A social misfit, was kicked out of every school he ever attended, due to his uncontrollable wit. His mother (Frances) died of breast cancer when Richard was 18. His father (Charles) committed suicide when he was 22. A dedication is written to him in Richard Belzer's "UFO's, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe" (Ballantine Books, 1999).


Wrestler Hulk Hogan hurt him while demonstrating a wrestling move on a 1986 TV show called "Hot Properties" (1985). He was knocked unconscious and required stitches on his head. He sued Hogan for $5 million, but later settled out of court. Became the third person to play the same character in six different prime-time TV series, playing Detective "John Munch" in "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993) (originating series), "Law & Order" (1990) (crossover), "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005)(crossover), "The X Files" (1993) (crossover), "The Beat" (2000) (guest appearance in the short-lived UPN series), and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999). He followed John Ratzenberger and George Wendt, who played "Cliff Clavin" and "Norm Peterson" in "Cheers" (1982), "St. Elsewhere" (1982), "The Tortellis" (1987), "Wings" (1990), "The Simpsons" (1989), and "Frasier" (1993). Belzer upped his record to seven series with a cameo appearance in the 4th-to-last episode of David Simon's HBO series "The Wire: Took (#5.7)" (2008) (originally airing February 17, 2008); the appearance brought the character of Munch full circle as the character was born out of Simon's first series, Homicide, and in the scene he is hanging out in a police bar commenting on his experience owning a bar, which he did in Homicide. Appeared on the 2 October 1976 episode of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) with Eric Idle as the host and musical guests George Harrison, Joe Cocker, and Stuff. Robert De Niro studied Belzer for his role in The King of Comedy (1982). Was going to appear in Chevy Chase's movie, Modern Problems (1981), but scheduling conflicts could not be worked out. The date for the shooting of his scene was postponed twice and the day his scene was supposed to be shot, Belzer had a lucrative club date in New York, which was postponed at the last minute. Cousin of Henry Winkler. Has appeared in episodes of three different television series with Jesse L. Martin: "Law & Order" (1990), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005). Was born on the same day that Anne Frank and her family were arrested by the Gestapo. Has appeared in episodes of four different series with Sam Waterston: "Law & Order" (1990), "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999) and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005). Was an assistant emcee for the Comedy Central Presents: The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Rob Reiner. Was one of the original emcees at Rick Newman's Catch a Rising Star, along with Elayne Boosler, in the mid to late 1970s. Was the audience warm-up comedian for "Saturday Night Live" in its premiere season and made three guest appearances on the show in 1976 and 1978. A paper boy in his youth in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he later worked as a reporter for the Bridgeport Post and several other newspapers around the country. Other jobs included teacher, census-taker, jewelry salesman and dockworker. Was friend of George Carlin. Friend of Richard Lewis'.