Actor and comic Richard Belzer handed away on the age of 78, and never lengthy after the information of his loss of life and NSFW final phrases reached the general public, the tributes got here flooding in. As such, former and present Regulation & Order: Particular Victims Unit vets Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay shared their tributes alongside many others from those that shared tasks with Belzer through the years.
Richard Belzer was a core a part of Regulation & Order: Particular Victims Unit for a few years, however departed in 2014 and spent his later years residing in a small French village writing books. Although he hasn’t been on the present since a quick return in 2016, the late actor nonetheless obtained tons of affection from his former co-star Chris Meloni, who has since branched out from SVU, solely to later return to attract eyeballs to Regulation & Order: Organized Crime. Meloni shared an image with Belzer, in addition to his response to the reported final phrases of the actor:
For these unaware, Richard Belzer’s reported final phrases had been, “Fuck you, motherfucker,” and that sentiment apparently struck a chord with Chris Meloni, who additionally shared different footage with the actor via Twitter posts.
Mariska Hargitay, who continues to run the ship over at Regulation & Order: Particular Victims Unit regardless of different actors transferring on, shared a extra formal however equally touching tribute to Richard Belzer. In a quick assertion, Hargitay supplied a tribute that permit the world know simply how a lot the late actor meant to her:
As of late, most people would possibly sooner acknowledge Vincent D’Onofrio for his work as Wilson Fisk in Daredevil by the use of his TV profession, however Regulation & Order followers will all the time consider him as Detective Robert “Bobby” Goren from the spinoff Felony Intent. In his message, D’Onofrio revealed that he had the pleasure of assembly Richard Belzer forward of being part of the Regulation & Order household, and spoke to his previous experiences with the actor:
Richard Belzer was all the time so form to me. We met at comedy membership he was performing in yrs earlier than L&O. I used to be younger with just one movie into my profession. He all the time remembered me. I had the pleasure of grasp’n with him a few occasions. Candy candy man & humorous as hell. He might be missed pic.twitter.com/DZx5EKb6WyFebruary 19, 2023
Many on the web will mourn the lack of Richard Belzer and his standard character Detective John Munch, however others would possibly bear in mind he as soon as labored because the warm-up comic for Saturday Evening Reside in its early days. Actress Laraine Newman, who was part of the NBC sketch comedy sequence’ unique solid, was one of many first to talk publicly about Belzer’s loss of life, sharing a bit of non-public details about his time working for the Lorne Michaels sketch sequence.
I am so unhappy to listen to of Richard Belzer’s passing. I beloved this man a lot. He was one in all my first associates after I acquired to New York to do SNL. We used to exit to dinner each week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of many funniest individuals ever. A grasp at crowd work. RIP dearest. pic.twitter.com/u23co0JPA2February 19, 2023
Whereas many will look again fondly on his appearing roles, different stand-up comedians and legends from that trade have additionally been paying homage to Richard Belzer. The ever-outspoken comedian George Wallace is one such instance, and posted a singular reminiscence the 2 of them shared:
1976 at Catch a Rising Star. I used to be referred to as onto a stage for the primary time. By Richard Belzer. Farewell. Love you perpetually. pic.twitter.com/bdpFR0lRk6February 19, 2023
It is exhausting to imagine an actor who touched so many features of the trade and so many notable exhibits is gone. It goes with out saying that Richard Belzer might be missed, and I am positive there are just a few showrunners and writers on the market who had pipe goals about giving Detective John Munch not less than another cameo of their sequence.
CinemaBlend continues to supply its condolences to the household and associates of Richard Belzer and desires them effectively throughout this time. Hopefully, as extra tributes pour in from across the internet in order that the world can proceed studying extra about Belzer’s life behind the scenes.
