Richard Belzer, comedian and television detective, dies at 78

NEW YORK — Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of television’s most indelible sleuths as John Munch in ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and ‘Law & Order: SVU “, is dead. He was 78 years old.

Belzer died on Sunday at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft said. Scheft, a writer who had worked on a documentary about Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but Belzer had been struggling with circulatory and respiratory problems. Actor Henry Winkler, cousin of Belzer, tweeted“Rest in peace Richard.”

For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development” — Belzer played the wise and acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer first played Munch in an episode of “Homicide” in 1993 and last played him in 2016’s “Law & Order: SVU.”

Belzer never auditioned for the role. After hearing him on “The Howard Stern Show,” executive producer Barry Levinson brought in the comedian to read the role.

“I would never be a detective. But if I was, that’s how I would be,” Belzer once said. “They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissent and conspiracy theories. So it was really fun for me. A dream, really.

From this unlikely start, Belzer’s Munch would go on to become one of television’s longest running characters and a sunglasses-wearing presence on the small screen for more than two decades. In 2008 Belzer published the novel “I Am Not a Cop!” with Michael Ian Black. He also helped write several books on conspiracy theories, on things like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

“He made me laugh a billion times,” his longtime friend and stand-up colleague Richard Lewis said Sunday on Twitter.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Belzer was drawn to acting, he said, during an abusive childhood during which his mother beat him and his older brother, Len. He would do impressions of his childhood idol, Jerry Lewis. “My kitchen was the hardest room I’ve ever worked in,” Belzer told People magazine in 1993.

After being expelled from Dean Junior College in Massachusetts, Belzer embarked on a stand-up life in New York City in 1972. At Catch a Rising Star, Belzer became a regular performer and emcee. He made his big-screen debut in Ken Shapiro’s 1974 film “The Groove Tube,” a television satire starring Chevy Chase, a film spun off from the Channel One comedy group of which Belzer was a part.

Before “Saturday Night Live” changed the New York comedy scene, 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 new “SNL”. While many cast members rose to fame quickly, Belzer’s roles were mostly smaller cameos. He later said that “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels reneged on his promise to cast him on the show.

But Belzer became one of the best stand-ups of the time. He was best known for his biting, cynical attitude and his witty, sometimes combative banter with the public. As one of the most influential comedians of the ’70s, Belzer was a master of crowd work.

“My style evolved from dealing with drunk people at noon, one, two in the morning and trying to be like an alchemist and take control of their lives and turn it into golden jokes,” Belzer said. to Terry Gross on “Fresh Air”.

Belzer would later write an irreverent self-help book titled “How to Be a Stand-up Comedian” with advice on things like how to apologize to Frank Sinatra when you mock him on stage or how to deal with hecklers. One of his favorite lines was, “I have a microphone. You have a beer. God has a plan and you’re not in it.

Belzer often played stand-up comedy in film, including 1980’s “Fame” and 1983’s “Scarface.” Fletch Lives” in 1989. But Munch would change Belzer’s career.

As “Homicide” co-creator Tom Fontana said, “Munch was the spice in those dishes,” Belzer told the AV Club. “Munch was based on a real guy from Baltimore who was a star detective, in a way. He would arrive at grisly murder scenes, start doing stunt doubles, because someone had to break the tension. So, Munch served a very important function. Not only was he a dissident who said what was on his mind, but he kind of had the gallows humor that you need in a homicide squad.

When “Homicide” ended in early 1999, Munch called Dick Wolf to see if the character could join another NBC series, “Law & Order,” where Munch had appeared in a few previous episodes. Wolf already had his leads for “Law & Order,” but he wanted Belzer to star in a spin-off. This fall, “Law & Order: SVU” premiered, starring Belzer alongside Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in a script written as if Munch had been transferred from Baltimore to New York.

“Richard Belzer’s Detective John Munch is one of television’s iconic characters,” Wolf said in a statement.

“I first worked with Richard on the ‘Law & Order’/’Homicide’ crossover and loved the character so much,” Wolf said. “I wanted to make him one of the original characters in ‘SVU.’ The rest is history, Richard brought humor and joy to all of our lives, was a consummate professional and will be greatly missed by all of us.

Belzer is survived by his third wife, actress Harlee McBride, whom he married in 1985. For the past 20 years, they have lived primarily in France, in homes he purchased partly with proceeds of a trial with Hulk Hogan. In 1985, Belzer had Hogan guest on his “Hot Properties” cable TV show to do a chinstrap for him. Belzer passed out, hit his head, and sued Hogan for $5 million. They settled out of court.

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