Richard Belzer

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1983, which he survived.

His elder brother, Leonard Belzer, committed suicide on July 30, 2014, by jumping from the 11th floor of his New York City apartment. He was 73.

Richard Belzer was born on August 4, 1944, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Frances and Charles Belzer, a tobacco and candy retailer. While his mother passed away from breast cancer when he was 18, his father committed suicide when he was 22.

He graduated from Fairfield Warde High School and for some time worked with ‘Bridgeport Post’ as a reporter. He then enrolled in Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, but was expelled as he participated in student demonstrations. So he tried his hands at a variety of jobs.

In the early 1970s, Richard Belzer moved to New York City and started working as a stand-up comic at comedy clubs like Pips, The Improv and Catch a Rising Star. He eventually landed in Channel One’s comedy group, which also earned him his debut film ‘The Groove Tube’ in 1974.

He participated in the comedy show ‘Saturday Night Live’ and entertained the audience with his wits. In 1975, he performed in the off-Broadway production of the ‘National Lampoon’ stage show.

During his initial years, he was also a popular performer on the ‘National Lampoon Radio Hour’ from 1973 to 1975. The show was broadcast on more than 600 US stations. He also co-hosted ‘Brink & Belzer’ on WNBC radio.

During the 1980s, he bagged some roles in popular films like ‘Fame’ in 1980, ‘Author! Author!’ in 1982, and ‘Scarface’ in 1983. He also found small roles in ‘Café Flesh’ and ‘Night Shift’.

His comic skills landed him the series ‘The Richard Belzer Show’ in 1984. In 1985, he hosted the late night television show ‘Hot Properties’. In 1986, he did two films—‘America’ and ‘Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment’.

Richard Belzer portrayed the role of detective John Munch for 23 years in 11 different television shows and almost became synonymous with the name. It was for the first time that one fictional character was played by one actor on 11 different television shows. In fact, he played the character for 22 consecutive seasons—on ‘Homicide’ for seven seasons, and ‘Law & Order: SVU’ for 15 seasons.

Three of the many books he had written—‘Someone Is Hiding Something’, ‘Dead Wrong’ and ‘Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation’ were quite popular and became the New York Times bestsellers.