Comedy World, ‘SVU’ Actors Remember Richard Belzer: ‘One of the Greats’

Daniel Kreps
·6 min read
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Generation Obama's "Stand Up For A Change" - Credit: WireImage
Generation Obama's "Stand Up For A Change" - Credit: WireImage

The comedy world and Law & Order: SVU veterans both turned to social media Sunday to pay tribute to Richard Belzer, the legendary comedian-turned-beloved television detective who starred as John Munch for over 20 years.

Marisky Hargitay wrote on Instagram, “Goodbye my dear, dear friend. I will miss you, your unique light, and your singular take on this strange world. I feel blessed to have known you and adored you and worked with you, side by side, for so many years. How luck the angels are to have you. I can hear them laughing already.

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“Richard Belzer’s Detective John Munch is one of television’s iconic characters,” Law & Order and SVU creator Dick Wolf said in a statement to Variety. “I first worked with Richard on the ‘Law & Order’/’Homicide’ crossover and loved the character so much, I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on ‘SVU.’ The rest is history. Richard brought humor and joy into all our lives, was the consummate professional and we will all miss him very much.”

Saturday Night Live actress Laraine Newman was the first to break the news of Belzer’s death at the age of 78, tweeting Sunday, “I’m so sad to hear of Richard Belzer’s passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest.” (Belzer served as warm-up comedian for SNL‘s early season tapings.)

Billy Crystal added, “Richard Belzer was simply hilarious. A genius at handling a crowd. So sad he’s passed away.”

Belzer’s SVU co-star Chris Meloni tweeted:

“Richard Belzer was the first actor to welcome me when I started at SVU,” showrunner Warren Leight tweeted Sunday. “Open, warm, acerbic, whip smart, surprisingly kind. I loved writing for Munch, and I loved being with Belz. We sensed this would be his parting scene. Godspeed Belz…”

“Missing Richard Belzer today,” SVU executive producer Julie Martin tweeted. “Working with him on Homicide to SVU has been a hilarious, surprising and always joyful experience. I’m sure he’s giving ’em all a lot of laughs upstairs.”

Belzer died Sunday at his home in southwest France. According to his longtime friend Bill Scheft, his last words were “Fuck you, motherfucker.”

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