Actor and comedian Richard Belzer died at the age of 78. He was known for his roles in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He died on Sunday at his home in Bozouls, in the southwest of France. He had been sick for a long time.
Before making his first movie, The Groove Tube, in 1974, Belzer was a stand-up comedian. During his long career, he was in a number of TV shows and movies. Read on to learn more about his life and work.
How Did Richard Belzer Die?
Bill Scheft, a writer, who is a longtime friend of Belzer had confirmed his death. Scheft told the press, “He had a lot of health problems, and his last words were, ‘F*** you, motherf***er.'” Throughout his life, the actor had some health scares.
In 1983, he fought cancer in his testicles and won. Belzer’s wife, Harlee McBride, who he married in 1985. Belzer is survived by his wife. The two of them didn’t have any kids together, but McBride has two daughters from a previous relationship.
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Belzer was born in Connecticut in 1944 into a Jewish family. He finished high school at Fairfield Warde and then went to Dean College, but was kicked out. After that, he worked different jobs before becoming a stand-up comedian in New York City.
How Did Richard Belzer Rise to Fame?
In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a guest star in a number of movies, such as Fame, Café Flesh, Scarface, and Night Shift. But it was his role as Detective John Munch in the NBC show Homicide: Life on the Street that made him famous. From 1993 to 1999, Belzer was the main character in 122 episodes of the show.
In 2000, he was in a movie based on the show, and he later played the same character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In an interview, he said about the famous character, “I would never be a detective, but if I were, I’d be like that.”
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“The character reminds me a lot of myself. It’s a lot of fun for me because they write to all of my paranoia, anti-establishment dissonance, and conspiracy theories. It’s almost like a dream,” he said. From 1975 to 1980, Belzer also made guest appearances on Saturday Night Live.
Richard Belzer’s Friends Pay their Condolences
Friends and coworkers in the same field as Belzer took to social media to talk about how sad they were about his death. Dick Wolf, the creator and executive producer of Law & Order: SVU, said that Richard Belzer’s detective John Munch is one of the most famous TV characters.
“I worked with Richard for the first time on the crossover between Law & Order and Homicide. I loved the character so much that I told Tom Fontana I wanted him to be one of the original characters on SVU. Everything else is history. Richard made us all laugh and smile. He was the perfect professional, and we will all miss him a lot,” he said.
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Laraine Newman, who used to be on Saturday Night Live, wrote on Twitter, “I’m so sad to hear that Richard Belzer has died. I really liked this guy a lot. When I moved to New York to do SNL, he was one of the first people I met. We used to eat lobster at Sheepshead Bay every week for dinner. He was one of the funniest people ever. A pro at working with crowds. RIP dearest.”
Richard Belzer’s family and friends have our condolences. His soul may rest in peace!
