Image Credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC The season 27 premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit opened with a funeral service for the late Captain Donald Cragen, played by actor Dann Florek. Although Cragen had been off SVU for years, fans were surprised to learn the character had died off screen. "He was the best boss I ever had," Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) tells the squad, crediting her late mentor during the episode. "Everything that I know about being a Captain, I learned from him.