Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer (* August 4, 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut ) is an American comedian and actor.
Life
Belzer was born in 1944 as the second child of a Jewish newsstand owner in Connecticut. Belzers mother, Francis Belzer, died of cancer when the son was 18 years old. The father, Charles Belzer, committed suicide when his son was 22 years old. To Richard Belzers other relatives counts his cousin, the actor Henry Winkler.
After he had been referred to several times by various schools, he eventually graduated from the Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield. This was followed by the visit of Dean Junior College in Franklin (Massachusetts ), from which he was expelled for his participation as a ringleader in student demonstrations. In the 1960s he worked among other things as a journalist for the Bridgeport Post and briefly as a yoga teacher before he joined the army.
End of the 1960s he moved to New York where he lived with the singer Shelley Ackerman and received first engagements as a stand- up comedian in nightclubs such as pips, The Improv and Catch a Rising Star. In addition to his focus on work as a comedian - Belzer was temporarily working for the television show Saturday Night Live as a warm- up comedian - he began to engage in the 1970s as an actor. In the following years he had supporting roles in films such as Scarface, Night Shift and Fame - The path to glory. There were also presentations of humorous radio broadcasts as Brink & Belzer as well as guest appearances on shows such as the The Howard Stern Show.
For the American cable television he hosted in the 1980s, the talk show Hot Properties. Here he demonstrated on March 27, 1985 his guest, the wrestler Hulk Hogan, his fighting skills during a show act. This Belzer fell unconscious to the ground and struck on the head, which resulted in a head injury. Belzer was then given Hogan a seven-figure sum for pain and suffering, which he bought himself a house in France. He lives there with his wife, if he does not work-related works in the States.
In the 1990s, Belzer starred in numerous television series and took part as a voice actor for animated series such as South Park. He also appeared in a supporting role as Inspector Henderson in Superman - Lois & Clark on. He embodied in Homicide (1993-1999) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (since 1999), respectively, the role of police Detective John Munch from 1993 to 2013 as the main character and will continue to still have side gigs. The detective that it represents has become so popular that he was often engaged as a guest star in this role for other series such as The X-Files. Meanwhile provides Belzer past 21 seasons the character of John Munch is and has thus set a new record in portraying a character.
Away from his acting work Belzer is a frequent guest on political and humorous television shows like Real Time with Bill Maher.
Private life and political involvement
In the 1980s, Belzer survived testicular cancer successfully. Since 1985 he has been married to actress Harlee McBride. In two previous marriages, he was with Gail Susan Ross (1966-1972) and Dalia Danoch (1976-1978) married.
Politically charged Belzer to the left-wing intellectual spectrum. During the U.S. presidential election of 2004, he issued a recommendation to vote in favor of the Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. In the 2008 presidential campaign Belzer has expressed on several occasions his support for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Filmography
Works
- UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Do not Have To Be Crazy To Believe, ISBN 0-345-42918-4
- How to Be a Stand -Up Comic, ISBN 0-394-56239-9
- Momentum: The Struggle for Peace, Politics, and the People, ISBN 0-340-79394-5