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

Belzer broke a prime-time record during his time as the acerbic detective. For more than two decades and across 10 series — including even appearances on 30 Rock and Arrested Development — Belzer played the wise-cracking homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer never auditioned for the role. Belzer died Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southern France after battling a series of health issues. A dream, really.” So it’s been a lot of fun for me.

Belzer was one of TV's most recognisable detectives as John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU.

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. He later said SNL creator Lorne Michaels reneged on a promise to work him into the show. “My kitchen was the toughest room I ever worked," Belzer told People magazine in 1993. At Catch a Rising Star, Belzer became a regular. Belzer never auditioned for the role. 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.

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.

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.

Belzer was one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU.

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. He later said SNL creator Lorne Michaels reneged on a promise to work him into the show. At Catch a Rising Star, Belzer became a regular. "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! From that unlikely beginning, Belzer's Munch would become one of television's longest-running characters and a sunglasses-wearing presence on the small screen for more than two decades.

Richard Belzer, who portrayed an acclaimed comedian turned iconic actor on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," has died at 78.

Actor Richard Belzer, best known for his role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," died at the age of 78 Sunday.

One of the funniest people ever." "I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on 'SVU.' The rest is history," Wolf said. and "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe." "Open, warm, acerbic, whip smart, surprisingly kind," Leight tweeted. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL," Newman said. So sad he's passed away," Crystal wrote. He penned two books on his own with Simon & Schuster, "I Am Not A Cop!" Belzer was on more than 300 episodes of the show and left in Season 15, with his character retiring from the New York Police Department. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world," she said. I can hear them laughing already." "I loved this guy so much. It was the first time he'd appear as John Munch , a detective that would soon become synonymous with Belzer.

Richard Belzer, the comedian and actor best known for playing the acerbic Detective John Munch across a number of NBC crime dramas, including Law & Order: ...

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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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.