DET. GREG MEDAVOY
Played by Gordon
Clapp: Medavoy is a walking bundle of neuroses disguised as a
police detective. Cursed with a sometimes uncontrollable stammer and an
abundance of allergies, Greg used to be the butt of a lot of jokes among
the squad. However, he's a pretty good investigator and good researcher
who has managed to earn the respect of his coworkers despite all his
personal problems. He left his shrewish wife Marie to have an affair with
Donna Abandando, but when she broke things
off for good (due mostly to Greg's immaturity), Greg tried going back to
his loveless marriage for the sake of his daughters. That didn't work;
neither did a pursuit of attractive co-worker Abby Sullivan, who turned
out to be a lesbian. Greg wound up fathering Abby's baby by artificial
insemination, however, but becoming a father a third time hasn't improved
his disposition much. Working with the dynamic and friendly Baldwin Jones, on the other hand, has.
Gordon Clapp
Gordon Clapp does his New York accent so well that it's hard to believe
that
he was born in New Hampshire and studied acting in Canada. He made his
first semi-splash in 1980 in John Sayles' "The Return of the Secaucus
Seven," which would later be ripped off by "The Big Chill" and others of
its
ilk, as a meek New Democrat who struggles to gain acceptance into his
girlfriend's close-knit circle of friends.
Clapp largely stuck to theater after that, though he did have a small
part
on USA's sitcom "Check it Out!" He reteamed with Sayles as a nasty union
buster in "Matewan" and a short-fused baseball player in "Eight Men Out,"
two roles that are a world apart from the one in which he would be cast
on
"NYPD Blue."
Initially signed as a guest actor for only a few appearances, Clapp,
along
with Gail O'Grady, proved so popular with the fans that they quickly
became series regulars. Amid all the bleakness on "Blue," Clapp is
usually a
good source of comic relief, though Gordon occasionally gets to show off
his
serious side. He recently won an Emmy for the role.
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