Richard Belzer, longtime actor and stand-up comedian who delighted fans for decades as John Munch, one of TV’s memorable detectives in “Law & Order,” died Sunday, NBC confirmed in a statement. He was 78.
“Anyone who ever had the pleasure of watching Richard Belzer portray Det. 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,” the statement said.
Laraine Newman, former Saturday Night Live star, was the first who broke the saddening news of Belzer’s death, referring to him as “one of the funniest people ever.” “I’m so sad to hear of Richard Belzer’s passing,” wrote Newman. “I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP, dearest.”
Actor Henry Winkler is among those who have posted heartfelt messages about Belzer’s sudden death. He re-posted Newman’s post, adding “Rest in Peace.”
Writer Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter that Belzer, his longtime friend died at his home in southwest France early Sunday. “He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, “F*** you, motherf*****,” said Scheft.
Scheft, who had also been working on the documentary about the legendary comedian and actor, told the outlet that Belzer had been dealing with respiratory and circulatory issues.
Richard Belzer started out on the stand-up circuit and landed his first acting role in the comical 1974 film, “The Groove Tube.” The following year, he appeared in a few episodes of “Saturday Night Live, serving as a warm-up comedian for the audience.
Belzer narrated his experience in the sketch comedy series in a 2010 interview with NPR. “This was like giving the kids the key to the store, to have all of these ‘anti-establishment’ people have a TV show on a network.”
He added, “So they asked me to do some sketches and do the warm-ups. I just kind of did what I did in nightclubs. I talked to the audience.”
Belzer continued to find mainstream audiences with his other roles in acting, especially when he portrayed his iconic character Detective John Munch on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 1993. Homicide: Life on the Street ended in 1999.
Belzer made his final appearance on “SVU” in 2016 while making cameos on several other series as Much. He appeared in different shows as one of TV’s most recognizable cops, such as in “The Wire,” Arrested Development,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and “30 Rock,” among others.
Many SVU stars paid tribute to the legendary actor, including Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni, who portrayed Det. Elliot Stabler opposite Belzer on SVU. Hargitay claimed she would miss Belzer’s eccentric take on this strange world.
Julie Martin, SVU executive producer, who also previously worked on “Homicide: Life on the Street,” also tweeted a heartfelt message about Belzer’s demise.
“Working with him on Homicide to SVU has been a hilarious, surprising, and always joyful experience. I’m sure he’s giving ‘em all a lot of laughs upstairs,” wrote Martin.
