Richard Belzer says goodbye, Munch: TV鈥檚 longest-serving cop retires
Richard Belzer, who has played Munch on 10 different shows over two decades, is moving on from 'Law & Order: SVU' now that Munch turned in his retirement papers.
Richard Belzer, who has played Munch on 10 different shows over two decades, is moving on from 'Law & Order: SVU' now that Munch turned in his retirement papers.
Sgt. John Munch 鈥� TV鈥檚 longest-serving live-action character 鈥� is retiring. Without a flashy sendoff.
Richard Belzer, who has played Munch on 10 different shows over two decades, is moving on from 鈥淟aw & Order: SVU鈥� now that Munch turned in his retirement papers at the end of Wednesday鈥檚 episode.
The only characters who have spent so many continuous seasons on TV are the cartoons on 鈥淭he Simpsons.鈥澛� But Munch is real. Or at least based on a real person.
He鈥檚 the brainchild of 鈥淭he Wire鈥� creator David Simon, who first introduced him on NBC鈥檚 鈥淗omicide: Life on the Street.鈥� Munch was based on Baltimore homicide Det. Jay Landsman, one of the central characters in Simon鈥檚 book that inspired the series.
Landsman has already retired. Munch outlasted him. His character moved from 鈥淗omicide鈥� to 鈥淟aw & Order鈥� when 鈥淗omicide鈥� was canceled. He was partnered through the years with characters and actors as varied as Brian Cassidy (played by Dean Winters) and Fin Tutuola (Ice-T).
Over the years, Munch appeared on 鈥淟aw & Order,鈥� 鈥淟aw & Order: Special Victims Unit,鈥� 鈥淟aw and Order: Trial By Jury,鈥� 鈥淗omicide,鈥� 鈥淭he X-Files,鈥� 鈥淭he Beat,鈥� 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� 鈥淭he Wire,鈥� 鈥淎rrested Development,鈥� 鈥�30 Rock,鈥� and 鈥淗omicide: The Movie.鈥�
NBC didn鈥檛 send out a release about his exit. Belzer, who was traveling, was not immediately available for comment.
鈥淪ergeant Munch is retiring from the NYPD, so Richard Belzer will no longer be a series cast member,鈥� a show spokeswoman said in an email. 鈥淲hile there are no immediate plans for Belzer to return, the way Munch鈥檚 storyline ends leaves the door open for him to work with the SVU squad in the future.鈥�
And that鈥檚 that. Munch transferred from Baltimore to the NYPD for this?
Belzer, 69, got less screen time in his recent years, but said he was hesitant to complain.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like yanking the tonsils out of the gift horse if I complain too much,鈥� he was quoted as saying in 鈥淟aw and Order Special Victims Unit: The Unofficial Companion,鈥� released in 2009. 鈥淚鈥檝e been lucky over the years 鈥� I鈥檓 not starving.鈥�
There is one consolation: Ubiquitous 鈥淟aw & Order鈥� reruns. Somewhere in the world, at any given moment, Munch is peeling the sheet back on a corpse.
Happy retirement.