Actor And Comedian Richard Belzer Dead at 78

Richard Belzer, acclaimed comedian and long-time actor in NBC’s long running Law and Order franchise, has died at 78.

via: Forbes

Richard Belzer, who began his career as a comedian and morphed into his iconic role of police detective John Munch first in Homicide: Life on the Street and then in Law & Order: SVU, among other TV dramas, died today. He was 78. There are no specifics at press time on the cause of his death.

“I’m so sad to hear of Richard Belzer’s passing,” tweeted original Saturday Night Live cast member Laraine Newman. “I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. 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.”

Born August 4, 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Richard Belzer began his career as a stand-up comedian in various clubs in New York City. He participated in the Channel One comedy group that satirized television and became the basis for the cult 1974 movie The Groove Tube, which he appeared in, and he was the audience warm-up comedian in the early seasons of Saturday Night Live. He made three appearances on the late night variety show.

His last appearance as John Munch was in a guest shot on Law & Order: SVU in 2016.

RIP

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