Detective John Munch played by the actor made his first appearance in 1993
American actor Richard Belzer, the beloved comedian who began as an edgy American TV performer before finding further notoriety in the role of cynical but resolute detective John Munch in the TV series “Homicide” (1993-1999) and “Law & Order – Special Victims Unit” (1999-2016), died today at the age of 78 at his home in Bozouls, in southwestern France. The announcement of the disappearance was given to “The Hollywood Reporter” by writer Bill Scheft, a longtime friend of the actor. “He had a lot of health problems and his last words were: ‘Fuck you son of a bitch,'” said Scheft.
Belzer had made his film debut in the hilarious “The Groove Tube” (1974) and had warmed up audiences in the early days of “Saturday Night Live” with his comedic performances. Thanks to the visibility achieved on television, he was hired for small parts in some successful films including “They will be famous” (1980) and “Scarface” (1983).
Detective John Munch played by Belzer made his first appearance in 1993 in the first episode of “Homicide” and his last in 2016 in “Law & Order – Special Victims Unit”. Between these two NBC dramas, Belzer played the detective in eight other series,
Surely one of the most memorable cops in television history, Munch – based on a real-life Baltimore detective – was an extremely intelligent, doggedly diligent detective who believed in conspiracy theories, distrusted the establishment, and pursued justice with a detached eye. He often resorted to dry, acerbic quips to get his point across: “I’m a homicide detective. The only time I ask myself why is when they tell me the truth,” was a typical Munch retort.
Source-www.adnkronos.com