Richard Belzer, the beloved comedian turned iconic cynical detective John Munch on both “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” has died at the age of 78.
Belzer died early Sunday at his home in southwest France. Bill Scheft, a writer and longtime friend of the actor tells THR: “He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘F— you, motherf—er’.”
The actor made his film debut in 1974’s “The Groove Tube” and was a warm-up comedian for “Saturday Night Live” and opened for musician Warren Zevon on a tour. On film he landed small roles in works like “Fame,” “Night Shift,” “Scarface” and “A Very Brady Sequel”.
On TV he was a regular on the 1990s “The Flash” TV series and appeared in several episodes of “Lois and Clark” before taking on the role of Munch in “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1993. Belzer stayed in the role for twenty years, the character jumping from “Homicide” to SVU in 1999 where he stayed for fourteen seasons.
More uniquely though, Belzer has played Munch across ten different series and at least six networks including shows like “The X-Files,” “The Wire,” “30 Rock,” “Arrested Development,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and multiple “Law and Order” shows.
Belzer said in the past he’s “not upset about being typecast at all” as a sarcastic smart-ass detective because he finds Munch such a “great character” to play.
He is survived by his third wife, actress Harlee McBride, and stepdaughters Jessica and Bree.
