Alex Cross
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Alex Cross is a notable fictional character in a series of books by novelist James Patterson. He was portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the films Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider.
Alex is both a detective and a doctor, living and working in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., who joined the police as a psychologist. He works in the Homicide and D.C. police. Alex eventually becomes an FBI Senior Agent. After his stint with the FBI, Alex returned to private Psychology practice, but continued to consult for the D.C. police and the FBI as needed, ultimately rejoining the DCPD as a special consultant to the Major Case Squad.
Patterson portrays Dr. Cross as a lonely individual, yet he is a model father and is quite empathic in dealing with the public. Despite the fact that he is well educated and makes a decent living, he chooses to continue residing in the slums of D.C. He is very much involved in the community, most notably volunteering at St. Anthony's Parish in his D.C. neighborhood.
[edit] Biography
Alex Cross's mother died of lung cancer a year after his father died. He was sent to Washington, D.C. to live with his grandmother (Nana Mama). Alex received a doctorate in Psychology from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Upon graduation, he worked as a migrant farm worker for a year. He started a private practice and worked as a psychologist for two years. He eventually decided to become a police officer after he became disillusioned with the politics of the medical community.
He joined the police because the people in his neighborhood could not afford his services, and white people did not see a "black shrink". He never expected to like it, but he became hooked on solving crimes. He remembers the first case he solved was two men that were shot in Southeast Washington, and their killing was written off as drug-related. Alex knew the men and began to investigate on his own. One of the men was dating a woman the local drug dealer thought he owned and had the men killed. Once he solved that case he left private practice.
Alex lives in Washington, D.C. with his grandmother and three children Damon, Jannie, and Alex, Jr. (A.K.A. Ali, or Little Alex). His wife Maria Simpson Cross, who was a social worker, is deceased. Alex had Damon and Jannie with Maria. He had Ali with his ex-girlfriend Christine.
Alex carries a Glock and likes no other gun. He drives a 1974 Porsche and has recently bought a Mercedes-Benz R350 as a replacement for Maria's old Toyota, which serves as the family car. He plays the piano to relax. Alex owns a reddish brown Abyssinian cat named Rosie. The cat had shown up one day and never left. In one of the novels Gary Soneji telephones Cross saying that it was he who left the cat.
He volunteers at St. Anthony Soup kitchen frequently where he is known as the "Peanut Butter Man". He began doing this with Maria. Alex's partner in the Washington DC Police, John Sampson, also volunteers there. John calls Alex "Brown Sugar", ("Sugar" for short), as a term of endearment. Alex calls John "Man-Mountain" or "Two-John". They have been best friends since they were ten years old. Alex and John are both tall and physical. Alex is 6'3" and John is 6'9". John is portrayed by Bill Nunn in Kiss the Girls. John is also the godfather of Alex's daughter Jannie.
Alex has had bad luck with women. His wife Maria was murdered. His lover after that, Jezzie Flanigan, was involved in the kidnapping of two children which resulted in her death by lethal injection. His girlfriend, Christine Johnson, was kidnapped for almost a year by Geoffrey Shafer. An FBI agent that he had been partners with, Betsey Cavalierre, was murdered by The Mastermind. He also developed a deep friendship with Dr. Kateyla "Kate" McTiernan, whom he met before Christine. There were strong hints of a possible romantic relationship, but both Alex and Kate preferred to remain friends. Later he met a San Francisco PD inspector, Jamilla Hughes, with whom he struck up a relationship. They have since parted company. He began a new relationship with Dr. Kayla Coles, a resident at a local hospital in Southeast Washington, D.C. They were both born in North Carolina but raised in Washington, D.C. She has since moved back to North Carolina. His latest romatic involvement is with a rising star in the DCPD, Det. Brianna (Bree) Stone.
Maria was originally thought to have been killed by a drive-by-shooting. Her killer had never been identified until one of Patterson's most recent novels, "Cross", in which Alex has a chance to catch Maria's killer, but learns that not long after Maria's murder (over ten years ago) his best friend John Sampson and another detective Rakeem Powell killed Maria's murderer. Sampson couldn't bring himself to tell Alex because he knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with the fact that he never did it himself. Alex teaches his two elder children boxing at his home's basement.
When Alex needs to talk to someone about his problems he meets with a friend, another psychologist Dr. Adele Finaly. She also works as an analyst for Alex.
Alex refers to himself as "The Dragonslayer".
[edit] Appearances in the Alex Cross series
In Along Came A Spider, Alex deals with the kidnapping of two wealthy children at the hands of Gary Soneji.
In Kiss The Girls, Cross battles the serial killers Casanova and The Gentleman Caller, who "collect" beautiful and extraordinary women, including his niece Naomi.
In Jack & Jill, Cross goes up against three killers: two who kill high-profile people and one who kills little kids.
In Cat and Mouse, Cross engages Gary Soneji again and after dealing with him crosses paths with another killer, Mr. Smith.
In Pop Goes the Weasel, Alex matches wit with a serial killer named Geoffrey Shafer, who happens to be a British man with Diplomatic immunity.
In Roses are Red, Alex goes against a criminal calling himself The Mastermind, who commits several brutal bank robberies.
In Violets are Blue, Alex goes against a cult of vampires and learns the true identity of the Mastermind, whom he takes down.
In Four Blind Mice, Alex and his friend John Sampson investigate three killers who are framing seemingly innocent soldiers from the Vietnam War.
In The Big Bad Wolf, Alex, now a member of the FBI, tries to stop a Russian mobster known only as the Wolf.
In London Bridges, Alex tries to stop the Wolf once and for all, but the Wolf has enlisted the Weasel, Geoffrey Shafer, to help him take Cross down.
In Mary, Mary, Alex tries to stop Mary Smith, a psychopathic killer targeting Hollywood stars and powerbrokers.
In Cross, Alex, who has left the FBI to open up a private psychology practice, and John Sampson try to stop The Butcher, a serial rapist/murderer who may be somehow connected to the murder of Alex's wife Maria in 1993.
In Double Cross, Alex, still in private practice, rejoins the DCPD as a special consultant to the Major Crimes Squad and is joined by John Sampson and new love interest Det. Brianna Stone in an effort to stop the DC Audience Killer, a serial killer with a flair for showmanship who may also have some connection to a previous Cross nemesis, The Mastermind.
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