Dann Florek
Ezekial Dann Florek (born May 1, 1950) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as New York City Police Captain Donald Cragen on NBC's Law & Order and its spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Dann Florek | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Florek in (2011) | |
| Born | Ezekial Dann Florek May 1, 1950 Flat Rock, Michigan, U.S. |
| Other names | Dann Florek |
| Occupation | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1982-present |
| Spouse(s) | Karen Florek (m. 1980) |
Early life
Ezekial Dann Florek was born in Flat Rock, Michigan, the son of Leonard Florek, a chiropractor, and Darlene Florek. He attended Eastern Michigan University, but never graduated. He moved to New York City to pursue an acting career in the theatre.[1]
Career
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Florek worked his way into supporting roles in such diverse 1980s films as Sweet Liberty, Moon Over Parador and Angel Heart. He also played Mr. Slate in the live-action film version of The Flintstones.
Florek played Dave Meyer, the husband of Susan Ruttan's character, Roxanne Melman, on 22 episodes of NBC's hit drama L.A. Law beginning in 1988. Florek also had a recurring role in the WB sitcom Smart Guy as the high school gym coach. He also appeared in several episodes of Roseanne.
Law & Order
Starting in 1990, Florek co-starred in the NBC police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order as Capt. Don Cragen.[2]
The first few years of Law & Order had mediocre ratings and finally, after the close of the 1992-93 season, NBC told creator/executive producer Dick Wolf that they would cancel the show unless he added a few women to the all-male cast. Wolf reluctantly complied and fired Florek as well as Richard Brooks (who played Paul Robinette), replacing them with S. Epatha Merkerson and Jill Hennessy, respectively. However, Florek was allowed to direct a few Law & Order episodes in 1994 and 1995.
Florek reprised the role of Cragen in the 1995 episode "Bad Faith" (which he also directed), and in the 1998 TV-movie Exiled, centered on former L&O star Chris Noth's character, Mike Logan. In 1999 he returned to the Cragen role, only this time on the Law & Order spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as the titular unit’s captain. Florek was written out of the series during its 15th season, and his final episode aired on January 15, 2014.[2] He reprised his role in the 21st episode of season 16 in May 2015.
Personal life
Florek and his wife, Karen, live in Venice, Los Angeles. Karen works as an artist. His brother, Dave, is also an actor. All three trained at the Daniel L. Quirk Jr. drama school at Eastern Michigan University.
Florek received an honorary Bachelor of Arts and an honorary Doctorate of Arts, on December 13, 2008, and December 14, 2008, respectively, from Eastern Michigan University at the school's winter commencement ceremony. Florek was the keynote speaker at the event.[3]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Country Girl | Larry | Television movie |
| 1983 | Eddie Macon's Run | Man in bar | |
| 1985 | Braker | Hayes | Television movie |
| 1986 | Sweet Liberty | Jesse | |
| 1986 | Alex: The Life of a Child | Dr. Tom Dolan | Television movie |
| 1987 | Angel Heart | Herman Winesap | |
| 1987 | Five Corners | Policeman | |
| 1988 | Sunset | Marty Goldberg | |
| 1988 | The Trial of Bernhard Goetz | Judge Crane | Television movie |
| 1988 | Moon Over Parador | Toby | |
| 1989 | An Innocent Man | Prosecuting Attorney | Uncredited |
| 1989 | The Edge | Strip-Joint Operator | Television movie |
| 1991 | Flight of the Intruder | Lt. Cmdr. Mad | |
| 1994 | The Flintstones | Mr. Slate | |
| 1994 | Getting Even with Dad | Wayne | |
| 1997 | A Nightmare Come True | Det. Ron Shaye | Television movie |
| 1998 | Hard Rain | Mr. Mehlor | |
| 1998 | Little Girl Fly Away | Chief Gelbart | Television movie |
| 1998 | The Pentagon Wars | Maj. Gen. Bob Braden | Television movie |
| 1998 | Exiled: A Law & Order Movie | Captain Donald Cragen | Television movie |
| 2000 | Beautiful Joe | Happy | |
| 2002 | Law & Order: The Beginning | Himself | Video documentary short |
| 2003 | Focus Room | William | |
| 2003 | SVU Beginning | Himself | Video short |
| 2004 | Law & Order: The First 3 Years | Himself | Video documentary short |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Police Sketch: Dann Florek | Himself | Video documentary short |
| 2005 | Jerry Orbach Tribute | Himself | Video short |
| 2006 | Copy That | Dann | Short film |
| 2013 | Santorini Blue | Trent Parker | |
| 2018 | Disillusioned | Jeb | Television movie |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Bowers | Episode: "Intestinal Fortitude" |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Lieutenant Ferraro | Episode: "Breakpoint" |
| 1987 | Mr. President | Bosdec | Episode: "Armageddon Kinda Sore" |
| 1987 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Winthrop | Episode: "Doctors Wilde" |
| 1987 | Hunter | John Edleton | Episode: "Night on Bald Mountain" |
| 1988–1993 | L.A. Law | Dave Meyer | 22 episodes |
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Judge Crane | Episode: "The Trial of Bernhard Goetz" |
| 1988 | Matlock | Ken Pritchard | Episode: "The Hucksters" |
| 1988 | 21 Jump Street | Jim Crawford | Episode: "Brother Hanson & the Miracle of Renner's Pond" |
| 1988 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Stan Pallon | Episode: "Gambler" |
| 1988 | Almost Grown | Giardello | Episode: "Ghost Town |
| 1989 | Free Spirit | Bill / Mr. Flynn | Episode: "The Bosses Are Coming" |
| 1989 | Major Dad | Buzz | Episode: "Rescue Mission" |
| 1990 | Grand | Robert | Episode: "The Healing" |
| 1990 | Roseanne | Principal Hiller | Episode: "Bird Is the Word" |
| 1990–1993 | Law & Order | Captain Donald Cragen | 69 episodes |
| 1994 | Hardball | Ernest 'Happy' Talbot | 9 episodes |
| 1994 | Wings | Bob the air traffic controller | Episode: "Insanity Claus" |
| 1995 | Ellen | Mr. Woodruff | Episode: "$5,000" |
| 1995 | The John Larroquette Show | Winters Lennox | Episode: "Love on the Line" |
| 1996 | Champs | Ernie | Episode: "It's Must Have Been Gridlock" |
| 1997 | Roseanne | Dr. Rudmen | 2 episodes |
| 1997 | Michael Hayes | Carnap | Episode: "The Confidence Man" |
| 1997 | Sabrina, the Teenage Witch | Bob Gordon | Episode: "Cat Showdown" |
| 1997 | Total Security | Morris Silver | Episode: "Dental Men Prefer Blondes" |
| 1997 | NYPD Blue | Gary Hogan | Episode: "Sheedy Dealings" |
| 1998 | The Pretender | Don Larson | Episode: "Crash" |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Robert Seamans | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Practice | Father Michael Ryan | Episode: "Duty Bound" |
| 1998 | The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer | Abraham Lincoln | 4 episodes |
| 1997–1999 | Smart Guy | Coach Gerber | 6 episodes |
| 1999–2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Captain Donald Cragen | 331 episodes Nominated—Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series |
| 2015 | Under the Dome | Colonel Walker | Episode: "The Enemy Within" |
References
- Rose, Judy. "Roxanne`s Beau Is A Leading Man In Real Life". Chicago Tribune, 1 December 1988. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
- Goldberg, Leslie. Dann Florek to Exit NBC's 'Law & Order: SVU', The Hollywood Reporter 10 December 2013. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
- Davis, Tracy E. (25 October 2008). "'Law & Order' star to speak at Eastern Michigan University". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved 2020-01-08.
