Actor Richard Belzer (‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’) has died at the age of 78

American actor and comedian Richard Belzer died on the morning of February 19 at the age of 78. According to a statement from close friend Bill Scheft to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor died at home in Bozouls, France after taking long time with numerous health problems.

The actor got his start as a comedian on ‘Saturday Night Lives,’ where he shared moments with Laraine Newman, according to Deadline, one of the first people in reacting to his death: “I’m so sad to hear that Richard Belzer has passed away”wrote on Sunday: “I loved this guy so much. He was one of the first friends I made when I came to New York to do ‘SNL.'”.

He has participated in numerous films and series such as ‘The X Files’ or ‘Scarface’, but if he had a decisive role in his career it was to Detective John Munch in “Homicide” and later in “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit”. Dick Wolf, creator and producer of ‘Law and order’ also joined in the displays of affection for the actor: “Detective John Munch played by Richard Belzer is one of the most iconic characters on television”adding that: “I first worked with Richard on the crossover ‘Law & Order’ and ‘Homicide’ and I loved the character and I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted him to be one of the main characters on ‘SVU.’ The rest is history. Richard brought humor and happiness into our lives, he was a consummate professional and will be terribly missed.”.

NBC and Universal Television, the home of ‘Law and Order,’ joined in the expressions of affection, praising the actor’s work: “Anyone who has had the honor of seeing Richard Belzer’s portrayal of Detective John Munch — in both ‘Homicide’ and ‘SVU’ — over those four decades will never forget how long it took his beloved character to do so. . . professionalism, his skills and his dedication to the trade have made him a fundamental pillar in the sectorBut it was his humor, compassion and kind heart that made him one of the family. Our condolences go out to their loved ones, with whom we join in mourning their loss, but also in celebrating their memory.”.

detective life

Belzer left an important mark in the history of ‘Law & Order’ after playing for 20 seasons Detective John Munch, out of “Homicide.” He not only took a great deal of memory and affection from the character, but seemingly many years in the role of detective the investigative streak awakened him which then exploded in his books, among which stand out ‘Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination’, ‘UFOS’ or ‘Corporate Conspiracies: How Wall Street Took Over Washington’.