Richard Belzer

Belzer, one of the best known cops on television, passed away in the south of France.

"I loved this guy so much," wrote Laraine Newman, a comedian and SNL original cast member, on Twitter. Belzer's former SVU co-star, Mariska Hargitay, wrote on Instagram, "Goodbye my dear, dear friend. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" debuted in 1999, with Belzer's starring role lasting until 2016 — a whopping 326 episodes, according to [Henry Winkler](https://twitter.com/hwinkler4real/status/1627358097760190464) quote tweeted Newman to also memorialize Belzer. The role garnered him a 2008 People's Choice Award for Favorite Scene Stealing Star. He was also featured in early episodes of "Saturday Night Live."

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.

Richard Belzer, comedian known for "Saturday Night Live" and actor in "Law & Order" franchise shows, has died at age 78.

](https://twitter.com/warrenleightTV/status/1627348519211216899)I loved writing for Munch, and I loved being with Belz," Light tweeted. Godspeed, Belz…" In 1985, Belzer had Hogan as a guest on his cable TV talk show “Hot Properties” to perform a chin-lock on him. In addition to his work as a comedian, Belzer played the role of Detective John Munch for 23 years. "We sensed this would be his parting scene. [Twitter ](https://twitter.com/Chris_Meloni/status/1627384295005339649)kissing the late star on the cheek. He also posted a photo of [Mariska Hargitay feeding Belzer an apple](https://twitter.com/Chris_Meloni/status/1627384361694765062). Belzer never auditioned for the role of Detective John Munch. "One of the funniest people ever. [announced his death on Twitter](https://twitter.com/larainenewman/status/1627327574572662786). " [I'm so sad to hear of Richard Belzer's passing](https://twitter.com/larainenewman/status/1627327574572662786)," Newman wrote. Scheft, a writer who had been working on a documentary about Belzer, told The Associated Press there was no known cause of death, but that Belzer had been dealing with circulatory and respiratory issues.

Actor Richard Belzer, who parlayed his stand-up comedy chops into a career playing the iconic role of police detective John Munch in NBC's “Homicide: Life ...

Belzer hosted a late-night cable talk show, “Hot Properties.” In one of the most notorious moments of the show, Hogan placed Mr. He used the settlement to buy his homes in France, Scheft said. “Because of the nature of the victim and the perpetrator, they really find out a lot. In the 1980s, Mr. Belzer decided to try out for a part in an underground theater production advertised in the Village Voice. He took on odd jobs, including a stint as a writer for the Bridgeport Post newspaper. Belzer, born in Bridgeport, Conn., struggled with what he called a “bitter childhood.” His abusive mother died when he was 20, and his father killed himself four years later. “And yet he is not known before that as one of the most influential stand-up comics in the late ’70s. In 1971, Mr. [reported](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/richard-belzer-dead-homicide-law-order-1235329813/) by the Hollywood Reporter, has led to an outpouring of tributes from friends and colleagues in television and comedy who remember Mr. [post](https://www.instagram.com/p/Co2x6wMvOcu/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D) on Instagram that he had first worked with Mr. Belzer’s cousin, wrote “Rest in peace Richard.” Several shared his most famous moments, including the time he was [knocked out](https://twitter.com/TrivWorks/status/1627351566490677248) by wrestler Hulk Hogan.

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.

The actor was a warm-up comedian on 'Saturday Night Live' before appearing as Detective Munch on the police procedural.

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For over two decades, Richard Belzer played cynical and wise-cracking detective John Munch. That character was made iconic on the show Law and Order.

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 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.

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 longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in "Homicide: Life on the Street" and “Law ...

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. 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. 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. For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer played the wise-cracking, acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, tweeted, “Rest in peace Richard.”

Unlike his TV characters, his live shows were marked by spontaneity and physicality. He could even keep up with Robin Williams line by line.

And part of the job of the MC is to be alert to the value of spontaneous moments. [10th anniversary of Catch a Rising Star ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzhAZ_gbyvU)that aired on HBO in 1982. In an interview for a documentary on him that has yet to be released, Belzer recalled once taking an hour and forty-five minutes to bring up the next comic. “Sometimes I laugh with the audience because I’m hearing the joke the same time they are.” Belzer didn’t get famous as quickly as many of his peers, but he was a cult figure with wide influence in comedy. “There’s a lot of parts of New Jersey that are very nice,” he said, responding to one guy from the state. If the crowd wasn’t laughing, he could lay on a guilt trip: “Could you be a little more quiet? Today, crowd work is much easier to see, in specials but also all over social media, where it has become a critical part of marketing and selling tickets for young comics. Once he arrived at the microphone, he made a point of engaging with the studio audience in a way you rarely saw on television. [who died Sunday](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/19/arts/television/richard-belzer-dead.html), is best known for his performances as a detective on TV, but his acting career was built on a signature persona in comedy, as a master of seductive crowd work who set the template for the MC in the early days of the comedy club. He could charm with the best of them, but unlike many performers, he didn’t come off as desperate for your approval. With that opening pivot, he turned the relationship between comedian and crowd upside-down.

Richard Belzer, was an American actor, author, and comedian. Belzer's estimated net worth was $16 million. Belzer is best known for his role as Detective ...

Richard Belzer played the character of Detective John Munch on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" for 21 seasons before his departure from the show in 2013. Belzer's character had been a part of the show since its inception in 1999, and the producers wanted to give the character a fitting farewell. In the show's 15th season, Detective Munch retired from the NYPD, and his character was written out of the series. Belzer appeared in a number of films throughout his career, including "Fame," "Scarface," and "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Belzer's character, Detective John Munch, made his first appearance on "Homicide: Life on the Street", which aired from 1993 to 1999. He performed on several notable television shows, including "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "Saturday Night Live."