Richard Belzer had a long career as a radio show host, comedian and actor. He spent his time in comedy circles, doing stand-up and sharing numerous stories about filming and spending time with other actors, which were always a ball to listen to. He would shine as a guest and stand-up act for David Letterman.
More than anything, Richard Belzer's career was marked by one particular character - Detective John Munch. He embraced being Munch so well that he reprised the role as many as ten times! Knowing Belzer's stand-up career, this was probably a form of a running joke; still, Detective Munch became so iconic, that his legacy will live on, forever. To celebrate Belzer's career as John Munch, it's good to revisit his appearances in character.
1 'Homicide: Life on the Street' (1993-1999)
One of the first Munch "sightings" was also David Simon's first big break for TV - the show was based on a book he wrote after spending a year with Baltimore's Homicide Unit. Homicide: Life on the Street is a legendary crime series in TV history, and a spiritual (and literal in some ways) predecessor to The Wire. Although The Wire is more iconic, Homicide started it all.
Belzer played John Munch in all 122 episodes of Homicide, which is more than most of the cast. Beside him, only a select few shares this interesting title - Yaphet Kotto, Clark Johnson, and Kyle Secor. The show was also a big break for Andre Braugher, Giancarlo Esposito and Melissa Leo, who are active in various roles today.
2 'Homicide: The Movie' (2000)
The series was sadly canceled after six seasons, but its runtime was made complete with the filming of Homicide: The Movie. In the TV feature, the original cast returns to solve the final murder mystery. After the show had ended, it felt like an end of an era, so for fans to see most of the cast from the first to final episodes return was a big deal.
Again, Belzer appeared as Munch here, although this isn't so outlandish - he had spent six years playing the character. What made Belzer's performance as Munch so memorable here was the fact he included his wit into the character; he was probably the only one on the squad not taking himself too seriously, but still doing his job right.
3 'Law & Order: SVU' (1999-2016)
Although Homicide was over, it wasn't the time for Detective Munch to hang up his badge and gun. By the time the show ended, Munch became iconic, which led to Belzer becoming a permanent cast member of the longest running crime show on TV - Law & Order: SVU.
Younger audiences may know Belzer as Munch from SVU a lot more than Munch from Homicide. Alongside Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T and Christopher Meloni, Belzer held tenure as one of the leading actors for 326 episodes across 17 years. There's even a scene in which Munch answers the phone with the line "Homicide... I mean SVU."
4 'Law & Order' (1996-2000)
Law & Order and SVU are two separate shows, but they often share the same cast. Although Law & Order was the first and original series that became a smash hit, many of the cast made their way to SVU and even the 14-episode ordeal that was Trial by Jury. Of course, Belzer appeared as John Munch here, too.
Although he was a regular on SVU, he was introduced to the universe in Law & Order in 1996. He'd often refer to Baltimore and his Homicide run, since he was still a part of the show there. He appeared in four episodes between 1996 and 2000, just when Homicide ended, and he extended his television run on SVU.
5 'The X-Files' (1997)
This is where things become interesting. The appearance of John Munch in The X-Files was only an episode long, but it basically confirmed that this show is in the same universe as Homicide and Law & Order. These sorts of cameos are all the rage among fans, and Belzer certainly didn't disappoint here.
In season 5, episode 3, "Unusual Suspects," Munch appears to help on a case. The episode explains the history of The Lone Gunmen and an appearance by X himself. This beloved show was made all the better with witty Munch making a guest appearance. This could be one of the show's funniest episodes, if not simply fun.
6 'The Wire' (2008)
This is another great appearance by Richard Belzer that turned out to only be a cameo, and it's in season 5, episode 7, "Took." Fans of Homicide likely remember the first time they spotted Munch in that bar in The Wire; interestingly, he ran a bar with a colleague Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) in Homicide, and Johnson makes a guest appearance here, too.
Johnson plays a completely different character, though, but he passes Munch by, saying "I used to own a bar." This cameo was likely just an homage to the character of Munch rather than the show Homicide, but it was a great touch considering people often speculated that all of Simon's shows were in the same universe. They're definitely in the same city.
7 'The Beat' (2000)
The Beat was an NYC-based police series that starred a very young Mark Ruffalo. Although the show didn't survive for longer than 13 episodes - it was just another in the sea of popular police shows - it wasn't all that bad of a watch.
The producers and writers of The Beat decided this NYC-based show needed a familiar face to improve its ratings, and so in episode 2, "They Say It's Your Birthday," John Munch appeared. It seems that by this time, Belzer was enjoying his time as this beloved character more than ever, and his sense of humor about it was always pretty great.
8 'Arrested Development' (2006)
Another interesting and slightly odd appearance by Detective Munch just so happened to be in the now cult classic show Arrested Development. This series crossover was as funny as one might imagine. Belzer first only appeared as himself in season 3, episode 9, "S.O.B.s" but later went on to appear in season 3, episode 12, "Exit Strategy" as John Munch.
Tobias (David Cross) attends an unusual scrapbooking class held in a booking room (cleverly turned into a "scrap" booking room) by none other than Detective John Munch. His title in the class is only Prof. Munch, as the tag on his podium says, but he teaches the attendees how to scrap and make federal paperwork collages.
9 '30 Rock' (2011-2013)
30 Rock is another legendary sitcom that ran for 138 episodes, between 2006 and 2013. Most of the episodes have some fantastic cameos, from Julianne Moore and Oprah Winfrey to Carrie Fisher and Brian Cranston. Although they're all quite legendary, though, nothing's like Richard Belzer reprising his role as John Munch yet again.
This time, he appears together with his co-star Ice-T, and they play detectives playing detectives in an NBC show. This is in season 5, episode 13, "¡Qué Sorpresa!" and their appearance is short but quite impactful. It's also the first time Belzer stepped out as Munch together with another SVU co-star. Belzer's comedic apperances as Munch didn't end here; he even appeared on Sesame Street.
10 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' (2015)
Lastly, Munch appears in season 1, episode 4 "Kimmy Goes to the Doctor!" of the hit series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt but Belzer isn't credited. Actually, this scene is only a brief cameo by Munch while Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is watching TV. She finds a working TV in the trash in front of Titus's (Tituss Burgess) home and starts watching TV to catch up on modern programs.
At one moment, Kimmy puts on Law & Order (or as she calls it "Law Squiggle Order") and a fake scene of John Munch and Coriolanus Burt (James Monroe Iglehart) comes on. Titus asks Kimmy to turn off the TV as Coriolanus is his nemesis. Belzer was uncredited, but Kimmy mentions him being a nice man. This wasn't any effort on Belzer's part, but he exists as himself in Kimmy's universe.