American comedian Richard Belzer, best known for playing John Munch in Homicide And New York, special unitdied on Sunday February 19, at the age of 78, at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in the south of France, announced his longtime friend Bill Scheft. The latter, a writer who was working on a documentary about Richard Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but the comedian had had circulatory and respiratory problems. Actor Henry Winkler, cousin of Richard Belzer, tweeted : “Rest in Peace Richard”.
For more than two decades and across ten series – including appearances in 30Rock And Arrested Development – Richard Belzer played the role of a wise and acerbic homicide detective prone to conspiracy theories. He played the role of Munch for the first time in an episode of Homicide in 1993, and played him for the last time in 2016 in New York, special unit.
In reality, Richard Belzer never auditioned for the role. After hearing him on “The Howard Stern Show,” executive producer Barry Levinson brought in the comedian to read the part. “I will never be a detective. But if I was, that’s how I would beBelzer once said. They address all my anti-establishment paranoia and dissent, and my conspiracy theories. So it was really fun for me. A dream, really. »
From this unlikely start, Belzer’s Munch, sporting his sunglasses on the small screen for more than two decades, would go on to become one of television’s longest-lived characters. In 2008, Belzer published the novel I Am Not a Cop! (“I’m not a cop!”) with Michael Ian Black. He has also participated in the writing of several conspiracy theory books, on topics such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
A childhood marked by violence
Born in Bridgeport, Conn., Belzer says he was drawn to comedy during his violent childhood; he and his older brother, Len, were beaten by their mother. He did impersonations of his childhood idol, Jerry Lewis. “My kitchen is the hardest room I’ve ever worked in”Richard Belzer told the magazine People in 1993.
After being fired from Dean Junior College, Massachusetts, Richard Belzer embarked on a series of stand-up comedy in New York City in 1972. He became a regular performer and emcee of Catch a Rising Star, a chain of comedy clubs. He makes his big screen debut in the film. The Groove Tubeby Ken Shapiro, in 1974, a satire of television, with Chevy Chase, a film inspired by the comedy group Channel One, of which Belzer belonged.
Before “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) changed the New York comedy scene, Belzer performed with John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray and others on the National Lampoon Radio Hour. In 1975, he became the room manager of the brand new “SNL”, then, gradually, one of the best “stand-uppers” of the time. He was best known for his biting, cynical attitude and his witty, sometimes combative, contact with the public.
“My style evolved from dealing with drunk people at noon, one o’clock, two o’clock in the morning and trying to be like an alchemist, to draw inspiration from the of their lives to turn it into golden jokes”Belzer told Terry Gross on the “Fresh Air” show.
Richard Belzer would later write an irreverent book, titled How to Be a Stand-Up Comic (“How to Be a Stand-Up Comedian”), in which he gives advice on such topics as how to apologize to Frank Sinatra when you laughed at him on stage or how to deal with hecklers . One of his favorite lines was: “I have a microphone. You have a beer. God has a plan, and you’re not part of it. »
Richard Belzer has often played the role of a stand-up comedian in the cinema, notably in Famousduring the 1980s, and scarfacein 1983. He held small roles here and there, notably in night-shiftin 1982, and Fletch Livesin 1989.