 The episode marked the final appearance by Jon Polito , who had been a regular cast member since the series debuted , but was dismissed reportedly because NBC officials were unhappy with his weight and physical appearance and did not believe he appealed to audiences . The departure was not amicable , as Polito publicly criticized the direction Homicide had taken in the second season and claimed he voiced concerns about the recent scripts to Fontana and Menaul . " A Many Splendored Thing " featured the second of two guest appearances by actress Julianna Margulies as Linda . A few months later , Margulies started her long @-@ running lead role as nurse Carol Hathaway on the medical drama series ER . She was cast in the part after having worked with Fontana on the unaired pilot of Philly Heat , an ABC miniseries he worked on about members of the Philadelphia Fire Department . Tom Fontana had offered Margulies a recurring role on Homicide , but she turned it down in favor of ER . " A Many Splendored Thing " also featured a guest appearances by Adrienne Shelly who played S & M fashion store owner Tanya Quinn , and Sal Koussa as murder suspect Mitchell Forman . Koussa was not a professional actor , and was working as a waiter at Ristorante i <unk> , a Washington , D.C. favorite , when the episode was filmed . 
