Why does everybody kill Jon Polito?

"I think people don't like me or my characters," says Polito, a former regular on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street. "When they see me, they either want to kill me or fire me. It must be something in my genes. Or in my jeans."

NBC just announced that Barry Levinson's acclaimed Homicide will return to the lineup in the fall at 10 p.m. Fridays. Polito, dumped from the full-time cast in February, is negotiating to come back for one episode to wrap up an exit for his quirky Detective Steve Crosetti. Polito's wrap of choice: Kill him.

Polito, 43, has been knocked off more than two dozen times in his career. His latest death occurs in the big-screen hit The Crow, in which his character, a pawn-shop owner, gets a sword through his throat and is blown up before buying it from Brandon Lee's Uzi.

On Homicide, Polito would like Crosetti killed in the line of duty.

"Aside from the fact that real homicide detectives are rarely confronted by violence, I believe it's a real threat in their lives. These guys are heroes in many ways. The violence aspect should be emphasized, especially since my character has never been good with a gun, obviously. He's been shot several times before."

Killing off Crosetti "would get me out of the show cleanly," adds Polito, "and I'd love it if I could help my partner (Clark Johnson) get on his way, with a new partner. Our characters are so intermingled. We've had many emotional times together."

While there's no love lost between Polito and most of the Homicide gang, he says he keeps in touch with Johnson and castmate Richard Belzer as well as writer Tom Fontana. Polito wants Homicide to succeed, even though the 10 p.m. Friday slot is "cursed." Two of his series, NBC's Crime Story and CBS' Hearts Are Wild, failed there.

Despite his TV record, Polito loves the tube and wouldn't rule out another series. "TV is the closest thing to theater. It's like being in summer stock, working on a new show every week with the same crew."

Meanwhile, Polito's movie career is back in full gear.

He's a major bad guy in Damon Wayans' summer comedy, Blankman, co-starring Jason Alexander and Robin Givens. Polito's character does not get killed, "but I do get tortured near the end." By surviving, he hopes "to return on the sequel, like Gene Hackman (Lex Luthor) in the Superman movies."

Polito has a smaller role in Fluke, to open Aug. 11. Matthew Modine stars in the Ghost wannabe about a murdered guy whose spirit returns for revenge in the form of a female puppy. Polito plays a junk dealer who raises her. He does not get killed.

Rest assured, however, that Polito will be killed in Girls in Prison, a Showtime flick debuting in June. He plays a record producer.

"What can I say? I'm lovable and killable. It could be my body. It could be my face. It could be my talent. I'm an incredibly interesting, marvelous person who doesn't dress well. The fact I keep working is a miracle."

"What can I say? I'm lovable and killable. It could be my body. It could be my face. It could be my talent. I'm an incredibly interesting, marvelous person who doesn't dress well. The fact I keep working is a miracle."