smitten viewer. On February 1, 1994, just days after the episode's first airing, listserv poster Randy Reichardt quipped that Shelly "could put a leather jacket on me anytime." In an email earlier this week, Reichardt, now blogging here, shares that he now has but a "vague recollection" of the episode but notes that "[h]er death was beyond unfortunate, and she deserves to be with us today, still being creative and exciting to watch."
In the aftermath of her death, those who knew her established The Adrienne Shelly Foundation. (See here for a recent interview with her husband, Andy Ostroy, about both his and the couple's three year old daughter's efforts to cope over the past year.) Shelly's last film role was in 2007's Waitress, which she also wrote and directed. It was announced this week that Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines, who appeared with her in Waitress, will direct Shelly's last existing screenplay, Serious Moonlight.
"A Many Splendored Thing" can be found on the fourth disc of the DVD set, Homicide: Life on the Street: Seasons 1 & 2. (A transcription of the episode - not a formal script - can be found here.).
UPDATE (11/01/2007 6:13 PM): Jim King forwards the following clip from YouTube which features Shelly's final scene in the episode:
1. David Bianculli, "'Homicide' Faces its own Finale Tonight," The Baltimore Sun, January 27, 1994.
2. David Bianculli, "For a Reality Good Show, Sample 'VR.5'," The Baltimore Sun, March 10, 2005.
4 comments:
She stole all her scenes with the Homicide regulars. I wonder if there's an element of her performance that influenced the character of "Lady Heather" on CSI.
Upon reading this post and with further reflection, the details of the episode are fresh in my mind, and I agree with your assessment of her character's actions. Indeed Quinn was comfortable in her surroundings. I distinctly recall the last scene, with Bayliss stepping out into a new (for him) subculture and perhaps learning new things about himself in the process.
Shelley and Evan Dando appeared together on the cover of the April 23, 1993 issue of Spin, making out with Lemonheads' Evan Dando. It was hard not to take notice of her then, and not want to coldcock Dando for kissing her.
RIP Adrienne, we will miss you forever.
A fine notice of a stellar actress whole life was cut short before she reached that inevitable amazing comeback when she was 46 that made everyone go "where was this gem all that time?". Very sad.
Homicide life on street is the police based series show.its very interesting show. i usually download Homicide life on the Street episodes from the internet because i gets very good picture quality
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