FACTS
Resume | Extensive
Biography | Trivia
Resume
Jan 3
1953 |
Birth
of James Brass in Newark, NJ. |
Between
~1971-1978 |
Joins
the Marine Corps, possibly drafted during the Vietnam War
Obtains a BA in History from Seton Hall University
(not necessarily in that order) |
~1978 |
Joins
the Police Forces in New Jersey, either in Vice or in Homicide |
~1978-1993 |
Cleans
up the police department by turning in a number of dirty cops
from Vice, including Mike O'Toole. During this time, goes through
the ranks of Detective to Lieutenant. |
~1993 |
Leaves
New Jersey and goes to Vegas. Shortly thereafter, becomes Captain
and runs the Criminalistics Department. |
2000 |
Is sent
back to run the Homicide Department, instead of being promoted
to Undersheriff. |
Sep 2006 |
Receives
a medal of valor for his bravery. |
Extensive Biography
[SP] = contains extensive spoilers
for certain episodes or plot lines.
~ = approximate date.
"btw" = event placed at an unknown moment within a given
time period.
Jan
3 1953 |
Birth
of James Brass in Newark, NJ, in a middle-class family. [CSI
videogame profile] [a previous CBS press release puts Brass'
birth year at 1951] |
~1966 |
Is marked
by the injustice during the riots in Newark, that influence
him to choose a career in law inforcement. [CSI videogame profile;
however, there is no way that Brass was in college at this time,
as suggested by the videogame profile] |
btw
1971-1978 |
Possibly
drafted to serve in Southeast Asia [suggested in CSI, 6x02 Room
Service ] [the last draft lottery for Vietnam was in 1972]
Served in the US military with the Marine Corps [CSI, 6x10 Still
Life ]
Obtained a BA in History from Seton Hall University, NJ [CSI
videogame profile] |
btw 1971-1982 |
Marries
Nancy Brass. The date of the marriage is entirely open to speculation.
[CSI, 5x20 Hollywood Brass] |
~1978 |
Started
working in the field, probably as a rookie in the Newark police
department, apparently working his way up to becoming a detective
in Vice... [CSI, 1x01 Pilot] [conflicting information
is given in 7x01 Built to Kill, which would place the
beginning of Brass's police work in 1983; another conflicting
source is the video game, which places Brass's career in the
police as starting in 1973 already] |
~1979 |
... or
possibly in Homicide. [CSI, 1x02 Cool Change] [It's
unclear whether Brass started out in Vice or in Homicide, as
conflicting evidence exist for either. It's possible that the
dates were reorganised/changed by the writing staff later on] |
btw
1979-1993 |
Attempts
to clean up the Vice department of all the dirty cops. Shows
so much zeal and stubbornness in doing this that his relationship
with his wife Nancy, and later with his daughter Ellie, suffers
greatly. [CSI, 5x20 Hollywood Brass, CSI videogame
profile] |
~1982 |
Annie
Kramer starts working in the same police department as Brass,
also in Vice. At some point during her time in New Jersey, she
and Brass have an affair. [CSI, 5x20 Hollywood Brass] |
Sep
24 1982 |
Birth
of Ellie Rebecca Brass in Essex County, NJ. She isn't Brass's
biological daughter, her biological father is Mike O'Toole,
a dirty cop who also worked in Vice. [CSI, 2x10 Ellie,
5x20 Hollywood Brass] |
~1990 |
Annie
Kramer is transferred to the Los Angeles Police Department [CSI,
5x20 Hollywood Brass] |
~1993 |
Nancy
divorces Brass because of his affair with Annie. Brass turns
in Mike O'Toole and his "crew" to the authorities
and gets transferred to Las Vegas. [CSI videogame profile, CSI,
5x20 Hollywood Brass] [it is also plausible that Brass
divorced and left New Jersey in 1990, at the same time as Annie] |
btw
1993-2000 |
Shoots
the passenger of a car he was chasing in a felony pursuit. He
could have been forced to retire, but was promoted Captain instead,
under the condition that he accepts a desk job, heading the
Criminalistics unit. [CSI, 4x02 All For Our Country] |
~2000 |
Gets
a patrol car to pick up Ellie at a Prom. [suggested in CSI 5x20,
Hollywood Brass] |
2000 |
[SP]
Is expecting a promotion to Undersheriff ("Deputy Chief",
an alternate name for the same job). Lets a CSI rookie, Holly
Gribbs, go on the field and expects Warrick to keep an eye on
her. Warrick fails to do so, resulting in Holly Gribbs' death.
Brass is transferred back to Homicide, which he heads. [CSI
1x01, Pilot, 1x02 Cool Change] |
~Dec
2001 |
[SP]
Ellie turns up in Las Vegas, running a fake chip scam and muling
for drugs with her boyfriend, then becoming the prime suspect
for a muder. Brass bails her out. He is then knocked out while
trying to visit her at her boyfriend's, and wakes up to find
the boyfriend was shot with his gun. Warrick elucidates the
mystery, and also notices that Brass isn't Ellie's biological
father - Brass says she doesn't know. Ellie leaves Vegas, telling
Brass that it's much too late for them to have a good relationship.
[CSI, 2x10 Ellie] |
~Apr
2005 |
[SP]
Ellie calls Brass from LA when her best friend Dakota disappears.
He goes to LA, and tries to investigate the situation with Annie
Kramer who has been promoted Captain of the Vice unit. Brass
finds out that his daughter is a crack addict and a prostitute.
He discovers some disturbing evidence involving the actor Vic
Patterson, and leaves Annie to decide what to do with it. He
also tells her that Ellie isn't his biological daughter. [CSI,
5x20 Hollywood Brass] |
btw 2005-2006 |
Gives
Grissom power of attorney, because he believes that Ellie wouldn't
care if he was sick or injured. [CSI, 6x24 Way To Go] |
~Nov
2005 |
[SP]
Participates in a huge drug-related shootout which involves
the death of several suspects and a police officer, Officer
Bell, which leads to an inside investigation of the PD by Detective
Ortega. It is later revealed that Brass shot him accidentally.
The shooting is processed by the review board, and Brass is
cleared. [CSI 6x07, 6x08 A Bullet Runs Through It Pts 1&2,
6x09 Dog Eat Dog] |
May
11 2006 |
[SP]
Goes in as a negociator during a hostage situation. He spends
several hours waiting with Willie Cutler and the woman he took
hostage, until he finds out that they were waiting to find a
dead man - he's been played. He takes a bullet to the deltoid,
which travels through his chest and lodges near his heart. After
a heavy operation, he pulls through. Ellie, called up by Grissom,
comes to visit him, but runs away before he wakes up. [CSI 6x23
Bang Bang, 6x24 Way To Go] |
Sep
2006 |
Receives
the Medal of Valor for his acts of bravery during the kidnapping.
He views the medal as a poster for the stupidest thing he's
ever done, because he let Willie Cutler play him. [CSI 7x01
Built to Kill] |
Trivia
- His personal life, when he was administrator of CSI, was apparently
made up of strip bars and J&B doubles [CSI videogame profile]
- Carries a cigarette lighter, but is never seen smoking [1x13
Boom]
- Still doesn't like touching dead bodies after many years' work
with criminalistics [1x18 $35K O.B.O.]
- Worked in a slaughterhouse one summer. [2x05 Scuba Doobie
Doo]
- Was in Honduras and saw a "lluvia de pesces", the
raining of fish. [3x10 High and Low]
- Had a problem with alcohol when he was in Jersey, between troubles
at work and in his marriage. [4x15, Early Rollout]
- Has two known tattoos: a blue snowflake on his right shoulder
[seen in 6x24 Way To Go, 7x01 Built To Kill]
and the date "May 11 2006" (the date of the shooting)
under the scar where the bullet entered his chest, on the right
edge of his pectoral, nearly under his arm [seen in 7x01 Built
to Kill].
- more to come soon...
Have some info I missed? Send me a message
with the information and the specific reference to the episode! |
|