Arthur Fancy

James McDaniel as Capt./Lt. Arthur Fancy

Capt. Arthur Fancy was a fictional character in the television series NYPD Blue. He was played by James McDaniel for from the season 1 to season 8.

Fancy, an African American, was able to rise through NYPD ranks at a very rapid speed. Fancy was one of the characters who most influenced Andy Sipowicz, changing his once openly racist views. The two clashed many times throughout the early years (even throwing punches at each other in a Season 6 episode) but eventually they grew to admire each other's talents. Fancy bluntly said that if a member of his family was killed, he would want Andy to be the lead investigator on the case.

Fancy was married with two daughters and a son. He had a brother, a uniformed cop named Reggie, who often insulted the Lt. for being submissive to racist cops, but who learned a lesson when the Lt.'s non-black detectives joined forces to squash a serious--and bogus--harrassment claim against Reggie orchestrated by a very bigoted cop.

After spending nine years with the 1-5, he was promoted to Captain and moved on to his next assignment, but his influence upon the detectives did not end there. When an extremely unpopular lieutenant was transferred in as his replacement, Fancy called in one last favor for his detectives and had the boss-to-be transferred out. His influence on Sipowicz continued to be great, and this was one of the major character-building aspects of the detective's career.

His replacement was Lt. Tony Rodriguez.

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