Richard Belzer, a stand-up comedian best known for portraying the tough and versatile Jewish cop Det. John Munch had an everlasting impression on television. He passed away at the age of 78.
Actor Belzer died suddenly early on Sunday at his house in Bozouls, southwest France, according to writer Bill Scheft, a close friend of the actor. He was really ill, and his last words were, “Fuck you, motherfucker,” according to Scheft.
Also Read: Who was Richard Belzer? Law & Order SVU actor dies at 78
Belzer was one of the most renowned stand-up comedians in the New York comedy scene in the 1970s and 1980s, decades before using his investigative abilities in primetime. In fact, during the initial seasons of Saturday Night Live, he even performed as the warm-up comic at some events.
With the comedy The Groove Tube, Belzer made his acting debut in 1974. The character played by Belzer, John Munch, had his television debut in 1993 on the premiere of Homicide and made his final appearance in 2016 on Law & Order: SVU. Between those two NBC dramas, Belzer appeared in eight more shows as the detective.
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Was Richard Belzer a conspiracy theorist?
Much like his character, John Munch, Richard Belzer was a fervent conspiracy believer in real life. He produced a boatload of writing on the subject, occasionally straying into Alex Jones’ domain. His works include Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Hit List: An In-Depth Study into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination, and UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to be Crazy to Believe.
In 2013, Belzer, who had been residing in the South of France, also warned that the United States was on the verge of turning into a “fascist state.”
Richard Belzer is now survived by his wife Harlee McBride and two stepdaughters, Jessica Erin Benton and Shannon Bree Benton.
