Rey Curtis - Character Overview

Character Overview

Curtis is introduced as a homicide detective in Manhattan's 27th Detective Squad, the junior partner of Lennie Briscoe. While his predecessor, Mike Logan, was unpredictable and sometimes crossed into legal and ethical gray areas, the conservative, devoutly Catholic Curtis does his job by the book, and views it in black and white terms: He believes that if someone breaks the law, they deserve to go to jail, regardless of circumstances. This unwavering, moralistic work ethic initially causes a lot of friction with Briscoe.

After about a year on the job, however, Curtis' values are tested by a series of personal tragedies. Distraught after witnessing the execution of a man he helped prosecute, Curtis, who is married and has three children, cheats on his wife, Deborah, with a college student (played by Jennifer Garner). For the next few years, their marriage teeters on the edge of ruin as they undergo marriage counseling. Just as they are in the process of reconciling, Deborah is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This throws his life into further disarray; he feels responsible, as if God is punishing her for his sins. It is during these crises that he really bonds with Briscoe, a veteran of two failed marriages, and begins to soften his worldview.

By 1999, Deborah's MS has worsened considerably, to the point that she can hardly hold a toothbrush on her own. Curtis takes early retirement to care for her, and is succeeded by Det. Ed Green.

He returns for a brief guest appearance on the December 11, 2009 episode, "FED.", 10 years after his departure from the precinct. The episode reveals that Deborah has finally succumbed to MS, and he and his daughters have returned to bury her on Long Island, where she and her family are from. The Curtis family had moved to California some years before. Curtis tells Lieutenant Anita Van Buren that Deborah died at home in his arms.