Richard Belzer, comedian and ‘Law & Order: SVU’ actor, dies at 78

Actor-comedian Richard Belzer arrives at a 2006 film screening in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

NEW YORK — Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV’s most indelible detectives as John Munch in “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Law & Order: SVU,” has died. He was 78.

Belzer died Sunday at his home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft said. Scheft, a writer who had been working on a documentary about Belzer, said there was no known cause of death, but that Belzer had been dealing with circulatory and respiratory issues. Actor Henry Winkler, Belzer’s cousin, tweeted, “Rest in peace Richard.”