Richard Jay Belzer (born August 4, 1944) is an American actor,
stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as BPD
Detective, NYPD Detective/Sergeant and DA Investigator John Munch,
whom he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama
series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit, as well as in guest appearances on a number of other series. He
portrayed the character for 23 years from 1993 to 2016.Belzer was born
in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Frances and Charles Belzer, a
tobacco and candy retailer. He grew up in a Jewish family. He
described his mother as frequently physically abusive, and declared
that his comedy career began when trying to make his mother laugh in
order to distract her from abusing him and his brother. After
graduating from Fairfield Warde High School, Belzer worked as a
reporter for the Bridgeport Post.Belzer attended Dean College, which
was then known as Dean Junior College, in Franklin, Massachusetts, but
was expelled. He worked at a variety of jobs, including sales and as a
census taker.After his first divorce, Belzer relocated to New York
City, moved in with singer Shelley Ackerman, and began working as a
stand-up comic at Pips, The Improv, and Catch a Rising Star. He
participated in the Channel One comedy group that satirized television
and became the basis for the cult movie The Groove Tube, in which
Belzer played the costar of the ersatz TV show "The Dealers."
stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as BPD
Detective, NYPD Detective/Sergeant and DA Investigator John Munch,
whom he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama
series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit, as well as in guest appearances on a number of other series. He
portrayed the character for 23 years from 1993 to 2016.Belzer was born
in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Frances and Charles Belzer, a
tobacco and candy retailer. He grew up in a Jewish family. He
described his mother as frequently physically abusive, and declared
that his comedy career began when trying to make his mother laugh in
order to distract her from abusing him and his brother. After
graduating from Fairfield Warde High School, Belzer worked as a
reporter for the Bridgeport Post.Belzer attended Dean College, which
was then known as Dean Junior College, in Franklin, Massachusetts, but
was expelled. He worked at a variety of jobs, including sales and as a
census taker.After his first divorce, Belzer relocated to New York
City, moved in with singer Shelley Ackerman, and began working as a
stand-up comic at Pips, The Improv, and Catch a Rising Star. He
participated in the Channel One comedy group that satirized television
and became the basis for the cult movie The Groove Tube, in which
Belzer played the costar of the ersatz TV show "The Dealers."
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