Richard Belzer, the longtime slapstick comedian who turned one in every of TV’s most indelible detectives as John Munch in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: SVU,” has died. He was 78.
Belzer died Sunday at his dwelling in Bozouls in southern France, his longtime pal Bill Scheft informed The Hollywood Reporter. Comedian Laraine Newman first introduced his demise on Twitter. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, wrote “Rest in peace Richard.”
For greater than 20 years and throughout 10 sequence — together with appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer performed the wise-cracking murder detective vulnerable to conspiracy theories. Belzer first performed Munch on a 1993 episode of “Homicide” and final performed him in 2016 on “Law & Order: SVU.”
Belzer by no means auditioned for the position. After listening to him on “The Howard Stern Show,” govt producer Barry Levinson introduced Belzer in to learn for the half.
“I would never be a detective. But if I were, that’s how I’d be,” Belzer as soon as mentioned. “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.”
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