Richard Belzer, Star of Law & Order, Dies at Age 78
The acting world is in mourning following the death of legendary Law & Order detective John Munch. Richard Belzer, who donned the costume of one of television’s most revered investigators, died this past Sunday at the age of 78.
As reported on MARCA, the American actor lived in Bozouls, in the south of France, and it was his cousin Henry Winkler, who reported the sad event.
“Rest in peace Richard,” tweeted Belzer’s cousin and also actor, known for his roles in Happy Days or Barry.
As The Hollywood Reporter reported, Belzer never showed up at the casting for his role as Munch in Law & Order, but it was Barry Levinson who, after hearing him on The Howard Stern Show, asked him to come to the studios to read the script of the series. After doing so, the interpreter born in Bridgeport (Connecticut) joined the cast of the famous fiction.
The Eternal John Munch
Belzer stepped into John Munch’s shoes for the first time in 1993, when he signed on for Homicide: Life on the Street, in which he played for 122 episodes until 1999. Following that he would return to the cast of Law & Order, which he joined in 1996 and stayed until the 2000s.
However, it was in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, that Belzer would reach the zenith of his fame, and his interpretation of Munch lasted for no less than 17 years and 325 chapters.
He was known for the conspiracy theories he firmly believed in and stood out in 2008 for his support of Barack Obama’s candidacy during the presidential elections, in which the Democrat became the first black U.S. president.
