Richard Belzer obit

Richard Belzer, stand-up comic and TV detective, dies at 78

 

He was not on the list.

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 Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft said. Scheft, a writer who had been working on a documentary about Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but that Belzer had been dealing with circulatory and respiratory issues. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, 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-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 Sunday 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. He would do impressions of his childhood idol, Jerry Lewis. “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 performer and an emcee. 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.

But Belzer became one of the era’s top stand-ups. He was known especially for his biting, cynical attitude and his witty, sometime combative banter with the audience. As one of the most influential comedians of the ’70s, Belzer was a master of crowd work.

“My style evolved from dealing with drunken people at twelve, one, two in the morning and trying to be like an alchemist and get the lead of their lives and turn it into golden jokes,” Belzer told Terry Gross on “Fresh Air.”

Belzer would later write an irreverent self-help book titled “How to Be a Stand-Up Comic” with advice on things like how to to apologize to Frank Sinatra when you made fun of him onstage 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 on it.”

Belzer often played a stand-up comic in film, including in 1980s’ “Fame” and 1983′s “Scarface.” He had small roles here and there, including in “Night Shift” in 1982, and “Fletch Lives” in 1989. But Munch would change Belzer’s career.

As ”Homicide” co-creator Tom Fontana said, “Munch was the spice in these dishes,” Belzer told the AV Club. “Munch was based on a real guy in Baltimore who was a star detective, in a way. He would come onto grisly murder scenes, start doing one-liners, 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, he kind of had the gallows humor that’s needed in a homicide squad.”

When “Homicide” wrapped in early 1999, Munch called Dick Wolf to see if the character could join another NBC series, “Law & Order,” where Munch had popped up in a few previous episodes. Wolf already had his leads for “Law & Order,” but he wanted Belzer to star in a spinoff. That fall, “Law & Order: SVU” premiered, with Belzer starring alongside Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni in a storyline written as though Munch had 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 on ‘SVU.’ 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.”

Belzer is survived by his third wife, the actress Harlee McBride, whom he married in 1985. For the past 20 years, they lived mostly in France, in homes he purchased partially from the proceeds of a lawsuit with Hulk Hogan. In 1985, Belzer had Hogan as a guest on his cable TV talk show “Hot Properties” to perform a chin-lock on him. Belzer passed out, hit his head and sued Hogan for $5 million. They settled out of court. ___

This story has been corrected to reflect that Belzer died in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, not Bozouls, as Scheft originally told The Hollywood Reporter.

Filmography

Film

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       AKA 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

 

Television

Year       Film       Role       Notes

1975–80               Saturday Night Live         Juror

Chevy Chase

Himself

Museum Visitor                Season 1 episode 1 Season 2 episode 27 Season 3 episode 61 Season 5 episode 106 (uncredited)

1978      Sesame Street   Man in Row Boat #1        Episode: "(#1186)"

1984      The Richard Belzer Show               Himself                 Six episodes

1985      Moonlighting     Leonard                Episode: "Twas the Episode Before Christmas"

1986      Miami Vice          Captain Hook     Episode: "Trust Fund Pirates"

1989      Tattingers            —           Episode: "Ex-Appeal"

AKA 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; AKA 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 series Law & 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

2015      Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt      A John Munch-like character       One episode: "Kimmy Goes to the Doctor!"