Arthur Branch
| Arthur Branch | |
|---|---|
| Law & Order character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | "American Jihad" (L&O) "Fallacy" (SVU) "The Abominable Snowman" (TBJ) |
| Last appearance | "The Family Hour" (L&O) "Gone" (SVU) "Eros in the Upper Eighties" (TBJ) |
| Portrayed by | Fred Dalton Thompson |
| Time on show | 2002–2007 (L&O) 2003–2006 (SVU) 2005–2006 (TBJ) |
| Seasons |
L&O: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 SVU: 4, 5, 6, 7 TBJ: 1 |
| Credited appearances | 116 episodes (L&O) 11 episodes (SVU) 13 episodes (TBJ) 1 episode (CI) 1 episode (Conviction) 142 episodes (total) |
| Preceded by | Nora Lewin |
| Succeeded by | Jack McCoy |
| Information | |
| Family | Lillian Branch (wife) Bobby Branch (son) Unknown Grandson (grandson) Maggie (granddaughter) Andy (nephew) |
Arthur Branch is a fictional character on the TV crime drama Law & Order and one of its spinoffs, Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Branch has also appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Conviction. He appeared in 142 episodes of the various series in the franchise (116 episodes of Law & Order, 11 episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, one episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, all 13 episodes of Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and the pilot episode of Conviction).
Branch was portrayed by former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson. He played Branch concurrently in Law & Order and Trial by Jury, making him one of the few actors to have a regular role on two TV series simultaneously as the same character. When Thompson began the role, he was still a sitting member of the United States Senate—his term did not expire until several months after his first episode aired—thus making Thompson the first sitting U.S. Senator to portray someone other than himself on TV. (Thompson had had an active acting career before his election to the Senate.)
Thompson was the only regular on Law & Order who was once a prosecutor. He worked as an assistant United States Attorney from 1969 to 1972.
Branch graduated from Yale University and Yale Law School. He was later a professor at Yale Law School. He and his wife, Lillian, have lived in New York City since moving in the early 1980s from the state of Georgia. According to McCoy, Lillian "loves the smell of concrete", and would not allow Arthur to move from New York City back to Georgia. Arthur and Lillian have at least one child, a son named Bobby. They also have a grandson and a granddaughter named Maggie. He also has a nephew named Andy. He owns a Chevrolet and a Porsche. He speaks with a southern accent and commonly uses colorful metaphors.
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Wikipedia