Jack Crawford (character)

, who held the same position.

"Red Dragon"

The character Jack Crawford first appears in the book "Red Dragon", where he calls upon Will Graham, his former protégé, for assistance in solving the murders being committed by a serial killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy." Graham, as a profiler, had a reputation for being able to think like the criminals 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, a Baltimore psychiatrist who had helped the FBI on several occasions before, after Graham intuited that Lecter was the serial killer the FBI 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, his old nemesis' address. They eventually solve the case, but Dolarhyde permanently disfigures Graham before he is finally killed. Crawford is haunted with guilt 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", and his killing signature involves killing and skinning overweight women.

When Crawford gets stumped in trying to determine who Buffalo Bill is, he is forced to once again call upon Lecter for assistance. This time, however, Crawford sends a female trainee, Clarice Starling, 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 However, the address they obtain for him is out of date.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 as a torture chamber. 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 Crawford and his men arrive, Starling has singlehandedly killed Gumb and rescued the victim.

Crawford's wife, Bella, dies near the end of the novel.

"Hannibal"

Crawford appears as a relatively minor character in the book "Hannibal", and dies close to the end of a heart attack. Rather than calling the hospital, he moves to his wife's side of the bed to die peacefully. Starling still visits him in her "memory palace", which is modeled after Lecter's.

Film 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 three different actors:

* Dennis Farina in "Manhunter", the first film adaptation of "Red Dragon"

* Scott Glenn in the film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs"

* Harvey Keitel in the 2002 adaptation of "Red Dragon", which uses the novel's original title.