Richard Belzer died yesterday. He was 78 years old. Belzer played Detective John Munch on 10 different shows . . . most notably “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: SVU”.
Actor, comedian, talk show host, and author Richard Belzer died yesterday at his home in France. He was 78 years old. There’s no word on the cause of death, but he’d reportedly been dealing with various health issues.
Belzer was best known for playing “Law & Order” detective John Munch, and if you’re a fan, this probably won’t surprise you:
A close friend says Belzer’s last words were, quote, “[Eff] you, mother[effer].”
(And that, my friends, is how I vow to go out, too.)
Belzer actually played Munch on 10 different shows, which is kind of amazing.
The character originated on “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1993. He’d also appeared as Munch three times on the original “Law & Order” in the ’90s. When “Homicide” was canceled in 1999, Belzer brought Munch to “Law & Order SVU”.
He also appeared on “The X-Files”, “The Beat”, “Law & Order: Trial by Jury”, “The Wire”, “Arrested Development”, “30 Rock”, and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”.
Belzer once said, quote, “I never asked anyone to be on their show. So it’s doubly flattering to me to see me depicted in a script and that I’m so recognizable and lovable as the sarcastic detective and smart-ass.”
Belzer decided to take a risk and try comedy in the late ’60s, after his father took his own life. In the ’70s he was the warmup comedian for “Saturday Night Live”.
In 1985, Belzer was hosting a Lifetime talk show called “Hot Properties”, when he was almost killed by . . . HULK HOGAN. (???)
Hogan and Mr. T were on the show promoting the first “WrestleMania”, and Belzer allowed Hogan to put him in a front chinlock. Well, Hogan decided to actually choke Belzer out.
Belzer went limp, hit the floor, and banged his head, drawing blood. He sued Hogan, Mr. T, and the World Wrestling Federation for $5 million and settled for $400,000 . . . which he used as a downpayment on his house in France. (Here’s video.)
Belzer was also in several movies, including “Scarface”, “Fletch Lives”, and “The Man in the Moon”.
And he wrote several books, including a novel where a fictionalized version of himself investigates a murder.
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