Post by M. Hawbaker on Feb 20, 2023 1:14:43 GMT
CNN — 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: Special Victims Unit,” over more than two decades, has died, according to his longtime manager. He was 78.
Belzer “passed away peacefully” early Sunday morning local time at his home in France, according to Eric Gardner, his manager.
Writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, told The Hollywood Reporter that Belzer had “lots of health issues.”
Belzer was famed for his role as Detective Munch, first appearing on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1999. He reprised that role in the TV movie “Homicide: The Movie” in 2000 and also appeared as the famed detective in four episodes of “Law & Order.”
Belzer appeared as Munch again in “Law & Order: SVU,” where he became a series regular, appearing in 326 episodes between 1999 and 2016. Though his character retired in 2013, he returned in two additional episodes after his departure.
Over the course of his career, Belzer portrayed detective Munch in 11 television series, including “The Wire” and “The X-Files.” He made crossover appearances in-character in the comedies “30 Rock,” “Arrested Development” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and his detective Munch was even turned into a muppet in the “Sesame Street” skit “Special Letters Unit.”
Like Belzer himself, detective Munch had a conspiratorial mindset, a Jewish background and a dry sense of humor. His scrawny, wisecracking, glasses-wearing investigator became over time one of the most recognizable cops in TV crime show history.
www.cnn.com/2023/02/19/entertainment/richard-belzer-death/index.html
Belzer “passed away peacefully” early Sunday morning local time at his home in France, according to Eric Gardner, his manager.
Writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor, told The Hollywood Reporter that Belzer had “lots of health issues.”
Belzer was famed for his role as Detective Munch, first appearing on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1999. He reprised that role in the TV movie “Homicide: The Movie” in 2000 and also appeared as the famed detective in four episodes of “Law & Order.”
Belzer appeared as Munch again in “Law & Order: SVU,” where he became a series regular, appearing in 326 episodes between 1999 and 2016. Though his character retired in 2013, he returned in two additional episodes after his departure.
Over the course of his career, Belzer portrayed detective Munch in 11 television series, including “The Wire” and “The X-Files.” He made crossover appearances in-character in the comedies “30 Rock,” “Arrested Development” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and his detective Munch was even turned into a muppet in the “Sesame Street” skit “Special Letters Unit.”
Like Belzer himself, detective Munch had a conspiratorial mindset, a Jewish background and a dry sense of humor. His scrawny, wisecracking, glasses-wearing investigator became over time one of the most recognizable cops in TV crime show history.
www.cnn.com/2023/02/19/entertainment/richard-belzer-death/index.html
