Richard Belzer, Law & Order Icon Has Died
Actor and comedian, most famous for Law & Order: SVU, Richard Belzer has passed away.
Richard Belzer, an American actor and stand-up comedian best known for his role as detective John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has passed away. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he died early Sunday at his home in southwest France. Writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the star, told the outlet that Belzer had struggled with several health issues.
The performer’s death was reported through various social media tributes by his peers including Special Victims Unit showrunner Warren Leight and writer and executive producer Julie Martin. Richard Belzer was 78 years old at the time of his passing. No other details have been released regarding his death.
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut on August 4, 1944, Richard Belzer grew up in a Jewish family. After graduating from Fairfield Warde High School, he landed a job as a reporter for the Bridgeport Post. He attended Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, where he was reportedly expelled due to his uncontrollable wit.
Richard Belzer married Gail Susan Ross in 1966, and following their divorce, he moved to New York City and began doing stand-up comedy at venues like Catch a Rising Star and The Improv. He was a part of Channel One, which was a comedy group known for satirizing television and became the basis for the movie The Groove Tube. Belzer made his film debut in the 1974 cult flick, which was directed by Ken Shapiro.
Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Richard Belzer had several small roles on television shows like Sesame Street and in films like Fame, Author! Author!, Flicks and Night Shift. In 1990, he starred as Joe Kline in 10 episodes of the short-lived superhero series The Flash, alongside John Wesley Shipp. The show, which aired on CBS, was canceled after one season.
The actor’s biggest role came in 1993 when he landed the role of detective John Munch on the pilot episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. In addition to playing the character on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Richard Belzer portrayed the detective on eight other series in between the two NBC dramas. After over 230 episodes, he bowed out as a series regular on SVU in October 2013.
By the time Richard Belzer retired from acting at the age of 71 in 2016, he had accumulated close to 80 performing credits. In addition to his acting career, Richard Belzer wrote several books including 1988’s How to Be a Stand-Up Comic and 2000’s UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe. He also published the book I Am Not a Cop!: A Novel in 2008, which centers on an actor who plays a TV cop named Munch and investigates a murder.
The news of Richard Belzer’s passing is absolutely heartbreaking and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. He is survived by his third wife, actress Harlee McBride, and stepdaughters Jessica and Bree.
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