<Tr> <Th> Family </Th> <Td> Julia Briscoe (daughter) Cathy Briscoe (daughter; deceased) Unnamed brother Ken Briscoe (nephew) At least two unnamed grandchildren Harry (uncle; deceased) Unnamed ex-wives </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Partner </Th> <Td> John Flynn Mike Logan Rey Curtis Ed Green Hector Salazar </Td> </Tr> <P> Leonard W. Briscoe is a fictional character on NBC's long - running police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order . He was created by Walon Green and René Balcer, and was portrayed by Jerry Orbach . He was featured on the show for 12 seasons, from 1992 to 2004, making him one of the longest - serving main characters in the series' 20 - year - run history, as well as the longest - serving police detective on the show . He also appeared in three Law & Order spin - offs, and was part of the original cast of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, appearing in only the first two episodes due to Orbach's death . He appears in 282 episodes (273 episodes of Law & Order, two episodes of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, one episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, three episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and three episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street), the TV movie Exiled and the Law & Order video games Law & Order: Dead on the Money, Law & Order: Double or Nothing, Law & Order: Justice is Served and Law & Order: Legacies . </P> <P> Orbach's performance as Briscoe on the New York - based series was so popular that it resulted in him being declared a "Living Landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy, along with fellow longtime series cast member Sam Waterston (who portrayed the prosecutor Jack McCoy on the show). </P>

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