Actor, comedian and author Richard Belzer, who was known for portraying a cynical detective on the long-running “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” TV series, has died, it was reported Sunday.
Belzer, 78, died early Sunday at his home in the southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter.
“He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, ‘Fuck you, motherfucker,’” Scheft said.
Fellow actress and comedian Laraine Newman, who worked with Belzer at NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” when he was a comic and she was an original cast member, was among the first to react to the news of Belzer’s death.
“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,” she tweeted Sunday.
Evan Agostini/Invision via Associated Press
Belzer was best known professionally for his portrayal of Detective John Munch in more than 300 episodes of the NBC “Law & Order” drama. He also portrayed Munch in the 1990s police drama “Homicide: Life in the Street,” which was based in Baltimore.
He left “Law & Order: SVU” as a series regular in 2013.
Warren Leight, who worked as a showrunner on “Law & Order: SVU,” called Belzer “open, warm, acerbic, whip smart, surprisingly kind,” while reacting to news of his death.
“I loved writing for Munch, and I loved being with Belz. We sensed this would be his parting scene,” he posted on Twitter while sharing a video clip of Belzer’s final appearance on the show.
Though Belzer’s character had occasional mentions on the show after his departure, he hadn’t been brought up in a while until an unexpected revelation last week. Munch’s former partner, Odafin “Fin” Tutuola — who is played by Ice-T — said Munch had moved “back to Baltimore.”
“He retired. I guess he just ran out of gas,” Fin said. “Met a divorced female rabbi. And he bought back his old cop bar. It’s 1:30 a.m. He’s probably cracking a joke to some barfly. That skinny bastard had a punchline for every second of the day.”
Belzer also wrote several books, including a crime fiction series and a book on conspiracy theories titled “UFOs, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.