Richard Belzer, Law & Order SVU star, dies at 78

Richard Belzer, the 78-year-old actor, and comedian best known for playing John Munch in the series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, passed away on Sunday.

Bill Scheft, former Late Show with David Letterman writer and one of the artist's best friends, told The Hollywood Reporter that Belzer died at his home in Bozouls, in the south of France in the early hours of the morning.

Although the exact reason for the actor's death is not known, Scheft explained that his friend had been already suffering from "a lot of health problems." He said that the artist was under medical supervision due to his condition, which has been getting worse.

Reactions

Many friends and colleagues of the actor decided to take to social media to express their grief over Belzer's passing and also offer their condolences to his family.

Comedian Laraine Newman, who was his partner on Saturday Night Live, posted on Twitter that she fondly remembers the time she spent with Belzer while they were part of the show.

"I'm so sad to hear of Richard Belzer's passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. 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 said.

Writer and executive producer, Julie Martin, also recalled the times she worked with the late actor.

Summary of the actor's life

Richard Belzer was born in August 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut into a working-class Jewish family. From a young age, the artist aspired to grow as a comedian and began performing stand-ups.

Later, the actor was cast in movies such as The Groove Tube, Scarface, Fame, and Café Flesh. However, it wasn't until 1993 that he achieved major success with his character of John Munch on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, a role he continued within Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

He appeared in several television shows and in 1997, Belzer made his famous HBO comedy special, Another Lone Nut, which was inspired by his diagnosis of testicular cancer in 1982.