#Tv actor committed suicide tv#

Munch’s sardonic demeanor turned out to be perfect for the grim tone of the series, and Belzer stayed 14 seasons.

Donald Cragen (Dann Florek) was brought over from Law & Order to head the squad. Olivia Benson ( Mariska Hargitay) and Det. When Law & Order: SVU debuted in September 1999, Munch had relocated from Baltimore to New York to join forces with Det. Wolf, however, was in the process of developing a Law & Order spinoff to focus on the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit, the division that investigates sexually based crimes. So he called and Dick said, ‘What a great idea, but I’ve already cast Jesse Martin to be the new guy. “And then I remembered that Benjamin Bratt was leaving L&O, and so I called my manager and said, ‘Call Dick Wolf - maybe Munch can become Briscoe’s partner’ - because we had teamed for the crossover. “When Homicide was canceled, I was in France with my wife and she said, ‘Let’s open a bottle of champagne and toast: You did this character for seven years,'” Belzer recounted in the 2009 book Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Unofficial Companion. He had appeared as Munch on NBC’s Law & Order three times from 1996-99 and thought he might be a good fit on that show. When it ended in 1999, the actor wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the role. The pencil-thin Belzer portrayed Munch on all seven seasons of the NBC series. “We were looking at some other actors, and when I heard him, I said, ‘Why don’t we find out about Richard Belzer?” Levinson said.

In a 2016 interview for the website The Interviews: An Oral History of Television, Homicide executive producer Barry Levinson recalled listening to Belzer on The Howard Stern Show and liking him for Munch. The only time I wonder why is when they tell me the truth,” went a typical Munch retort. He’d often resort to dry, acerbic wisecracks to make his point: “I’m a homicide detective.

#Tv actor committed suicide tv#

Munch made his first appearance in 1993 on the first episode of Homicide and his last in 2016 on Law & Order: SVU. In between those two NBC dramas , Belzer played the detective on eight other series, and his hold on the character lasted longer than James Arness’ on Gunsmoke and Kelsey Grammer’s on Cheers and Frasier.Ĭertainly one of the most memorable cops in TV history, Munch - based on a real-life Baltimore detective - was a highly intelligent, doggedly diligent investigator who believed in conspiracy theories, distrusted the system and pursued justice through a jaded eye. Johnny Hardwick, the Voice of Dale Gribble on 'King of the Hill,' Dies at 64