Law and Order: SVU Star Richard Belzer, Dies At 78

Updated On March 18, 2024 | Published By: Bruce Wayne | In Career , Death

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Comedian Richard Belzer died at the age of 78 on February 19, 2023.
He was famous for his role as Investigator John Munch, whom he portrayed on ‘Homicide: Life on the Street’ and ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.’

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Law and Order: SVU star Richard Belzer dies at 78

Comedian Richard Belzer passed away on February 19, 2023, at the age of 78. He was a popular comedian who started as a stand-up comic and later gained more recognition as the sardonic yet dependable detective John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Belzer passed away in his residence located in Bozouls, in the southwest region of France, early on Sunday.

Richard is survived by his wife Harlee McBride. The couple got married in 1985 but have no biological children of their own. However, McBride has two children from her previous relationship.

What was the cause of the death of Richard Belzer?

Although there is no known reason for his death, Bill Scheft, a writer and a close friend who had been involved in creating a documentary about Belzer, mentioned that Belzer had been struggling with respiratory and circulatory problems.

He told The Hollywood Reporter:

“He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘Fuck you, motherfucker.’”

Belzer experienced some health issues before too including a bout with testicular cancer in 1983. It served as the inspiration for his comedy special, “Another Lone Nut,” which was released in 1997 on HBO.

Richard Belzer was 78 (Source: The Hollywood Reporter)

During the same special, he also joked about a separate incident on “The Richard Belzer Show,” where he was put in a chokehold by guest Hulk Hogan, leading to him losing consciousness and hitting his head on the stage.

Belzer took legal action against Hogan and eventually reached a settlement outside of court.

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Tributes poured in for the comedian

Dick Wolf, Law & Order: SVU creator and executive producer, said in a statement:

“Richard Belzer’s detective John Munch is one of television’s iconic characters. I first worked with Richard on the Law & Order/Homicide crossover and loved the character so much, I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on SVU.”

He added:

“The rest is history. Richard brought humor and joy into all our lives, was the consummate professional, and we will all miss him very much.”

Laraine Newman, a cast member on SNL from 1975 to 1980, paid tribute to the actor on Twitter:

“I’m so sad to hear of Richard Belzer’s passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL.”

Newman added:

“We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest.”

Marc Maron also wrote a tribute on Twitter:

“Richard Belzer died. He was an original. One of the greats, babe. I loved the guy. RIP”

Jeff Ross shared a throwback picture of Richard with his dog Bebe:

“The Belz… Even holding his dog he was always the coolest cat in the room.”

Short Bio of Richard Belzer

Richard Belzer was most recognized for playing Detective John Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He first portrayed the character on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993, and later appeared in nearly 330 episodes of SVU from 1999 to 2013, as well as making two appearances in 2014 and 2016.

Richard Belzer as John Munch (Source: UPROXX)

In addition to his role on SVU, Belzer had other notable roles such as playing a Babylon Club M.C. in the 1983 movie Scarface, the president in the 1998 film Species II, and The Flash TV series in 1991.

Belzer was also an author, and in 2016, he published the book Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination.

Some of his other books include UFOS, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to be to Believe and Dead Wrong: Straight Facts on the Country’s Most Controversial Cover-Ups.

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