Richard Belzer, stand-up comic and TV detective, dies at 78 Richard Belzer was the first actor to welcome me when I started at SVU,” executive producer Warren Leight tweeted on Sunday.
Richard Belzer, best known for playing John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU, has died at the age of 78.
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.
For more than two decades and across 10 series — even including appearances on 30 Rock and Arrested Development
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.