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 & Order: SVU,' has died.
Belzer died Sunday at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft said. 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. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer's cousin, tweeted, "Rest in peace Richard."
"I would never be a detective. But if I were, that's how I'd be," Belzer once said. "They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories. So it's been a lot of fun for me. A dream, really." Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Belzer was drawn to comedy, he said, during an abusive childhood in which his mother would beat him and his older brother, Len. He would do impressions of his childhood idol, Jerry Lewis. "My kitchen was the toughest room I ever worked," Belzer told People magazine in 1993.
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. He later said "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels reneged on a promise to work him into the show.
Belzer would later write an irreverent self-help book titled "How to Be a Stand-Up Comic" with advice on things like how to apologize to Frank Sinatra when you made fun of him onstage or how to deal with hecklers. Richard brought humor and joy into all our lives, was the consummate professional and we will all miss him very much.When "Homicide" wrapped in early 1999, Munch called Dick Wolf to see if the character could join another NBC series, "Law & Order," where Munch had popped up in a few previous episodes. Wolf already had his leads for "Law & Order," but he wanted Belzer to star in a spinoff.
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