‘Bro. Richard Belzer, 1944-2023’

    

Richard Belzer also is credited with books of fiction, like this novel, and non-fiction, such as various investigations into ‘conspiracy theories.’

He lived in France, so it’s not as though we saw him in lodge, but he still was a Brother Mason. Richard Belzer died yesterday at age 78.

We have a number of actors in Publicity 1000, but The Belz was the famous one. That popularity derives from his portrayal of NYPD Detective John Munch, first in the cast of Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-96); then Law & Order (1996-2000); and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-2016). And he parlayed that same role into appearances on diverse productions, from The Wire to 30 Rock.

To me, he’s still a counterculture comedian from the ’70s, cracking me up in The Groove Tube and various National Lampoon enterprises.

I would have loved to have asked him what brought him to the Inner Door and what it all meant to him. R.I.P.