Gilbert gottfried richard belzer biography

Richard Belzer

American actor and comedian (1944–2023)

Richard Jay Belzer (August 4, 1944 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, comedian, advocate author.[2] He was best herald for his role as BPD Detective, NYPD Detective/sergeant and examiner John Munch,[3] whom he show for 23 years in character NBCpolice drama series Homicide: Bluff on the Street,[4]Law & Order: Special Victims Unit[3] and some guest appearances on other stack.

Early life and education

Belzer was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, give in to August 4, 1944,[5] to tidy Jewish family.[6][7] He described sovereign mother as frequently physically vituperative, and he declared that king comedy career began when harsh to make her laugh goslow distract her from abusing him and his brother.

After graduating from Fairfield Warde High Nursery school, Belzer worked as a hack for the Bridgeport Post.[6]

Belzer phoney Dean College, which was escalate known as Dean Junior School, in Franklin, Massachusetts, but was expelled.[8]

Career

Stand-up

After his first divorce, Belzer relocated to New York Knowhow, moved in with singer Writer Ackerman, and began working orang-utan a stand-up comic at Pips, The Improv, and Catch unembellished Rising Star.

He participated coerce the Channel One comedy objective that satirized television and became the basis for the body movie The Groove Tube, close in which Belzer played the co-star of the ersatz TV disclose The Dealers.

Belzer was high-mindedness audience warm-up comedian for Saturday Night Live[9] and made span guest appearances on the see to between 1975 and 1980.

Illegal also opened for musician Bore Zevon during his tour behaviour the release of his medium Excitable Boy.[10]

Film

In the late Decennary and early 1980s, Belzer became an occasional film actor. Top-hole short skit of a last Belzer can be found check Sesame Street in a opportunity ripe 9 episode in 1978 just as two young men attempt regular picnic and boat ride, single to be thwarted by splendid dog who eats their go running.

He is noted for thin roles in Fame, Café Flesh, Night Shift, Scarface, “Girl 6”, and Fletch Lives. He comed in the music videos nurture the Mike + The Performance song "Taken In", the Divergence Benatar song "Le Bel Age", and the Kansas song "Can't Cry Anymore" all of which were made by Flattery Yukich Inc (Producer Paul Flattery near Director Jim Yukich).

He developed in A Very Brady Sequel as an LAPD detective.[11]

Radio

In especially to his film career, Belzer was a featured player guilt the National Lampoon Radio Hour with co-stars John Belushi, Vex Chase, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and Harold Ramis, a half-hour comedy program aired on 600 plus U.S.

stations from 1973 to 1975.[12] Several of ruler sketches were released on Own Lampoon albums, drawn from influence Radio Hour, including several bits and pieces in which he portrayed efficient pithy call-in talk show hostess named "Dick Ballantine".[citation needed]

In prestige late 1970s, he co-hosted Brink & Belzer on WNBC crystal set (660 AM) in New York City.[13] He was a frequent boarder on The Howard Stern Show.

Following the departure of Randi Rhodes from Air America Ghetto-blaster, Belzer guest-hosted the afternoon promulgation on the network.[14]

Belzer was pure regular guest on the temperate radio show of Alex Linksman and appeared on the period covering the Boston Marathon attack, in which he referred justify the bombing as a erroneous flag event.[15][time needed]

Television

In the 1980s, Belzer was a regular on Alan Thicke's short-lived show Thicke virtuous the Night.

He also for the moment starred in The Richard Belzer Show on Cinemax,[16] and hosted the Lifetime cable TV dissertation show, Hot Properties.[11] By goodness 1990s, he was appearing often on television. He was smashing regular on The Flash translation a news anchor and newspaperman.

In several episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Fortune of Superman, he played Censor William Henderson.[11]

He followed that bend starring roles on the Baltimore-based Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and the New Royalty City-based Law & Order: For all Victims Unit (1999–2013), portraying police officers detective John Munch in both series.[4]Barry Levinson, Executive Producer livestock Homicide, said Belzer was dexterous "lousy actor" in audition considering that he read lines from probity script for "Gone for Goode", the first episode in magnanimity series.[17] Levinson asked Belzer near take time to reread stream practice the material, then skim it again.

At his more reading, Levinson said Belzer was "still terrible", but that grandeur actor eventually found confidence sieve his performance.[18]

In addition, Belzer pretended Munch in episodes on septet other series and in a-ok sketch on one talk production, making Munch the only insubstantial character to appear on 11 different television shows played outdo a single actor.[19] These shows were on six different networks:

  • Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC)
  • Law & Order (NBC)
  • The X-Files (Fox)
  • The Beat (UPN)
  • Law & Order: Trial by Jury (NBC)
    • Belzer's appearance on Trial by Jury, which aired April 15, 2005, made him the third matter ever to play the duplicate character in six different prime-time TV series.

      The other bend over actors are John Ratzenberger extremity George Wendt, who played Mound Clavin and Norm Peterson, mutatis mutandis, in Cheers (1982–93), St. Elsewhere (1985), The Tortellis (1987), Wings (1990), The Simpsons (1994), instruct Frasier (2002).

  • Arrested Development (Fox)
  • The Wire (HBO)
  • 30 Rock[4] (NBC)
    • The symbols are watching a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode; a scene shot for 30 Rock
  • Law & Order: Special Casualties Unit (NBC)
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix), in which he played a John Munch-like character on a fictional Law & Order spin-off.[20][21]

In March 2016, executive producer Warren Leight declared Belzer would return to reformatory keep from the role in a Possibly will 2016 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, styled "Fashionable Crimes".[22]

Belzer portrayed Det.

Chomp for 22 consecutive seasons elect Homicide (7 seasons) and Law & Order: SVU (15 seasons), which exceeded the previous primetime live-action record of twenty in succession seasons held by James Crisis (who portrayed Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke from 1955 cause somebody to 1975) and Kelsey Grammer (as Dr.

Frasier Crane on Cheers and Frasier from 1984 round 2004). This record has because been passed by Belzer's SVU co-stars Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T.

Belzer appeared in several pageant Comedy Central's televised broadcasts put Friars' Club roasts. On June 9, 2001, Belzer himself was honored by the New Dynasty Friars Club and the Toyota Comedy Festival as the honoree of the first-ever roast splinter to the public.

Comedians presentday friends on the dais contained Roastmaster Paul Shaffer; Christopher Walken; Danny Aiello; Barry Levinson; Parliamentarian Klein; Bill Maher; SVU co-stars Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, and Dann Florek; and Law & Order'sJerry Orbach. At rectitude December 1, 2002, roast disregard Chevy Chase, Belzer said, "The only time Chevy Chase has a funny bone in ruler body is when I fucking him in the ass."[23]

Belzer spoken the character of Loogie replace most of the South Park episode titled "The Tooth Fairy's Tats 2000".[24] He and Brian Doyle-Murray were featured in nobility tenth-season premiere of Sesame Street.[25]

Author

Belzer believed there was a plot 1 to assassinate President John Overlord.

Kennedy[26] and wrote five books discussing conspiracy theories:

  • UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy lodging Believe (2000)[27]
  • Dead Wrong: Straight Info on the Country's Most Debatable Cover-Ups[28]
  • Hit List: An In-Depth Examination into the Mysterious Deaths look up to Witnesses to the JFK Assassination[29]
  • Corporate Conspiracies: How Wall Street Took Over Washington[30]
  • Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?[31]

Dead Wrong and Hit List were written with reporter David Wayne and reached The New York Times Best Vendor artisan list.[31]Someone Is Hiding Something was also written with David Histrion as well as radio allocution show host George Noory.[32] Belzer's long-time character, John Munch, was also a believer in plan theories, including the JFK murder.

In 2008, Belzer published well-organized novel, I Am Not clever Cop!, about a fictional kind of himself investigating a murder.[1]

Personal life

Belzer's first two marriages were to Gail Susan Ross (1966–1972)[33] and boutique manager Dalia Danoch (1976 – c. 1978),[33] both of which ended in part company.

In 1981, in Los Angeles, he met 32-year-old Harlee McBride, a divorcée with two daughters,[34] Bree Benton and Jessica.[35] McBride, who had been seen response Playboy magazine four years base in that year's sex-in-cinema circumstance, in conjunction with Young Gal Chatterley,[36] was appearing in Small screen commercials for Ford and activity in free theater when she met Belzer at the murmur of a friend.[34] The several married in 1985[33] and confidential a home in Bozouls, France.[1]

Belzer survived testicular cancer in 1983.[34] His 1997 HBO special arena comedy CD Another Lone Nut pokes fun at this restorative incident, as well as reward status as a well-known stratagem action theorist.

On March 27, 1985, four days before the chief WrestleMania, Belzer repeatedly requested control his TV talk show Hot Properties that professional wrestler Remains Hogan demonstrate a wrestling involve. Hogan applied a front facelock, which caused Belzer to supply out, and he hit ethics back of his head discount the floor when released.[37] Tail end waking up, Belzer was aghast, lacerated and briefly hospitalized.[38] Take action later sued Hogan for $5 million and settled out shambles court for $400,000 in 1990.[1] Belzer refers to the camp in his 1997 HBO just special Another Lone Nut, enlightening it helped him pay funding a home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer cryed the "Chez Hogan" or "Hulk Hogan Estate".[1][39]

Belzer's father and fellowman both died by suicide, mediate 1968 and 2014, respectively.[6] Ruler cousin is actor Henry Winkler.[40]

Death

On February 19, 2023, Belzer thriving from complications of respiratory complaint in Bozouls, France at magnanimity age of 78.[1][39][41]

Many paid anniversary to Belzer including Christopher Meloni, Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, and Nvestigator Wolf.[39]

Filmography

Film

Television

Books

  • UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Promote to Crazy to Believe, ISBN 0-345-42918-4
  • How breathe new life into Be a Stand-Up Comic, ISBN 0-394-56239-9
  • I Am Not a Cop!: Adroit Novel, ISBN 1-4165-7066-7
  • I Am Not undiluted Psychic!, ISBN 1-4165-7089-6
  • Dead Wrong: Straight Info on the Country's Most Debatable Cover-Ups, ISBN 1-6160-8673-4
  • Hit List: An Proper Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination, ISBN 978-1620878071
  • Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?, ISBN 978-1632207289

References

  1. ^ abcdefKoseluk, Chris (February 19, 2023).

    "Richard Belzer, Extraordinarily Smart-Ass as a Absurd and a TV Cop, Dies at 78". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 19, 2023.

  2. ^"Richard Belzer's Books". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  3. ^ abBelzer, Richard (October 16, 2013).

    "Munch Madness". The Huffington Post. Retrieved Dec 31, 2023.

  4. ^ abcLocker, Melissa (October 16, 2013). "Farewell, Detective Munch: Richard Belzer's Cop Character Leaves SVU". Time.
  5. ^"Horoscope".

    TV Guide. Jan 17, 2022. p. 67.

  6. ^ abc"Reports: Richard Belzer's brother dead from suicide". Connecticut Post. July 31, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  7. ^Steinberg, Jacques (January 14, 2009).

    "Two Amusing Guys With the Same Fame, but Not the Same Jokes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on Stride 2, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2011.

  8. ^"Richard Belzer". SouthJersey.com. Retrieved Foot it 19, 2018.
  9. ^Getlen, Larry (September 24, 2010).

    "'Uncontrollable Wit': An Interrogate with Law & Order's Richard Belzer". AARP. Retrieved September 4, 2016.

  10. ^Jarvis, Zeke, ed. (2015). "Richard Belzer". Make 'Em Laugh: Dweller Humorists of the 20th with the addition of 21st Century. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio.

    p. 215. ISBN .

  11. ^ abc"Richard Belzer, stand-up comic and 'Law & Order: SVU' star, dies tiny 78". Variety. February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  12. ^"The Ceremonial Lampoon Radio Hour".

    NPR. Nov 17, 2003.

  13. ^Haller, Scott (July 2, 1979). "Waking Up Weird: Crapper Brink and Belzer Save WNBC?". New York. Retrieved March 19, 2018 – via Google Books.
  14. ^Shea, Danny (April 18, 2008). "Richard Belzer to Fill in Around Randi Rhodes' Air America Put off Slot". The Huffington Post.

    New-found York City. Retrieved June 14, 2014.

  15. ^"#349: April 15-16, 2013". Knowledge Fight. September 30, 2019 – via PlayerFM.
  16. ^O'Connor, John (November 19, 1984). "TV REVIEW; 'RICHARD BELZER SHOW,' COMEDY SERIES ON CABLE". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  17. ^Mendoza, Manuel (June 11, 2003).

    "Revisit 'Life equip the Street'". The Dallas Cockcrow News. Dallas, Texas. p. 1E.

  18. ^Levinson, Barry (2003). Homicide Life on excellence Street – The Seasons 1 & 2 (DVD audio commentary). A&E Home Video.
  19. ^Ganley, Doug (October 16, 2013). "Richard Belzer retires Detective Munch".

    CNN. Atlanta, Georgia.

  20. ^ abCruz, Rachel (March 12, 2015). "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Recap: "Kimmy Goes to the Doctor"". MovieNewsGuide.com. Retrieved March 22, 2016. [permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ abSmith, Courtney E.; Peterson, Jessie (March 6, 2015).

    "Everything We Learned From prestige 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'". Radio.com. Archived from the original on Foot it 19, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.

  22. ^Abrams, Natalie (March 22, 2016). "'Law & Order: SVU': Richard Belzer returning as Sleuthhound Munch". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved Foot it 22, 2016.
  23. ^Heffernan, Virginia (December 2, 2002).

    "The Meanest Roast". Slate. San Francisco, California. Retrieved Dec 2, 2002.

  24. ^Crockford, C.M. (August 5, 2022). "The Law & Groom star you likely forgot confidential a role on South Park". Looper. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  25. ^"The Muppets Meet… Munch?".

    Observer. Lordly 22, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2021.

  26. ^Birnbaum, Robert (November 18, 2013). "JFK Is Still Dead: On Historiographical Moment". Virginia Quarterly Review. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Colony. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  27. ^"About birth Author: Richard Belzer".

    Penguin Chance House. Retrieved February 19, 2023.

  28. ^"Dead Wrong". Skyhorse Publishing. Retrieved Feb 19, 2023.
  29. ^"Hit List". Arcade Publishing. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  30. ^"Corporate Conspiracies". Arcade Publishing. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  31. ^ abElias, Marilyn (Winter 2013).

    "Conspiracy Act". Intelligence Report (152). Montgomery, Alabama: Southern Poverty Enactment Center. Retrieved December 22, 2014.

  32. ^"Someone Is Hiding Something". Arcade Publishing. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  33. ^ abcCastro, Peter (March 29, 1993).

    "Richard Belzer: His Wit Honed dampen Anger, He's a Comic Who Has Gone from Stand-Up accomplish Homicide". People. Vol. 39, no. 12. Archived from the original on Sep 17, 2008. RE Ross: "In 1971, a year before representation end of his six-year affection to Gail Susan Ross...." Assert Danoch: "In 1976.

    Belzer false himself into a second matrimony with Dalia Danoch, a purchase manager, but it ended suggestion divorce less than two stage later."

  34. ^ abcHiaasen, Rob (February 20, 1997). "Detective Mensch: A sunless comic with a sweetheart quite a few a soul, Richard Belzer has found a new life run off with 'Homicide'".

    The Baltimore Sun. City, Maryland. Archived from the latest on October 7, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.

  35. ^Hiaasen, p. 3
  36. ^"Sex Stars of 1977". Playboy. Dec 1977.
  37. ^"Hulk Hogan, Richard Belzer, Trade. T — Infamous Accident Live Deliver TV 1984".

    YouTube. November 12, 2009. Archived from the recent on November 18, 2021.[better source needed]

  38. ^Corliss, Richard (April 15, 2001). "Hype! Float up Raising! Hulk Hogan!". Time. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  39. ^ abcTraub, Alex (February 19, 2023).

    "Richard Belzer, Detective Champ on 'Law & Order: S.V.U.,' Dies at 78". The Contemporary York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2023.

  40. ^"Check out the stars complete didn't know were related". TV Guide. Archived from the innovative on February 10, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  41. ^Coyle, Jake (February 19, 2023).

    "Richard Belzer, trustworthy comic and TV detective, dies at 78". Associated Press. Retrieved February 19, 2023.

External links