Richard Belzer, the 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' star, passed away "peacefully" at 78

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor, comedian, and author Richard Belzer has passed away at 78. Bill Scheft, a former writer for The Late Show with David Letterman, confirmed the death to PEOPLE. According to Scheft, "His last words were, 'F--- you, motherf---er.'" In addition, Belzer died "peacefully with family at his side" at his house in Bozouls, southwest France, according to Scheft. Furthermore, testicular cancer, which Belzer narrowly survived in 1983, served as the inspiration for his 1997 HBO comedy spectacular Another Lone Nut. He made fun of another incident on The Richard Belzer Show where famous guest Hulk Hogan choked the presenter, causing him to pass out and hit his head on the stage during the same special. Belzer filed a lawsuit, and the parties later reached an amicable agreement. On another note, some well-known acquaintances of Belzer expressed their sorrow for him after hearing of his passing. Dick Wolf, creator and executive producer of Law & Order: SVU, declared in a statement: "Richard Belzer's detective John Munch is one of television's iconic characters. I first worked with Richard on the Law & Order/Homicide crossover and loved the character so much, I told Tom (Fontana) that I wanted to make him one of the original characters on SVU. The rest is history. Richard brought humor and joy into all our lives, was the consummate professional, and we will all miss him very much." [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Image credit: The New York Times[/caption] Additionally, Laraine Newman, who appeared on Saturday Night Live from 1975 to 1980, was one of many people to pay respect to Belzer on Twitter after he served as the NBC sketch comedy show's warm-up comedian during her run. She wrote on Sunday, "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."

More details

Marc Maron said in a post: "Richard Belzer died. He was an original. One of the greats, babe. I loved the guy. RIP." And Jeff Ross posted an old photo of Belzer and his poodle-fox terrier mix Bebe on his Facebook page with the caption: "The Belz… Even holding his dog he was always the coolest cat in the room." Also read: Cate Blanchett, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and others wore a blue ribbon at the 2023 BAFTA Awards Moreover, the character of Detective John Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit made Belzer most famous. He played the character first on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993 and reprised it in the Law & Order parent series. In addition, from 1999 through 2013, he made appearances in approximately 330 episodes of SVU, with two more cameos in 2014 and 2016. Additionally, among Belzer's other notable performances are his portrayal of a Babylon Club MC in the 1983 film Scarface, his part as the president in the 1998 film Species II, and his appearance in the 1991 television series The Flash. Belzer also had a successful comedy career off-screen and was outspoken about his support for many conspiracies. In addition, he has frequently delved into American culture and history and expressed his distinctive viewpoints everywhere from on stage to in books. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Image credit: eBay[/caption] The book Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination was published in 2016 by Richard Belzer. His other publications include, but are not limited to, UFOS, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to be Crazy to Believe, and Dead Wrong: Straight Facts on the Country's Most Controversial Cover-Ups. Lastly, Belzer leaves behind his wife of thirty years, Harlee McBride. He does not have any biological children, although McBride has two children from a prior relationship, Jessica and Shannon Benton.