 Richard Belzer reprises his acerbic character Detective John Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, having portrayed the character on a record total of five different dramas including its genesis on NBCs acclaimed drama series Homicide: Life on the Street. Following Homicides seven-year run in 1999, Belzers character transferred from Baltimore to New York to join the crime unit on the new Law & Order: SVU.
This is one conspiracy in which I was a willing participant, says Belzer, a renowned conspiracy theorist. In fact, Belzer has played Munch on Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Homicide, The X-Files, and The Beat.
The veteran standup comic, actor, talk-show host and author was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Due to his uncontrollable wit, Belzer was politely asked to leave every school he ever attended.
Belzer began his career in show business with a starring role in Groove Tube, the counterculture film that went on to become a cult classic. Since then, his comedic talents have been featured in every entertainment medium from off-Broadway (The National Lampoon Show with Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and John Belushi) to radio (Brink and Belzer on WNBC) to film (Fame, Author, Author, Night Shift and Scarface).
Belzer also appeared as himself in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon. His other film credits include Species II, Get on the Bus, Girl 6, A Very Brady Sequel, North, The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Big Picture. Additionally, Belzer starred in his own HBO comedy special, Another Lone Nut, and released a comedy CD of the same title. He hosted the network primetime special, When Cars Attack, starred in the six-part Showtime comedy series The Richard Belzer Show, hosted the live Lifetime talk show, Hot Properties, and Court TVs Crime Stories.
In 2001, Belzer was honored by the New York Friars Club and the Toyota Comedy Festival as the recipient of the first roast that was open to the public. Comedians and friends on the dais included Roastmaster Paul Shaffer, Christopher Walken, Danny Aiello, Barry Levinson, Robert Klein, Bill Maher, series co-stars Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, and Dann Florek, and Law & Orders Jerry Orbach.
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