UNITED STATES NEWS

Richard Belzer, renowned TV detective and comedian, dies at 78

Feb 19, 2023, 8:00 PM
Actor Richard Belzer poses in the press room during the 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction...
Actor Richard Belzer poses in the press room during the 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel March 10, 2008 in New York City.

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one 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 home in Bozouls in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter. Comedian Laraine Newman first announced his death on Twitter. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, wrote “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-cracking, acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. Belzer first played Munch on a 1993 episode of “Homicide” and last played him in 2016 on “Law & Order: SVU.”

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

“I would never be a detective. But if I were, that’s how I’d be,” Belzer once said. “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.”

From that unlikely beginning, Belzer’s Munch would 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, about things like President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

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

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Belzer was drawn to comedy, he said, during an abusive childhood in which his mother would beat him and his older brother, Len. “My kitchen was the toughest room I ever worked,” Belzer told People magazine in 1993.

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

Before “Saturday Night Live” changed the comedy scene in New York, 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 newly launched “SNL.” While many cast members quickly became famous, Belzer’s roles were mostly smaller cameos. He later said SNL creator Lorne Michaels reneged on a promise to work him into the show.

United States News

FILE - Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas attends a board meeting in Los Angeles, Jun...
Associated Press

Longtime LA politician guilty on federal corruption charges

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A longtime Los Angeles politician was convicted Thursday on federal corruption charges in a scheme in which prosecutors said he promised to help steer a multimillion-dollar government contract to the University of Southern California if his son got a scholarship and a teaching job. Suspended Democratic City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas — […]
17 hours ago
FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, ...
Associated Press

California’s Newsom starts tour to boost red-state Democrats

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom dropped $10 million on a new political action committee Thursday, pledging to boost Democrats in the reddest of red states ahead of the 2024 election and what could be a future run for president. Newsom launched the Campaign for Democracy using money left over from his 2022 […]
17 hours ago
Associated Press

Florida Senate OKs easier path to imposing death penalty

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Senate on Thursday passed a bill repealing a law requiring a unanimous jury recommendation for the death penalty, a reaction to the life sentence handed to the man who massacred 17 people at a Parkland high school. The bill passed on a 29-10 vote and will allow the death […]
17 hours ago
FILE - President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to speak at a rally in Washington, Jan. 6, 202...
Associated Press

Trump indictment live updates: Latest news, developments

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the first ever criminal case against a former president, Donald Trump has been indicted on charges involving payments made during his 2016 campaign to quash claims of two extramarital affairs. Prosecutors in New York focused on money paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to keep the […]
17 hours ago
Associated Press

Bill to criminalize help for Idaho minors’ abortions passes

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that would criminalize helping minors obtain an abortion without parental consent won final passage in Idaho’s legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Brad Little. The measure would be the first of its kind in the U.S. It seeks to restrict travel by creating […]
17 hours ago
Associated Press

Police union employee charged with importing illegal opioids

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The office manager for a Northern California police union allegedly imported illegal synthetic opioids from India and other countries and at least once used her work computer and address and the union’s UPS account to ship the drugs within the country, federal prosecutors said. Joanne Marian Segovia, executive director of […]
17 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...
Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.
(Pexels Photo)...

Sports gambling can be fun for adults, but it’s a dangerous game for children

While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
Richard Belzer, renowned TV detective and comedian, dies at 78