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Richard Belzer died Sunday, February 19, at his dwelling in France. The actor was 78.
Author Invoice Scheft, a longtime pal of Belzer, confirmed the information to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. “He had a number of well being points, and his final phrases have been, ‘F–ok you, motherf–ker,’” Scheft stated.
Belzer began his profession as a stand-up comedian earlier than touchdown roles in movies. He made his debut in The Groove Tube (1974) earlier than scoring small components in lots of iconic films, together with Fame (1980) and Scarface (1983).
His most well-known position, nonetheless, was as Detective John Munch. He originated the position on Murder: Life on the Road in 1993 and appeared in 119 episodes of the collection till it led to 1999. Belzer then performed Munch on Legislation & Order: Particular Victims Unit from 1999 to 2016, showing in 242 episodes of the NBC drama. His character additionally made appearances on The X-Recordsdata, The Wire and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Legislation & Order creator Dick Wolf paid his respects to Belzer in a press release on Sunday. “Richard Belzer’s Detective John Munch is one in every of tv’s iconic characters,” Wolf informed Selection. “I first labored with Richard on the ‘Legislation & Order’/’Murder’ crossover and beloved the character a lot, I informed Tom [Fontana] that I needed to make him one of many unique characters on ‘SVU.’ The remainder is historical past. Richard introduced humor and pleasure into all our lives, was the consummate skilled and we'll all miss him very a lot.”
NBC and Common Tv additionally launched a press release shortly after Belzer’s passing made headlines. “Anybody who ever had the pleasure of watching Richard Belzer painting Det. John Munch — whether or not on Murder or Legislation & Order: SVU — over 4 many years will always remember how a lot he inhabited that beloved character to make it his personal,” the community stated. “His professionalism, skills and dedication to the craft made him a pillar within the business, however it was his humor, compassion and loving coronary heart that made him household. Our condolences exit to his family members as we be part of them in mourning his loss, but additionally in celebrating his reminiscence.”
Along with his stand-up and appearing careers, the Connecticut native was an creator. He revealed Tips on how to Be a Stand-Up Comedian in 1988 in addition to 2000’s UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Should Be Loopy to Consider, one in every of a number of conspiracy books he authored. He additionally penned 2008’s I Am Not a Cop!: A Novel, which tells the fictional story of an actor — who occurs to be named Richard Belzer — who performs a TV cop — who occurs to be named Munch — and investigates a ugly homicide.
Belzer was married to Gail Susan Ross from 1966 to 1972 after which was wed to Dalia Danoch from 1976 to 1978. He met Harlee McBride, a Playboy mannequin, in 1983. They married in 1985, making Belzer stepfather to McBride’s daughters from a earlier marriage, Jessica and Bree Benton. Belzer is survived by his spouse and stepdaughters.
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Scroll right down to see how the celebs reacted to Belzer’s passing:
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