Richard Jay Belzer was a stand-up comedian, author, and actor from the United States. Belzer moved to New York City after his first divorce, where he lived with singer Shelley Ackerman and began working as a stand-up comic at Pips, The Improv, and Catch a Rising Star.
Belzer was a member of the Channel One comedy troupe that satirized television and inspired the cult film The Groove Tube, in which Belzer played a costar on the ersatz TV show The Dealers. Belzer then played police investigator John Munch in both the Baltimore-based Homicide: Life on the Street (1993-1999) and the New York-based Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-2013) television series.
Belzer performed lines from the script for “Gone for Goode,” the first episode of the series, during his audition, and Barry Levinson, the executive producer of Homicide, called him a “lousy actor.” Levinson instructed Belzer to reread the material, practice it, and then read it once again. Belzer was “still horrible” at his second reading, according to Levinson, but the actor ultimately gained confidence in his portrayal.
How much did Richard Belzer make per episode on Law And Order?
Richard Belzer makes $500,000 per episode on Law and Order.