Comedian and actor Richard Belzer died aged 78 on Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southwest France. His cause of death has not been specified. He started his career as a comedian and slowly moved to the iconic role of police detective John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street.

There was a brief moment on television when he hosted Hot Properties, where his guests included Hulk Hogan and Mr. T who was there to promote WrestleMania.

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In 1985, Vince McMahon put all his resources into arranging one Supercard by the name of WrestleMania and Hulk Hogan, his biggest star at that time. The main event featured Hulk Hogan pairing up with Mr. T against the villainous duo of Roddy Piper and Paul Orndoff.

McMahon didn’t see him as a genius inside the ring, but he had star power, which was enough for him. Hogan and T carried the duty of marketing the mega event. A particularly gruesome incident led to Hogan being sued for five million dollars during the lead-up to WrestleMania.

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On March 27, 1985, just a few days before the show, Hogan and T had an appearance booked on the Hot Properties show hosted by comedian Richard Belzer. The interview began well and Belzer directed most of his questions at Hogan. He was in character throughout the interview.

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The conversation was light-hearted until Belzer insisted Hogan try a wrestling move on him. While he was first denied by T, Hogan eventually granted Belzer’s wish. He then wrapped his pythons around his neck putting him in a front chin lock. Although Belzer was cautioned by Hogan before he was put into the lock.

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Hogan applied a little pressure while talking to the crowd and Belzer was out cold with his body hanging loose while still being cinched in. To make the scene worse, Hogan let go and Belzer’s back head bounced off the floor.

Following the impact, Mr. T said “he’s alright, he’s just sleeping!”. Hogan lightly smacked the discombobulated host on his cheeks and woke him up. Hogan supported him back on his feet, and Belzer quickly got back into his character and cut to a commercial break.

Fans gasped in shock when they saw Belzer’s back head bleeding profusely. The next week, Belzer filed a lawsuit against Hogan on grounds of personal injury. He also said in the follow-up episode of the talk show that he had to get several stitches due to the severity of the injury.

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Hogan was reportedly slapped with a $5 million lawsuit. The case was taken to the New York Supreme Court though Belzer and Hogan settled outside the court. After the settlement, Belzer used the money to buy a farmhouse in France naming it Chez Hogan.