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OLSHANSKY, Michael "Mike"
(Hack)
#4416 (Brick Row Home)
Philadelphia, PA
Michael is a cab driver. He is tall, Polish,
Catholic and divorced. Once a decorated
Philadelphia police officer, Mike lost his
job on corruption charges for stealing money
("hazard pay") from a narcotics crime scene.
Ever since, Michael has tried to redeem
himself by helping those in need - many of
whom he meets while driving his cab (No.
P2626) for the South Side Taxi Exchange. |
Michael "Mike" Olshansky |
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 the made-for TV movie OUR FAMILY BUSINESS
(1981) and the sitcom BIG WAVE
DAVE'S/CBS/1993.
HACK/CBS/2002-04
|
David Morse |
as |
Mike Olshansky |
|
Andre Braugher |
as |
Marcellus
Washington |
|
George Dzundza |
as |
Grizz Grzelak |
|
Matthew Borish |
as |
Michael
Olshansky, Jr. |
|
Jacqueline
Torres |
as |
Liz Garza |
|
Donna Murphy |
as |
Heather
Olshansky |
|
Matt Czuchry |
as |
Jamie Farrell
|
|
Bebe Neuwirth |
as |
Faith O'Connor
|
|
Cindy Katz |
as |
Bettina
Corwin |
|
Gregg Edelman |
as |
Ryan Ambrose
|
|
Lindsay Crouse |
as |
Beth Kulvicki
|
|
Mark Margolis |
as
|
Nicolai
Zosimov |
|
Paul Adelstein |
as |
Aldo Rossi,
Marcellus' partner |
|
Brian Smiar |
as |
Bill Olshansky,
Mike's dad |
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