Richard Belzer | |
|---|---|
 Belzer at theWhite House Correspondents Dinner in 2009 | |
| Born | Richard Jay Belzer (1944-08-04)August 4, 1944 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | February 19, 2023(2023-02-19) (aged 78) |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Henry Winkler (cousin) |
| Notable work | John Munch onHomicide: Life on the Street andLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1972–2016 |
| Medium |
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| Genres | |
| Subjects | |
Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, and author.[2] He was best known for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and investigatorJohn Munch,[3] whom he portrayed for 23 years in theNBCpolice drama seriesHomicide: Life on the Street,[4]Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[3] and in several guest appearances on other series.
Belzer was born inBridgeport, Connecticut, on August 4, 1944,[5] to aJewish family.[6][7] He described his mother as frequentlyphysically abusive, and he declared that his comedy career began when trying to make her laugh to distract her from abusing him and his brother. After graduating fromFairfield Warde High School, Belzer worked as a reporter for theBridgeport Post.[6]
Belzer attendedDean College, which was then known as Dean Junior College, inFranklin, Massachusetts, but was expelled.[8]
After his first divorce, Belzer relocated to New York City, moved in with singerShelley Ackerman, and began working as a stand-up comic at Pips,The Improv, andCatch a Rising Star. He participated in the Channel One comedy group that satirized television and became the basis for the cultsketch comedy movieThe Groove Tube, in which Belzer played multiple roles.[9]
Belzer was the audience warm-up comedian forSaturday Night Live[10] and made three guest appearances on the show between 1975 and 1980. He also opened for musicianWarren Zevon during his tour supporting the release of his albumExcitable Boy.[11]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Belzer became an occasional film actor. A short skit of a younger Belzer can be found onSesame Street in a season 9 episode in 1978 when two young men attempt a picnic and boat ride, only to be thwarted by a dog who eats their food. He is noted for minor roles inFame,Café Flesh,Night Shift,Scarface,Girl 6, andFletch Lives. He appeared in themusic videos for theMike + The Mechanics song "Taken In", thePat Benatar song "Le Bel Age", and theKansas song "Can't Cry Anymore" all of which were made by Flattery Yukich Inc (Producer Paul Flattery and Director Jim Yukich). He appeared inA Very Brady Sequel as anLAPD detective.[12]
In addition to his film career, Belzer was a featured player on theNational Lampoon Radio Hour with co-starsJohn Belushi,Chevy Chase,Bill Murray,Gilda Radner, andHarold Ramis, a half-hour comedy program aired on 600 plus American radio stations from 1973 to 1975.[13] Several of his sketches were released on National Lampoon albums, drawn from theRadio Hour, including several bits in which he portrayed a pithy call-in talk show host named "Dick Ballantine".[citation needed]
In the late 1970s, he co-hostedBrink & Belzer onWNBC radio (660 AM) in New York City.[14] He was a frequent guest onThe Howard Stern Show. Following the departure ofRandi Rhodes fromAir America Radio, Belzer guest-hosted the afternoon program on the network.[15]
Belzer was a regular guest on the right-wing radio show ofAlex Jones and appeared on the episode covering theBoston Marathon bombing, in which he referred to the bombing as afalse flag event.[16][time needed]
In the 1980s, Belzer was a regular onAlan Thicke's short-lived showThicke of the Night. He also briefly hosted his own comedy show, titular and popularThe Richard Belzer Show onCinemax,[17] and hosted theLifetime cable TV talk show,Hot Properties.[12] By the 1990s, he was appearing frequently on television. He was a regular onThe Flash as a news anchor and reporter. In several episodes ofLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, he playedInspector William Henderson.[12]
He followed that with starring roles on theBaltimore-basedHomicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and the New York City-basedLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–2013), portraying police detectiveJohn Munch in both series.[4]Barry Levinson, Executive Producer ofHomicide, said Belzer was a "lousy actor" in audition when he read lines from the script for "Gone for Goode", the first episode in the series.[18] Levinson asked Belzer to take time to reread and practice the material, then read it again. At his second reading, Levinson said Belzer was "still terrible", but that the actor eventually found confidence in his performance.[19]
In addition, Belzer played Munch in episodes on seven other series and in a sketch on one talk show, making Munch the only fictional character to appear on 11 different television shows played by a single actor.[20] These shows were on six different networks:
In March 2016, executive producer Warren Leight announced Belzer would return to reprise the role in a May 2016 episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, titled "Fashionable Crimes".[23]
Belzer portrayed Det. Munch for 22 consecutive seasons onHomicide (7 seasons) andLaw & Order: SVU (15 seasons), which exceeded the previous primetime live-action record of twenty consecutive seasons held byJames Arness (who portrayedMarshal Matt Dillon onGunsmoke from 1955 to 1975) andKelsey Grammer (as Dr.Frasier Crane onCheers andFrasier from 1984 to 2004). This record has since been passed by Belzer'sSVU co-stars Mariska Hargitay andIce-T.
Belzer appeared in several ofComedy Central's televised broadcasts ofFriars' Club roasts. On June 9, 2001, Belzer himself was honored by the New York Friars Club and the Toyota Comedy Festival as the honoree of the first-ever roast open to the public. Comedians and friends on the dais included RoastmasterPaul Shaffer;Christopher Walken;Danny Aiello;Barry Levinson;Robert Klein;Bill Maher;SVU co-starsMariska Hargitay,Christopher Meloni,Ice-T, andDann Florek; andLaw & Order'sJerry Orbach. At the December 1, 2002, roast ofChevy Chase, Belzer said, "The only time Chevy Chase has a funny bone in his body is when I fuck him in the ass."[24]
Belzer voiced the character of Loogie for most of theSouth Park episode titled "The Tooth Fairy's Tats 2000".[25] He andBrian Doyle-Murray were featured in the tenth-season premiere ofSesame Street.[26]
Belzer believed there was aconspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy[27] and wrote five books discussingconspiracy theories:
Dead Wrong andHit List were written with journalist David Wayne and reachedThe New York Times Best Seller list.[32]Someone Is Hiding Something was also written with David Wayne as well as radio talk show hostGeorge Noory.[33] Belzer's long-time character, John Munch, was also a believer in conspiracy theories, including the JFK assassination. In 2008, Belzer published a novel,I Am Not a Cop!, about a fictional version of himself investigating a murder.[1]
Belzer's first two marriages were to Gail Susan Ross (1966–1972)[34] and boutique manager Dalia Danoch (1976 – c. 1978),[34] both of which ended in divorce. In 1981, in Los Angeles, he met 32-year-oldHarlee McBride, a divorcée with two daughters,[35] Bree Benton and Jessica.[36] McBride, who had been seen inPlayboy magazine four years earlier in that year's sex-in-cinema feature, in conjunction withYoung Lady Chatterley,[37] was appearing inTV commercials forFord and acting in free theater when she met Belzer at the suggestion of a friend.[35] The two married in 1985[34] and had a home inBozouls, France.[1]
Belzer survivedtesticular cancer in 1983.[35] His 1997HBO special and comedy CDAnother Lone Nut pokes fun at this medical incident, as well as his status as a well-knownconspiracy theorist.
On March 27, 1985, four days before thefirst WrestleMania, Belzer repeatedly requested on his TV talk showHot Properties that professional wrestlerHulk Hogan demonstrate a wrestling move. Hogan applied a front facelock, which caused Belzer to pass out, and he hit the back of his head on the floor when released.[38] After waking up, Belzer was dazed, lacerated and briefly hospitalized.[39] He latersued Hogan for $5 million and settled out of court for $400,000 in 1990.[1] Belzer refers to the settlement in his 1997 HBO stand-up specialAnother Lone Nut, revealing it helped him pay for a home inBeaulieu-sur-Mer called the "Chez Hogan" or "Hulk Hogan Estate".[1][40]
Belzer's father and brother both died bysuicide, in 1968 and 2014, respectively.[6] His cousin is actorHenry Winkler.[41]
On February 19, 2023, Belzer died from complications ofrespiratory disease inBozouls, France at the age of 78.[1][40][42]
Many paid tribute to Belzer, includingChristopher Meloni,Mariska Hargitay,Ice-T, andDick Wolf.[40]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | The Groove Tube | Rodriguez, Leo Batfish, The President, The Hooker | Independent film |
| 1980 | Fame | M.C. | |
| 1982 | Café Flesh | Loud-mouthed audience member | |
| Author! Author! | Seth Shapiro | ||
| Night Shift | Pig | ||
| 1983 | Scarface | M.C. at Babylon Club | |
| Likely Stories, Vol. 3 | Richard | ||
| 1986 | America | Gypsy Beam | a.k.a.Moonbeam |
| Charlie Barnett's Terms of Enrollment | Man Reading Paper | ||
| 1987 | Flicks | Stoner | Segment: "New Adventures of the Great Galaxy" |
| 1988 | The Wrong Guys | Richard 'Belz' Belzer | |
| Freeway | Dr. David Lazarus | ||
| 1989 | The Big Picture | Video Show Host | |
| Fletch Lives | Phil | ||
| 1990 | The Bonfire of the Vanities | Television Producer | |
| 1991 | The Flash II: Revenge of the Trickster | Joe Kline | |
| Missing Pieces | Baldesari | ||
| Off and Running | Milt Zoloth | ||
| 1992 | Flash III: Deadly Nightshade | Joe Kline | |
| 1993 | Mad Dog and Glory | M.C./Comic | |
| Dangerous Game | Himself | ||
| 1994 | North | Barker | |
| The Puppet Masters | Jarvis | ||
| 1995 | Not of This Earth | Jeremy Pallin | |
| 1996 | Girl 6 | Caller #4 – Beach | |
| A Very Brady Sequel | LAPD Detective | ||
| Get on the Bus | Rick | ||
| 1998 | The Bar Channel | — | |
| Species II | U.S. President | ||
| 1999 | Jump | Jerry | |
| 2006 | Copy That | Richard | |
| 2007 | BelzerVizion | Himself | Also executive producer |
| 2009 | Polish Bar | Hershel | |
| 2010 | Santorini Blue | Richard | Also executive producer |
| 2016 | The Comedian | Himself | |
| 2017 | Gilbert | Himself | Documentary film |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–80 | Saturday Night Live | Juror Chevy Chase Himself Museum Visitor | Season 1 episode 1,season 2 episode 3,season 2 episode 27,season 3 episode 61, andseason 5 episode 106 (uncredited) |
| 1978 | Sesame Street | Man in Row Boat #1 | Episode: "(#1186)" |
| 1983–1984 | Thicke of the Night | Regular | |
| 1984 | The Richard Belzer Show | Himself | Six episodes |
| 1985 | Hot Properties | Host | |
| 1985 | Moonlighting | Leonard | Episode: "Twas the Episode Before Christmas" |
| 1986 | Miami Vice | Captain Hook | Episode: "Trust Fund Pirates" |
| 1989 | Tattingers | — | Episode: "Ex-Appeal" a.k.a.Nick & Hillary |
| 1990–91 | The Flash | Joe Kline | 10 episodes |
| 1991 | Monsters | Buzz Hunkle | Episode: "Werewolf of Hollywood" |
| 1992 | Human Target | Greene | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1993–99 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Det. John Munch | 122 episodes, regular cast |
| 1994 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Inspector William Henderson | Episode: "All Shook Up" Episode: "Witness" Episode: "Foundling" Episode: "The House of Luthor" |
| Nurses | Jesse Wilner | Episode: "Fly the Friendly Skies" | |
| Bandit Bandit | Big Bob | TV film | |
| Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart | Det. Frank Giordano | ||
| 1995 | Prince for a Day | Bernie Silver | TV film; a.k.a.The Prince and the Pizza Boy |
| The Invaders | Randy Stein | TV film | |
| 1996 | Deadly Pursuits | Mariano | |
| 1996–2000 | Law & Order | Det. John Munch | Episode: "Charm City" Episode: "Baby, It's You" Episode: "Sideshow" Episode: "Entitled" |
| 1997 | The X-Files | Episode: "Unusual Suspects" | |
| Richard Belzer: Another Lone Nut | Himself | HBO comedy special | |
| When Cars Attack | TV film | ||
| 1997–98 | E! True Hollywood Story | Episode: "Gilda Radner", "John Belushi" | |
| 1998 | Elmopalooza | — | |
| 1999 | Mad About You | Detective Sharp | Episode: "Stealing Burt's Car" |
| 1999–2016 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Det./Sgt. John Munch | 325 episodes, regular cast |
| 2000 | Homicide: The Movie | Det. John Munch | TV film based on the television series |
| The Beat | Episode: "They Say It's Your Birthday" | ||
| South Park | Loogie (voice) | Episode: "The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000" | |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Himself | Episode: "Dick'll Take Manhattan: Part 1" | |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Trial by Jury | Det. John Munch | Episode: "Skeleton" This is a crossover sequel to the episode "Tombstone" from season 15 of the seriesLaw & Order. |
| 2006 | Arrested Development | Episode: "S.O.B.s" (uncredited) Episode: "Exit Strategy" | |
| 2008 | The Wire | Sgt. John Munch | Episode: "Took" |
| 2009 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Episode dated October 7, 2009 | |
| Comedy Central Roast of Joan Rivers | Himself | — | |
| 2013 | America Declassified | Season 1 episode 1 | |
| 30 Rock | Season 7 episode 12 | ||
| 2015 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | AJohn Munch-like character[21][22] | One episode: "Kimmy Goes to the Doctor!" |
... she and Titus (Tituss Burgess) come across an old episode ofLaw Squiggle Order where Coriolanus Burt (James Monroe Iglehart) is in a scene with actor Richard Belzer.[permanent dead link]
There was a Law & Order star, Richard Belzer, in a fake spin-off.
