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‘Law & Order: SVU’ star Richard Belzer has died at the age of 78
  • Celebrity

‘Law & Order: SVU’ star Richard Belzer has died at the age of 78

  • 6:01 PM



Actor and comedian Richard Belzer, best known for his role as Detective John Munch in the series ‘Homicide’ and ‘Law & Order: SVU’, died this Sunday (2/19) at his home in Bozouls, Southwest France, at 78 years old .

“He had a lot of health problems and his last words were ‘Fuck you, son of a bitch,'” Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Richard Jay Belzer was born on August 4, 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He developed his taste for comedy at an early age, as a way to protect himself from his abusive mother, who beat him and his older brother, Len.

“He always had some justification for hitting us,” he told People magazine in 1993. “My kitchen was the harshest environment I’ve ever worked in. I had to make my mother laugh or I got hit.”

In his youth, Belzer worked a variety of jobs, such as a census taker, a dock worker, and a jewelry salesman. He also pursued a career in journalism and worked for a time at The Bridgeport Post.

However, a tragedy made him rethink his priorities. Three years after his mother, Frances, died of breast cancer, his father, Charles, attempted suicide in 1967. Belzer found him and saved his life, but a year later his father ended up killing himself.

His father’s death affected him and he decided it was time to take a chance and try to make a living out of comedy. His first job was with the comedy troupe “The Groove Tube,” which was eventually made into a film in 1974—and which also marked the debut of comedian Chevy Chase.

The following year, Belzer landed a job cheering up audiences for the sitcom ˜Saturday Night Live’, which is still airing today.

Gradually, he began to appear in such films as “Fame” (1980), “Family Author” (1982), “Scarface” (1983), “The Great Comedy” (1989), “Fletch Lives” (1989) and ” Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990), as well as series such as “The Cat and the Mouse” (in 1985), “Miami Vice” (1986) and “The Flash” (1991).

Belzer also ventured into hosting the Lifetime talk show ‘Hot Properties’ which was short lived but produced at least one memorable moment. In 1985, his guests were Hulk Hogan and Mr. T, who were there to promote the inaugural WrestleMania.

At one point, Hogan demonstrated one of Belzer’s wrestling moves, putting him in a draw and then knocking him, unconscious, to the floor. Belzer fell unconscious and hit his head, which started to bleed.

“It nearly killed me,” Belzer said in an interview in 1990. “A sports medicine specialist told me that if I fell a few inches one way or the other, I could be paralyzed for life.” or killed”.

He sued Hogan and Mr. T and others involved, seeking $5 million in damages but receiving only $400,000.

His greatest success came only after all this, when he became a police detective in the premiere of “Homicide”, in 1993. In the series, Belzer brought to life John Munch, a character based on a real detective. He was an intelligent, diligent, hard-headed investigator who believed in conspiracy theories and distrusted the system.

Belzer played Munch in all seven seasons of the series. And when “Homicide” ended in 1999, the actor wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the role. His character had appeared in “Law & Order” in three crossovers, and the actor thought he could fit into that series.

“When ‘Homicide’ was canceled, I was in France with my wife and she said, ‘Let’s open a bottle of champagne and toast: You’ve been playing this character for seven years,'” Belzer recalled in the book ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Unofficial Companion” from 2009.

“And then I remembered Benjamin Bratt was leaving ‘L&O’, so I called my manager and said, ‘Call Dick Wolf [criador da série] – perhaps Munch could become Briscoe’s partner – because we had worked together on the crossover. So he called and Dick said, “What a great idea, but I’ve already picked Jesse Martin as my newcomer.”

However, Wolf was developing a spin-off of ‘Law & Order’ that would focus on the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. And he wanted Munch for that series.

Munch’s style worked perfectly with “Law & Order: SVU” and the actor remained on the series for 14 seasons, until he announced his retirement in 2014, although he made yet another appearance a few years later. .

Belzer’s character has also appeared in other series such as ‘The X-Files’, ‘The Beat’, ‘Law & Order: Trial by Jury’, ‘The Wire’, ‘Arrested Development’, ’30 Rock’, ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and even “Sesame Street”.

“I’ve never asked anyone to be on their show. So it’s doubly flattering for me to see myself portrayed in a script and realize I’m relatable and lovable as the rude, smart detective,” Belzer said in a 2008 interview. he’s a great character for me to play, he’s fun for me. So I’m not at all upset about being pigeonholed.”

Upon learning of the actor’s death, several colleagues paid their respects on social media. Dick Wolf wrote that “Richard Belzer’s Detective John Munch is one of the most iconic characters on television. I first worked with Richard on the ‘Law & Order’/’Homicide’ crossover and loved the character so much that I ‘I told Tom (Fontana) he wanted to make him one of the original ‘SVU’ characters. The rest is history.”

Rapper and actor Ice T, who starred opposite Belzer in “SVU,” also paid tribute. “Ups and downs…After one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Woke up to the news that I lost my friend today. Belz is gone…Damn! But remember this…’When you are having so much happy time. ENJOY IT to the fullest! Because pain is inevitably on the way.” I’ll miss you man.”

Several comedians, such as Billy Crystal, Marc Maron, Patton Oswald, Bill Burr and Natasha Lyonne also paid tribute to the actor. Check out some of the more notable comments below.

Source: Terra

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