Charlotte Ross Looks Back on "NYPD Blue"

[JamesG]

Memories From the Set: Charlotte Ross on "NYPD Blue"


Boarding the estimable ABC cop drama in Season 8, as Det. Connie McDowell, was intimidating for Ross if only because "I'm petite and blonde, so it was more of question of, 'Can somebody like me hang with a boys' club and really get the job done?' But Bill Clark, who co-created the show with [David] Milch and [Steven] Bochco, says he loosely based my role on his [then] wife, who was a petite, blonde lieutenant in the NYPD," and that gave Ross all the added motivation she needed.

"Bill would always say, 'You can do it!' -- and that was awesome."



Ross likens Connie's evolution to what she now is experiencing as "Arrow's" Donna Smoak, in that "I replaced Kim Delaney but I wasn't brought on the show to marry Sipowicz…. These things kind of grow organically."





Though the cop drama disrobed many of its stars over the years, it was Ross' backside and other bits bared in the February 2003 episode 'Nude Awakening' that got ABC affiliates spanked with a combined $1.2 million in FCC fines — until a higher power chimed in.

Years later, Ross is rather proud for her backside to have secured a place in the annals of TV history. "Yes, I showed my ass — so had Dennis [Franz], so had Kim [Delaney], so had a lot of other people. But for some reason, mine was the 'poster ass' for how TV was changing.' It was a 10 pm show that aired at 2 pm in the Midwest, so people got up in arms."

But in the end, the actress vividly recalls, "It was ruled that Charlotte Ross' ass was deemed 'decent,' and that is now in the Supreme Court books!"

http://tvline.com/gallery/charlotte-...oss-nypd-blue/

[Schmoopie]

I remember that scene where Theo walked in on her in the bathroom. H&I blurred it out of course, but I got the idea. That being said, I loved Connie and Sipowitz as a couple. It was interesting to see how their relationship came about.