Jack Crawford is a fictional character who appears in the
''Hannibal Lecter'' series of novels by
Thomas Harris
William Thomas Harris III (born 1940/1941) is an American writer, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, the most notab ...
, in which Crawford is the Agent-in-Charge of the
Behavioral Science Unit
The Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) is the original name of a unit within the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Training Division at Quantico, Virginia, formed in response to the rise of sexual assault and homicide in the 1970s. The unit was ...
of the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
in
Quantico, Virginia
Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...
. He is modeled after
John E. Douglas
John Edward Douglas (born ) is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was one of the first criminal profilers and has written books on criminal psychology.
Early life a ...
, who held the same position.
''Red Dragon''
Jack Crawford first appears in the novel ''
Red Dragon'', in which he calls upon
Will Graham, his former protégé, for assistance in solving the murders being committed by a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
dubbed "The Tooth Fairy." Graham, as a
profiler, has a reputation for being able to think like the criminals whom he hunts, thus assisting the FBI in a criminal's ultimate apprehension. Graham had retired after being attacked and nearly killed by Dr.
Hannibal Lecter
Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...
, a Baltimore psychiatrist who had previously treated the victim of a murder that Graham was investigating, after Graham intuited that Lecter was the killer he sought. Crawford convinces Graham to come out of retirement to help solve the "Tooth Fairy" murders, and soon they both realize that they would need Lecter's help again. Crawford helps shelter Graham and his family after Lecter sends the killer,
Francis Dolarhyde
Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel '' Red Dragon'', as well as its film adaptations, '' Manhunter'' and '' Red Dragon''.
Dolarhyde is a serial killer who murders entire families by ...
, his old nemesis' address. With Crawford's help, Graham eventually solves the case, but Dolarhyde disfigures him before Graham's wife kills him. Crawford feels responsible for Graham's misfortune, and resents Lecter for the rest of his life.
''The Silence of the Lambs''
Jack Crawford appears again in the novel ''
The Silence of the Lambs'', again investigating a serial killer. This time, the serial killer is called "
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
", and his killing signature involves killing and skinning women. Crawford is stumped in trying to determine who Buffalo Bill is, and is forced to once again call upon Lecter for assistance. This time, however, Crawford sends an FBI trainee,
Clarice Starling
Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character and protagonist of the novels '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1988) and '' Hannibal'' (1999) by Thomas Harris.
In the 1991 film adaptation of ''The Silence of the Lambs'', she was played by Jodie Fost ...
, to interview him. By way of information obtained from Lecter, Crawford and the FBI attempt to track down the killer, Jame Gumb. However, the address they obtain for him is out of date. Gumb had killed the employer of one of his former victims and moved into her house to use its large basement, which contains a disused and empty well. He uses the well as a makeshift holding space for his victims. Realizing that Buffalo Bill probably knew his first victim, Fredrica Bimmel, Starling sets about interviewing everyone close to her and ends up stumbling upon Gumb's house. By the time local police and firemen arrive to help, Starling has singlehandedly killed Gumb and rescued his intended victim.
Throughout the novel, Crawford is struggling under a double burden, as he is caring for his
terminally ill
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...
wife, Bella, at home while leading the investigation into the 'Buffalo Bill' case. Bella dies near the end of the novel.
''Hannibal''
Crawford appears as a relatively minor character in the book ''
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
''. He is portrayed as very sympathetic toward Starling, yet increasingly distant due to failing health and his powerlessness against the corrupt bureaucrats set to destroy her career. Late in the novel, Crawford is forced into leave from the FBI, and soon dies of a heart attack.
Film and television adaptations
The Crawford character appears in the film adaptations of ''Red Dragon'' and ''The Silence of the Lambs''; he does not appear in the
adaptation of ''Hannibal'', although a deleted scene explains that he has died. He has been portrayed by four different actors:
*
Dennis Farina
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor. Often typecast as a mobster or police officer, he is known for roles such as FBI Agent Jack Crawford in '' Manhunter'', mobster Jimmy Serrano in th ...
in ''
Manhunter'', the 1986 film adaptation of ''Red Dragon''.
*
Scott Glenn
Theodore Scott Glenn (born January 26) is an American actor. His roles have included Pfc Glenn Kelly in ''Nashville'' (1975), Wes Hightower in ''Urban Cowboy'' (1980), astronaut Alan Shepard in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983), Emmett in '' Silverado'' ...
in ''
The Silence of the Lambs''.
::In the supplemental section on the special edition DVD of ''The Silence of the Lambs'', Scott Glenn revealed that he was given an audio tape by FBI agent
John Douglas as a form of research for his character. The tape was an audio recording serial killers
Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris
Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker (September 27, 1940 December 13, 2019) and Roy Lewis Norris (February 5, 1948 February 24, 2020), also known as the Tool Box Killers, were two American serial killers and rapists who committed the kidnapping, rape, ...
had made of themselves
raping
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...
and
torturing
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
a 16-year-old girl as they drove around Los Angeles. Upon questioning Douglas as to his motives for presenting these tapes, Douglas simply said to Glenn, "Now you are part of my world." This experience preyed upon Glenn's mind all throughout filming, and he refused to return to the role in ''Hannibal'' because he didn't want to place himself in such a mindset again. To this day, he says that the tapes still cause him anxiety and bad dreams.
*
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
in the 2002 adaptation of ''
Red Dragon'', which uses the novel's original title.
*
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
in the television adaptation ''
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
''.
''Hannibal'' television series storyline
The TV series portrays Crawford as deliberately pushing the limits of Graham's sanity in order to fully exploit his protegé's gift for profiling serial killers. At the end of the first season, he reluctantly arrests Graham after finding evidence that he is the serial killer known as "The Chesapeake Ripper"; he is unaware that Lecter had framed Graham.
When Graham is exonerated in the second season, Crawford helps him with an elaborate plan to
entrap and capture Lecter, which puts Crawford's career in jeopardy when his superiors at the FBI learn of it. In the second season finale, Crawford attempts to arrest Lecter, but Lecter escapes after severely injuring him.
The third season reveals that Crawford survives his injuries, but is forced into retirement from the FBI. At about this time, Crawford's wife, Bella, dies of
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
. He tracks down Lecter in
Florence, Italy
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, and engages him in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Lecter escapes and later forces Crawford to watch as he prepares to perform a
craniotomy
A craniotomy is a surgical operation in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain. Craniotomies are often critical operations, performed on patients who are suffering from brain lesions, such as tumors, blood clots ...
on Graham. They are interrupted by corrupt Italian detectives working for Lecter's surviving victim
Mason Verger
Mason Verger is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Thomas Harris's 1999 novel ''Hannibal'', as well as its 2001 film adaptation and the second and third seasons of the TV series ''Hannibal''. In the film, he is portrayed by Gary Ol ...
, who take Graham and Lecter away to Verger's estate. After Lecter and Graham escape from Verger's clutches, Crawford—who has been reinstated by the FBI—goes to Graham's house, where Lecter voluntarily surrenders to him.
Three years later, Crawford asks Graham, who has retired from the FBI, to help catch a serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy" who kills entire families. Along with Graham and Dr. Alana Bloom, Crawford arranges to use Lecter as bait for the killer,
Francis Dolarhyde
Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel '' Red Dragon'', as well as its film adaptations, '' Manhunter'' and '' Red Dragon''.
Dolarhyde is a serial killer who murders entire families by ...
. Following Lecter's subsequent escape, a cut epilogue shows Crawford continuing to hunt for him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Jack (Character)
Characters in American novels of the 20th century
Fictional characters based on real people
Literary characters introduced in 1981
Fictional Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel
Hannibal Lecter characters
Male horror film characters
Horror television characters
Male characters in literature
American male characters in television