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Michael
especially wants the respect of his ex-wife, Heather.
Now remarried, she lives in Gladwyne with their 11-year-old son,
Michael "Mikey" Olshansky, Jr who
once thought his dad a hero.
Mike's friend Marcellus Washington was
his partner on the police force Both Mike and Marcellus were dirty cops, but Mike never turned
him in during the investigation. So now Mike is on the street as
a cabbie and Marcellus still works as a cop but
helps Mike recover from his disgrace.
When
Marcellus thinks he is dying of cancer, he relies on Mike's
friendship to give him strength, Luckily, his illness is
short-lived and Marcellus is given a clean bill of health, but
then is shot by a drug dealer. Mike protects his former partner
until the shooter is apprehended. Marcellus temporarily moved in
with Mike when his marriage begins to have problems.
Mike and Detective Washington
Mike's
other friends included Liz Garza,
his
attractive next-door neighbor (#4418), a former nun turned
probation officer who operates the Washington House, a
shelter for battered women; Jamie Farrell, a 22-year-old ex-con
trying to go straight who lives with Michael and tries to
reconcile with his wealthy father;
romantic interest Faith O'Connor who intervened to bring Mike and
his father Bill together before he died from a damaged heart; and Father Tom "Grizz" Grzelak, a portly
Catholic priest at Saint Vincent's who is Mike's close buddy and
drinking partner. Tom has a gambling problem (he steals money
from the collection plate to feed his addiction). Mike arranged
to pay off his gambling debt, and soon after Grizz, who
rekindled a relationship with a female friend,
began to doubt his calling. He later transferred to New Orleans.
Father Grizz Counsels Mike
Meanwhile, armed with a baseball bat
and years of experiences as a tough street cop, Mike
travels in his taxi and helps the underdogs whenever he can. Not
hindered by all the rules and regulations of a normal law
enforcement officer, Mike can work on the fringes of the law as
an urban vigilante. His interventions have included helping a minister find a runaway
teenage daughter; aiding a battered wife fleeing from her
abusive cop husband; protecting a woman terrorized by a stalker;
convincing the police that a former burglar is not guilty
of a recent crime; coming to the aid of an innocent man falsely
accused of terrorism by an F.B.I. agent; helping an
amnesiac regain her memory to uncover who marked her for murder;
protecting a young girl who witnessed a murder by a corrupt cop
now seeking to kill her; and tracking down stolen babies from an
illegal adoption ring.
Mike's Son, Mikey, Jr.
For a short time, Mike hired out as
a chauffeur for a local loan shark, but soon quit after he
realized his job duties (like roughing up a man to
collect on a debt) were leading him
down a slippery slope.
And just when things seem to be
settling down, Mike was kidnapped by Johnny Scanlon who
threatened to execute him at the exact same time as Johnny's brother
Jimmy was to be executed by the state. Years earlier Mike was involved
in the chain of events which led to Jimmy's killing a cop. Taxi
anyone?
TRIVIA NOTE:
David Morse first became known
for his role as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the NBC drama series
ST ELSEWHERE. Morse made his Broadway debut in the role of
Father Barry in the theater adaptation of On the Waterfront." He
made his film debut in Inside Moves and continued in such
movies as Bait, Brotherhood of the Rose, Contact, Crazy in
Alabama, Dancer in the Dark, Desperate Hours, Diary of a City
Priest,. Extreme Measures, The Getaway, The Good
Son, The Green Mile, Hearts in Atlantis, The Long Kiss
Goodnight, The Negotiator, Personal Foul, Proof of Life, The
Rock, Stephen King's
'The Langoliers, Tecumesh: The Last Warrior and Twelve
Monkeys.
His other television credits include series roles in OUR
FAMILY BUSINESS and BIG WAVE DAVE'S.
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