{"id":47305,"date":"2023-02-19T15:45:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T20:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=47305"},"modified":"2023-02-19T15:45:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-19T20:45:35","slug":"rip-richard-belzer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/rip-richard-belzer\/","title":{"rendered":"RIP, Richard Belzer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was sad to see that Richard Belzer died today, aged 78. Belzer first rose to prominence as a stand-up comic, but he became famous with a capital F when he was cast as television’s sardonic Detective Munch, a character he played on two different shows — Homicide <\/em>and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit<\/em> — over a span of 23 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belzer was definitely the highlight of any episode he was in, and I became a big fan during my days of working from home with the TV on in the background. I wrote a whopping six blog posts either about or mentioning Belzer. By far the best post was written after MrB’s loud laugh attracted Belzer’s attention in a restaurant<\/a>, resulting in this voicemail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DETECTIVE MUNCH CALLED ME FROM LUNCH<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite my enthusiasm for Belzer’s television role, I never delved into his background. This Hollywood Reporter obituary<\/a> covers his traumatic childhood; the time Hulk Hogan knocked him unconscious; and a job he took to pay for a Hawaiian vacation. It politely omits his promotion of JFK conspiracy theories and his endorsement of grotesque right-wing radio host Alex Jones<\/a>. Dammit! I’m glad I discovered the latter facts posthumously. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was sad to see that Richard Belzer died today, aged 78. Belzer first rose to prominence as a stand-up comic, but he became famous with a capital F when he was cast as television’s sardonic Detective Munch, a character he played on two different shows — Homicide and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49,47],"tags":[2590,2589],"class_list":["post-47305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-in-the-news","category-obits","tag-law-order-svu","tag-richard-belzer","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t