Donald Cragen

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Capt. Donald Cragen
4

Donald 'Don' Cragen is a fictional character played by

alcoholic, Cragen is a tough police veteran who is loyal to his officers. He appeared in the first three seasons of Law & Order and in the first 15 seasons of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Having credited appearances in 400 episodes in the Law & Order franchise, Cragen has appeared in the third-most episodes of any character in the franchise; this mark is surpassed only by Olivia Benson and Fin Tutuola
, main characters on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Background

Cragen was born in 1950 and comes from an

Max Greevey (George Dzundza).[4] Cragen had been married to a flight attendant named Marge (Ellen Tobie) and the two had no children,[5] although, in a continuity error, an early Law & Order episode indicated they had a teenage child.[1]

The episode "Prescription for Death" establishes that Cragen is a recovering alcoholic. He says that his drinking problem had become so severe in his early career that Greevey insisted he would no longer partner with him unless he joined Alcoholics Anonymous. Cragen finally hit rock bottom when he pulled his service revolver on a taxi driver while in a drunken rage; horrified, he quit drinking, joined AA, and has been sober ever since.[4] Nevertheless, he admits that he feels a daily temptation to drink due to the horrors he witnesses in his job.[6]

In an episode set in early 2001, Cragen says he has been a captain for 12 years, meaning he was promoted just before the start of the regular L&O continuity. Cragen's long time stuck at the same rank (for the last 25 years of his career) is due to multiple political factors blocking his discretionary promotion to the inspector rank. However, his skills as a manager of detectives and his long tenure as a captain have earned him the command of multiple prestigious units, including the Anti-Corruption Task Force and the Manhattan SVU.

While on Law & Order, Cragen was depicted as easily irritated when under stress; when answering the telephone, his customary greeting was, "What?!". By the time of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, however, he has become more unflappable. He is jaded by city politics and no longer votes.[7] He is a fan of the New York Mets, and keeps an autographed baseball in a case on his desk.[3]

Cragen's primary weapon in Law & Order is a

Glock 19 9mm semiautomatic pistol.[9][10]

Storyline

Florek portrayed the character from 1990 to 1993 in the original Law & Order. Six years later, he reprised his role again in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from its premiere in 1999 to 2014.

In Law & Order

In the 1991 episode "

Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) and EADA Ben Stone apply pressure by calling for his indictment, Cragen agrees to wear a wire during conversations with O'Farrell, ultimately leading to O'Farrell's arrest. Despite clearing his own name in the process, Cragen feels guilty for bringing down his former mentor and friend.[11]

When Greevey is murdered in the episode "

pall-bearer at his funeral.[12]

The Cragen character was removed from the series after the

Bad Faith" that he has transferred to head of the Anti-Corruption Task Force. He is succeeded in the homicide precinct by Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson).[14]

Outside Law & Order

After leaving the 27th Precinct, Cragen spends six years as the head of the Anti-Corruption Task Force.[15]

Cragen encounters Logan again in the 1995 episode "Bad Faith" during an Anti-Corruption Task Force investigation into crooked narcotics detectives. Logan is investigating the suspicious death of a childhood friend and fellow detective, Bill Marino, and is questioned by Cragen and task force detectives due to Marino's ties to the narcotics detectives. Logan's investigation into Marino's death leads to the arrest of Joseph Krolinsky (

molested several boys, including Logan and Marino, and who had manipulated Marino into supplying him with victims. When Logan feels conflicted about whether to testify about his knowledge of Marino's complicity in those crimes, he turns to Cragen for advice. Cragen comforts Logan and ultimately helps convince him not to commit perjury by lying about Marino.[1]

As portrayed in the 1998 TV movie

Tony Profaci
(John Fiore).

It is said in a Season 1 episode of SVU, that Cragen took control of the unit in 1995, but in the Exiled movie, he is still a part of the Anti-Corruption Task Force (via tape recording he shows Logan).

At some point before the events of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Cragen's wife Marge, a flight attendant, is killed in a plane crash.[16] Florek said upon reprising the role on SVU that he and the show's producers crafted a back story in which Marge's death led Cragen to start drinking again, and that, in his loneliness, he solicited prostitutes. In that back story, Cragen becomes captain of the sex crimes unit to escape that downward spiral. Most of that story, however, is not explicitly discussed in any episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[15]

In SVU

In 1999, the character appeared in the spinoff

serial murder case that Briscoe and Logan had failed to solve six years earlier (as portrayed in the Law & Order episode "Mayhem").[17]

In "Stalked", a first-season episode, Cragen participates in a sting operation in which one of his detectives, Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), serves as bait for Richard White (Bruce Kirkpatrick), a serial rapist who had been stalking her. When White attempts to attack her, Cragen physically incapacitates him and allows for his arrest.[3]

In a 2001 episode, Cragen finds a kidnapped boy he and Greevey had been assigned to find in 1991 while investigating a corrupt adoption agency. Cragen and his detectives later determined that the wife of the boy's biological father killed his mother and gave the baby to the adoption agency, where he was given a home. In the end, the boy's biological father wins custody of him.[18]

In the

fifth season episode "Criminal", a homicide investigation leads to a suspect named Javier Vega (James McDaniel), a man Cragen arrested for murder in the 1970s who has since reformed and become a criminology professor. Convinced of Vega's guilt, Cragen becomes personally involved in the investigation, which results in Vega's arrest and conviction. When evidence surfaces proving Vega's innocence, a guilt-stricken Cragen arranges for his immediate release. Vega later kidnaps the actual killer and threatens him at gunpoint, but Cragen talks him down, then saves Vega when the killer grabs Vega's gun and tries to shoot him.[19]

At the start of the

baby trafficker who is about to kill a rape victim.[25]

Throughout Season 13, Cragen takes a more personalized role in SVU cases. In the episode "Russian Brides", Cragen takes on an undercover assignment to lure out a killer of young

Peter Jacobson), Foster drops the murder charge, but announces that she is charging him with several other crimes, prompting Benson and the SVU detectives to dig into Foster's motives.[28] Benson discovers that Foster is on Wilson's payroll. The SVU detectives arrest Foster, which allows the charges against Cragen to be dropped.[29]

In the Season 15 episode "Internal Affairs", Cragen asks Benson to take the Sergeant's Exam and remarks that he is approaching the mandatory retirement age, numbering the days he has left with SVU.[30] Cragen officially announces his retirement in the episode "Amaro's One-Eighty". He explains that he is leaving to join his girlfriend, Eileen Switzer (Mel Harris), on a six-month cruise around the world, which would take him to his mandatory retirement date. He tells the squad room it was his privilege to work with each one of them, and announces that Benson would be taking over as their new interim supervisor.[31]

In season 16, Cragen returns for the episode "

Perverted Justice", in which he helps Sergeant Benson and Defense Attorney Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher
) look into a decades-old rape. Cragen uses his connections from the 27th precinct to help SVU get information they could never have accessed otherwise.

In season 23, he helps Benson, who has by now been promoted to his old job as captain of SVU, investigate a 25-year-old cold case that he had originally investigated, conferring with her via FaceTime. When Benson solves the case, he tells her how proud he is of her becoming captain.[32]

Cragen appears in a second-season episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime, a spin-off centered on Stabler, who now works as an undercover detective in the NYPD's Organized Crime Unit.[33] In the episode, "Can't Knock the Hustle", Stabler goes to Cragen for answers concerning rumors that his late father, Joe Stabler, who was also a police officer, was corrupt. Cragen replies that he does not know for certain whether the elder Stabler broke the law, but he does know that he was a good cop during a difficult time for New York City.[34]

Awards and decorations

The following are the medals and service awards worn by Captain Cragen.

American Flag Breast Bar
NYPD Medal of Honor
NYPD Combat Cross with gold award star (2nd award)
NYPD Meritorious Police Duty
NYPD Excellent Police Duty

Development

Creation and casting

Dann Florek was first cast as Donald Cragen in "Everybody's Favorite Bagman", the pilot episode of what would later become Law & Order. The pilot was filmed and produced in 1988 and it would take two more years before NBC ordered the full series. While main cast members Noth, Dzundza, Michael Moriarty and Richard Brooks had each signed option contracts that allowed them to be hired for the full series, Florek had signed no such contract. However, since he did not have any other acting roles at the time that the show went into production, he was available to join the show's cast.[35] Florek was living in Venice, Los Angeles at the time he was cast and had to be flown into New York City for the filming of each episode.[36]

Florek said during the formative seasons of Law & Order, the cast and crew had a great deal of integrity and were dedicated to making something different, and that filming could be unpredictable as a result. However, Florek was frustrated with his lack of scenes, claiming he felt the character was not well developed and under-appreciated, and he disliked commuting so far for such little material. He also believed the producers and crew were not giving him enough direction and guidance in forming the character, pointing out that he did not learn Cragen was an alcoholic until several weeks into filming. As a result, Florek came up with much of the character by himself, and improvised many personality traits and characteristics as he went.[36]

Florek repeatedly tried to quit the role during the first season, claiming that he was not given enough screen time. Series creator

Phil Cerreta.[15]

Departure from Law & Order

Florek was ultimately terminated from the series after the

third season upon orders from Don Ohlmeyer, NBC's West Coast president, to add more female cast members to the show. Wolf objected to the decision, but agreed to it in the face of possible cancellation if he did not.[15] He was one of two actors dismissed from the series along with Richard Brooks, who played Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette. Wolf described notifying Florek and Brooks about the decisions as "literally the two worst phone calls I ever had to make in a business context". Florek said he did not approve of the "hushed and hidden" way his firing was handled.[38]

After Florek's departure from the show, Wolf stayed in touch with the actor and often said he wished to work with him again. Their continued correspondence led to Florek directing several episodes of Law & Order, as well as Florek reprising his role as Cragen in Exiled: A Law & Order Movie. When Wolf invited him to join the permanent cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the television comedy series The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, in which Florek played Abraham Lincoln, had just been cancelled. Florek had originally expected to star in another comedy, but production was delayed, freeing the actor's schedule up. Florek had reservations about accepting the role because, he said, "I didn't want to wind up doing the same thing; the crusty yet benign captain." He ultimately agreed to join the cast, in part because Ohlmeyer no longer worked for NBC. In accepting the role, Florek asked for more freedom in shaping the direction of the character. He said, "I wanted him to have grown and changed, and to be much more actively involved."[15]

Appearances and credits

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit appearances
Season Years Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1
1999-2000
2
2000-01
3
2001-02
4
2002-03
5
2003-04
6
2004-05
7
2005-06
8
2006-07
9
2007-08
10
2008-09
11
2009-10
12
2010-11
13
2011-12
14
2012-13
15
2013-14
16
2014-15
17
2015-16
18
2016-17
19
2017-18
20
2018-19
21
2019-20
22
2020-21
23
2021-22
Seasons Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Episodes

Reception

When Law & Order: SVU first aired, Dave Mason, television editor for Ventura County Star, said Cragen was "played brilliantly" by Florek, and called the relationship between Cragen and Stabler the strongest aspect of the series.[39] Alan Sepinwall, television columnist for The Star-Ledger, said the Cragen character "showed off more personality" in the film Exiled and on Special Victims Unit than the character exhibited in the original Law & Order.[13]

References

Notes

  1. ^
    Bad Faith". Law & Order. Season 5. Episode 20. April 28, 1995. NBC
    .
  2. ^ Green & Dawn 2009, p. 239
  3. ^
    Gatehouse Media
    . p. 9D.
  4. ^ a b "Prescription for Death". Law & Order. Season 1. Episode 1. September 13, 1990. NBC.
  5. ^ Green & Dawn 2009, p. 146
  6. ^ "Slaves". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 1. Episode 22. May 19, 2000. NBC.
  7. ^ "Wrong is Right". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 2. Episode 1. October 20, 2000. NBC.
  8. ^ "Loss". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 5. Episode 4. October 14, 2003. NBC.
  9. ^ "Confession". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 10. Episode 2. September 30, 2008. NBC.
  10. ^ "Clock". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 8. Episode 2. September 26, 2006. NBC.
  11. ^ "The Blue Wall". Law & Order. Season 1. Episode 22. June 9, 1991. NBC.
  12. Confession". Law & Order. Season 2. Episode 1. September 17, 1991. NBC
    .
  13. ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (April 23, 2008). "Leaving 'Law & Order': Memorable exits". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey: Advance Publications. p. 69.
  14. ^ "Sweeps". Law & Order. Season 4. Episode 1. September 15, 1993. NBC.
  15. ^
    The Record
    . p. Y1.
  16. ^ "A Single Life". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 1. Episode 2. September 27, 1999. NBC.
  17. ^ "Entitled". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 1. Episode 15. February 18, 2000. NBC.
  18. ^ "Stolen". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 3. Episode 3. October 12, 2001. NBC.
  19. ^ Green & Dawn 2009, p. 276
  20. ^ "Venom". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 7. Episode 18. March 28, 2006. NBC.
  21. ^ "Philadelphia". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 8. Episode 16. February 27, 2007. NBC.
  22. ^ "Blood". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 6. Episode 21. May 10, 2005. NBC.
  23. ^ Green & Dawn 2009, p. 336
  24. ^ "Turmoil". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 11. Episode 8. November 11, 2009. NBC.
  25. ^ "Ace". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 11. Episode 22. May 5, 2010. NBC.
  26. ^ "Russian Brides". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 13. Episode 7. November 9, 2011. NBC.
  27. ^ Bryant, Adam (July 22, 2012). "Exclusive: Law & Order: SVU Casts Adam Baldwin as Cragen's Replacement!". TV Guide. New York City: NTVB Media. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  28. ^ "Lost Reputation". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 14. Episode 1. September 26, 2012. NBC.
  29. ^ "Above Suspicion". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 14. Episode 2. September 26, 2012. NBC.
  30. ^ "Internal Affairs". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 15. Episode 4. October 9, 2013. NBC.
  31. ^ "Amaro's One-Eighty". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 15. Episode 11. January 15, 2014. NBC.
  32. ^ "The Five Hundredth Episode". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 23. Episode 6. October 21, 2021. NBC.
  33. E! Online
    . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  34. ^ "Can't Knock the Hustle". Law & Order: Organized Crime. Season 2. Episode 17. April 7, 2022. NBC.
  35. ^ Courrier & Green 1999, p. 26
  36. ^ a b Courrier & Green 1999, p. 114
  37. ^ Kuklenski, Valerie (May 20, 2003). "'Visual Nicotine' – The players come and go, the stories change, but 'Law & Order' has made prime time crime time". Los Angeles Daily News. Los Angeles, California: Digital First Media. p. U4.
  38. ^ Courrier & Green 1999, p. 33
  39. Gannett Company
    . p. E01.

Bibliography