Richard Belzer

Standup comedian played police role in Homicide: Life on the Streets, Law & Order: SVU and other series.

He later said the SNL creator, Lorne Michaels, reneged on a promise to work him into the show. In 2008, with Michael Ian Black, Belzer published the novel I Am Not a Cop! He made his big-screen debut in Ken Shapiro’s 1974 film The Groove Tube, a satire co-starring Chevy Chase that grew out of the comedy group Channel One. Belzer never auditioned for the role. A dream, really.” So it’s been a lot of fun for me.

Richard Belzer, the edgy comedian known for his role as Law & Order detective John Munch, has died at 78.

While known for his jokes, Belzer’s life was plagued by tragedy: both his father and brother died by suicide. Belzer portrayed Munch for 23 years, beginning in 1993 and ending in 2016 when he retired from acting. He also survived a bout of testicular cancer in 1983.

Actor and comedian Richard Belzer has died at the age of 78. Mr Belzer was best known for his roles in 'Homicide' and 'Law and Order: SUV'.

Richard Belzer — who was best known for his role as detective John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU — has died, aged 78.

So it's been a lot of fun for me. "They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories. He never auditioned for the role.

A stand-up comic, he called his hard-boiled character on the long-running TV drama “Lenny Bruce with a badge.”

Mr. Absent fame or fortune, Mr. Belzer came to own two homes in the south of France, and he built a basketball court at one of them. Belzer accused Mr. In 1971, Mr. But on the inside, he was “scared” — 37 years old and still struggling to afford meals. She died of cancer, and Charles died by suicide before Mr. In a 2010 interview with AARP The Magazine, Mr. He served in the army for a little under a year, then received a discharge on psychiatric grounds after repeatedly injuring himself. Scheft, who has been working on a documentary about Mr. The death was confirmed by Bill Scheft, a friend of Mr. He was the kind of cop who made casual references to Friedrich Nietzsche and the novelist Elmore Leonard.

Belzer was famed for his role as Detective Munch, first appearing on NBC's Homicide: Life On The Street from 1993 to 1999. Richard Belzer played a wise-cracking ...

“Richard Belzer was one of the most kindest and welcoming actors when I guested on two episodes of Law & Order: SVU. “I first worked with Richard on the Law & Order / Homicide crossover and loved the character so much. “I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on SVU. RIP Richard Belzer,” a fellow actor said. It’s been a dream, actually.” “His last words remind us he never stopped being the baddest and coolest out there,” a tweet read. They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories, so it’s been a lot of fun for me. In a statement posted to the Twitter account for Wolf Entertainment, Law & Order” producer Dick Wolf said Belzer’s Munch character was “one of television’s iconic characters”. Over the course of his career, Belzer portrayed a detective in 11 television series, including The Wire and The X-Files. He reprised that role in the TV movie Homicide: The Movie in 2000 and also appeared as the famed detective in four episodes of Law & Order. According to a friend, the actor went out with a bang, muttering the final words, “ “F*** you, motherf*****.”

Veteran US actor and comedian Richard Belzer has died aged 78. Belzer was best known for his role in the Law & Order franchise as John Munch, but had a film ...

I first worked with Richard on the Law & Order/Homicide crossover and loved the character so much, I told [executive producer] Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on SVU. John Munch — whether on Homicide or Law & Order: SVU – over four decades will never forget how much he inhabited that beloved character to make it his own. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years. I love you so very much, now and forever.” The rest is history,” Wolf said. “I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world.

Richard Belzer, the stand-up comedian who played the character of Det. John Munch, a tough and versatile Jewish cop, died at 78.

Belzer, who began his career on the National Lampoon Radio Hour, also made appearances on Alex Jones’ InfoWars in the 2010s. In the 1970s, Belzer served as the warm-up comedian for SNL, and appeared multiple times on its early seasons in bit parts. Out-of-character, Belzer, who retired from acting in 2016, was known for some out-there claims about the U.S. But Belzer’s most curious contribution to the culture was what began as a gig on Homicide: Life on the Street, where he played the ever-cynical Baltimore Police Department Det. His death was first reported on social media by his friend, [the actor Laraine Newman](https://twitter.com/larainenewman/status/1627327574572662786?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet), of Saturday Night Live fame. [stand-up comedian](https://stljewishlight.org/arts-entertainment/how-jewish-comedy-found-religion-from-philip-roth-to-broad-city/#photo)who left an indelible mark on television in the character of Det.

A stand-up comic, he called his hard-boiled character on the long-running TV drama “Lenny Bruce with a badge.”

Mr. Absent fame or fortune, Mr. Belzer came to own two homes in the south of France, and he built a basketball court at one of them. Belzer accused Mr. In 1971, Mr. But on the inside, he was “scared” — 37 years old and still struggling to afford meals. She died of cancer, and Charles died by suicide before Mr. In a 2010 interview with AARP The Magazine, Mr. He served in the army for a little under a year, then received a discharge on psychiatric grounds after repeatedly injuring himself. Scheft, who has been working on a documentary about Mr. The death was confirmed by Bill Scheft, a friend of Mr. He was the kind of cop who made casual references to Friedrich Nietzsche and the novelist Elmore Leonard.

Belzer died Sunday at his home in southern France, according to a friend, who said there was no known cause of death but that Belzer had been dealing with ...

In 1985, Belzer had Hogan as a guest on his cable TV talk show “Hot Properties” to perform a chin-lock on him. “Munch was based on a real guy in Baltimore who was a star detective, in a way. That fall, “Law & Order: SVU” premiered, with Belzer starring alongside Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in a storyline written as though Munch had transferred from Baltimore to New York. “I wanted to make him one of the original characters on ‘SVU.’ The rest is history. He made his big-screen debut in Ken Shapiro’s 1974 film “The Groove Tube,” a TV satire co-starring Chevy Chase, a film that grew out of the comedy group Channel One that Belzer was a part of. As one of the most influential comedians of the ’70s, Belzer was a master of crowd work. In 2008, Belzer published the novel “I Am Not a Cop!” with Michael Ian Black. One of his favorite lines was: “I have a microphone. Before “Saturday Night Live” changed the comedy scene in New York, Belzer performed with John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and others on the National Lampoon Radio Hour. In 1975, he became the warm-up comic for the newly launched “SNL.” While many cast members quickly became famous, Belzer’s roles were mostly smaller cameos. Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of Scheft, a writer who had been working on a documentary about Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but that Belzer had been dealing with circulatory and respiratory issues.

Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in...

After being expelled from Dean Junior College in Massachusetts, Belzer embarked on a life of stand-up in New York in 1972. "My kitchen was the toughest room I ever worked," Belzer told People magazine in 1993. In 2008, Belzer published the novel I Am Not a Cop! Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of Homicide and last played him in 2016 on Law & Order: SVU. After hearing him on The Howard Stern Show, executive producer Barry Levinson brought Belzer in to read for the part. Belzer died on Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter.