‘Law & Order’ star Richard Belzer dies at 78

• Law & Order star Richard Belzer dies.
• A close friend of the actor confirmed his death.
• He was a popular character actor and comedian.

Show business is in mourning. Beloved actor Richard Belzer has died. He’s best known for his extraordinary performance in the iconic NBC series Law & Order. He was also an acclaimed comedian.

The beloved actor passed away at the age of 78. The news was confirmed by fellow comedian, Laraine Newman who worked with him when he guest-starred on Saturday Night Live.

Richard Belzer dies at the age of 78

On Twitter, actress Laraine Newman confirmed tRichard Belzer’s death. He played detective John Munch in the successful series Law & Order for 23 years.

“I’m so sad to hear of Richard Belzer’s passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL.»

Actress Laraine Newman mourns Richard Belzer

“We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest,” added Laraine Newman, who worked with Belzer when he was a guest on Saturday Night Live.

CBS 2 Iowa reported that Belzer played John Munch in the series Homicide: Life on the Streets and Law & Order for 23 years, starting in 1993. The legendary actor decided to retire  in 2016, when he was 71 years old.

Belzer was also an acclaimed comedian

Richard Belzer was born in Connecticut in 1944 and at one point declared his mother a physically abusive woman, revealing that his career as a comedian began when he made his mother laugh to distract her and prevent her from hitting him or his brother, according to CBS 2 Iowa.

The most successful and iconic moment of his acting career came in 1993, when he was cast in Homicide: Life on the Streets. In 1999, Belzer’s Detective Munch transferred to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Belzer also appeared on The X-Files, Arrested Development, The Wire, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.