Richard Belzer or popularly known as Detective Munch from “Law and Order” dies at 78.

Belzer, often addressed with his most iconic role as Munch, was incredibly popular with his well versed screen delivery, a smart, chic and nonchalant intelligence, he did create an aura such like contemporary detectives like Holmes and Bond, but only he’s rather more about law than the charisma, and quite elder than macho and middle aged.

Belzer’s Munch is often regarded as the longest played character in a show of all time before Munch was written out of the script in 2013; soon after which he took retirement.

Belzer, born on 9th August 1944, in Connecticut, was born to a tobacco wholesaler and candy distributor and a mother who was a homemaker. He also had a brother named Leonard.

Richard’s mother had an inappropriate method to show her love for her sons as Richard’s brother, Leonard had told in an interview in 1993. Richard often joked and revealed that his mother used to hit them.

After her demise out of cancer and his father, dying out of suicide, even before Belzer turned 25, he lost his brother Leonard in 2014 when he jumped off the roof of his apartment in Upper West Side.

Throughout his life, Richard was a rebel and used to get thrown out of every school and institution he went to. He also had served for the army a little less than a year and got discharged under psychiatric grounds since he injured himself a lot. Apart from this, even worked a lot of odd jobs like dockworker seals, main driver, and even reporter. Even though he wished to become a writer, he spent a lot of time dealing drugs.

Although in 1975, Richard got an opportunity to become a cast member of SNL but due to some internal conflict, it didn’t work out but Belzer still remained salty about it for quite long. New York City gradually gave him the subtle recognition. He earned through stand-up comedy and earned him a lot of A-level stars as his fans despite facing criticism a lot.

His life started a new beginning in the mid-1980s after surviving prostate cancer, marriage and quitting drugs which saw a bit of glamor in the 90s.

At 50 years old, Richard started playing Detective Munch in Law and Order which brought him to a new height.

Personal life was never stable for Richard with two divorce his and two step daughters and six step grandchildren, Belzer never really saw stability.

Although he had two homes in the South of France and enjoyed life in leisure with art, dogs and sports, it still was quite lonely.

Much to Richard, Munch also didn’t have a happy childhood and had a father who had BiPolar Disorder and physically abused him and his brother (which sort of can be related to Richard’s mother’s behaviour) and he died out of suicide like Richard’s.

Although the character arc is similar to this extent to its actor, John Munch was not a compassionate performer, who wished to make drunk people laugh at clubs, like Richard.

John Munch what is serious and had an intimidating portfolio for a detective of such kind, and probably with such many dimensions to a single character and Richard’s performance as him made it so iconic that it intern shaped a guideline to draw inspiration for actors of future generations in such roles

Despite its iconic era and such a long tenure, critics say that Richards’ performance had shaped into a stereotype.

Nonetheless, law, and order, and Detective John Munch being a kind of icon has time in again been mentioned, parodied and gushed over in not only real life but also in shows and sitcoms that remembered its legacy and made it something permanent.