The lifespan of a television series is typically six to seven seasons, on average. When a series ends, the characters go away as well. Unless the name is John Munch. That character appeared in all seven seasons of the Baltimore-based crime drama Homicide: Life on The Streets and 15 seasons of the New York City-based crime drama Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
Comedian Richard Belzer, who died last week at the age of 78, played the iconic character of John Munch, moving seamlessly between the two series. Belzer died at his home in France that he and his wife, Harlee McBride of Young Lady Chatterley fame, jokingly referred to as “Chez Hogan.”
Belzer purchased the home after reaching a settlement with pro wrestler Hulk Hogan following a frightening incident that occurred in 1985 on Belzer’s cable television show Hot Properties. Belzer had Hogan on his show and claimed (rightfully) that pro wrestling was all staged. Hogan took exception to that and convinced the skinny comic to let himself be put in a front chin lock. At one point, Belzer collapsed, passed out, and struck the back of his head on the stage. No one knew if it was real until Belzer got up and a small pool of blood was visible on the stage floor. Belzer sued Hogan for $5 million, but the pair settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, though it was enough so that Belzer could purchase the home in France.
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Aug. 4, 1944, Belzer started doing comedic bits early. He said it was mostly to keep his mother laughing to distract her from the constant physical abuse she inflicted upon him and his brother. After leaving Dean Community College, he moved to New York City to try his hand at a career in stand-up comedy. He performed at classic comedy clubs such as The Improv and Catch A Rising Star. He performed as the warm-up comedian for Saturday Night Live and made several guest appearances on the show between 1975 and 1980.
He also appeared on radio and was a featured player in the National Lampoon Radio Hour, appearing with such greats as John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and Harold Ramis. He co-hosted an AM radio show in New York City with Scotty Brink called Brink and Belzer. Belzer was also a frequent guest on the Howard Stern radio show.
In the early 1990s, Belzer had several minor roles on television before auditioning for the role of John Munch on Homicide in 1993. Executive producer Barry Levinson said Belzer was a “lousy actor.” After telling Belzer to practice and go over the material, he read again. Levinson said he was “still terrible” but gave him the now iconic role. Besides Homicide and Law and Order: SVU, the character of John Munch appeared on six other television series, including Law and Order, Law and Order: Trial By Jury, The X-Files, Arrested Development, The Wire, and the short-lived crime drama The Beat. Belzer held the record for most consecutive seasons as the same character, 22, before getting surpassed by his SVU co-star Mariska Hargitay in her role as Olivia Benson.
Outside of comedy and acting, Belzer was also a well-known conspiracy theorist at a time when it wasn’t considered “dangerous” for people to believe in conspiracy theories. He wrote several books, including UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe, Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination, and Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? He appeared regularly on Alex Jones’s radio show before the host became embroiled in the “false flag” conspiracy theory about the Sandy Hook shooting massacre, resulting in a bankruptcy filing after a judge ordered him to pay $1.5 billion damages for defaming eight families of shooting victims.
Belzer’s only award for his acting came in 2008 when he won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Scene Stealing Star. Still, despite the lack of awards, the quintessential role of John Munch will remain and always be remembered as a fixture in the Law and Order franchise.
Jay Caruso is a writer and editor residing in West Virginia.
