Richard Belzer is a face that majority of the U.S. population will recognize. The actor, author, and radio host has been in Hollywood for decades, with a career spanning stand-up comedy, television shows, movies, radio shows, and books. He is likely most recognizable for his time on the hit American crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, in which he played John Munch.
Although he was 78 years old, the passing of this Hollywood icon on February 19th was tragic news. It was shared that "Belzer 'passed away peacefully' early Sunday morning local time at his home in France, according to Eric Gardner, his manager."
Since then, fans, family, and friends have been commiserating and remembering the life of this incredible multi-hyphenate. As a way for us to do the same, here is a look inside the rocky and unlikely life that Richard Belzer lived, along with his estimated net worth at the time of his passing.
8 Richard Belzer Used Comedy To Avoid Domestic Abuse
Richard Belzer was dealt a rough hand when he was born. Growing up, he was the subject of abuse from his mother. After spending months upon months on the receiving end of physical torment from his parent, he decided he would try something new to avoid the harm.
Having been drawn to comedy, Belzer tried to use it to appease his mother. He quickly discovered that when he showed her his comedy routines, it provided a distraction, and she would laugh rather than beat him and his brother.
7 Richard Belzer's Career In Comedy Blossomed In New York
While the reason behind Richard Belzer turning to comedy is dark, he quickly found a kinship with the career. After high school, Belzer continued to pursue the art of comedy, even while working in other fields.
In the early 70s, the actor moved to New York City to find more opportunities involving his passion for comedy. He began performing stand-up in various spots, performed with a comedy group, and eventually snagged a gig as the "warm-up comedian" for Saturday Night Live in the mid- to late-70s, even making a few guest appearances on the show through 1980.
6 Richard Belzer Was An Accomplished Radio Performer
To parallel his comedy career, Richard Belzer was also exploring the field of radio hosting. In the mid-1970s, Belzer was joined by stars Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Harold Ramis for the radio show National Lampoon Radio Hour, a thirty-minute comedy program.
In the late 70s, Belzer's career boomed. He co-hosted a WNBC radio show called Brink & Belzer, as well as being a constant guest on another show with quite a formidable host. While Howard Stern is known for his somewhat unpredictable behavior, he became good friends with Richard and frequently invited him to join The Howard Stern Show.
5 Richard Belzer Began Acting In The '70s
The last production Richard Belzer acted in released in 2016 and marked the 79th project he had been cast in. The start of his career began back in 1974 with the X-rated film The Groove Tube, a collection of comedy skits that intended to make fun of 1970s television.
From there, he went on to book roles in many well-known titles, such as a few episodes of Sesame Street, the 1980 production of Fame, Scarface, the 1990 television show The Flash, and guest appearances on The X-Files, South Park, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Arrested Development, and 30 Rock, among many other titles.
4 Richard Belzer Starred In Law Drama TV Shows
While Richard Belzer has acted in over 70 different productions, he is perhaps best known for his starring roles in dramatic law television shows. The one that really boosted his career was a series entitled Homicide: Life on the Street, which played from 1993-1999. He reprised his role in 2000 for a film based off the show, called Homicide: The Movie.
In 1999, he joined the cast for the hit television series Law & Order: SVU. While the show no doubt had its controversial moments, fans absolutely loved the episodes, keeping the series still on air today. Belzer spent 17 years with the cast, eventually leaving the set for good in 2016.
3 Richard Belzer Was A Conspiracy Theorist, & Wrote Books About His Theories
Conspiracy theorists are all around us. They could be in our friend groups, in our homes, or even on our television/movie screens. Whether it has to do with aliens, inside jobs, or the illuminati, conspiracies are everywhere, and sometimes they are fun to investigate.
Richard Belzer is one of the many celebrities who believed in conspiracies. So much so, in fact, that he wrote several books about his theories! His titles include: UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be Crazy to Believe, Dead Wrong: Straight Facts on the Country's Most Controversial Cover-Ups, Hit List: An In-Depth Investigation into the Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination, Corporate Conspiracies: How Wall Street Took Over Washington, and Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
2 Richard Belzer's Family Life Was Somewhat Lonely
As previously mentioned, Richard Belzer had a difficult family life as a child. Unfortunately, he also experienced a lot of difficulties as an adult when it comes to family life. The actor married his first wife, Gail Susan Ross, in 1966. The couple lasted six years before divorcing in 1972. Only a few years later, in 1976, Belzer married Dalia Danoch. This time divorce came two years later, in 1978.
He found love in Harlee McBride, however, marrying the actress in 1985 and remaining married until his passing. McBride has two daughters that she brought into the marriage, though Belzer never had any children of his own.
1 Richard Belzer Had A Net Worth Of $16 Million When He Passed
Having lived for 78 years, and spending much of that time in the public eye, it is not a shock that Richard Belzer left a large net worth behind when he passed.
Thanks to the amount of productions he was cast in, his book sales, and his radio work, he racked up a total of $16 million for his net worth. It certainly helped that his biggest television hits spanned several years on the air, continuing to bring in the big bucks.
