It’s been close to six months since Law & Order: SVU’s Richard Belzer passed away. The actor, who played John Munch, and the pain of his loss still hits hard, and that may be particularly true when it comes to those who knew him best. Many stars paid tribute to Belzer following his death, and Saturday Night Live even paid tribute to the actor as well. This past Friday would’ve been the star’s 79th birthday and, amid of number of remembrances, his co-star, Mariska Hargitay, shared a tribute that was posted.
The Olivia Benson actress and Richard Belzer were co-stars on the long-running Law & Order spinoff during its first 15 seasons, and Belzer later returned in Season 17 for a guest appearance. Mariska Hargitay remembered her friend and former co-star by reposting a sweet tribute on her Instagram story. The OG post, which was from a fanpage, featured a sweet video of the two actors and more during what appears to be a fun event. Check out the message below:
Mariska Hargitay also shared a few more tributes on her Instagram Story from fanpages for Richard Belzer’s birthday, which conveys that he’s still on her mind. His final SVU occurred in Season 17, Episode 20, during which Munch watched young Noah Porter-Benson, Olivia’s son, and even gave him some pretty good advice. It was certainly a special scene, and it’s likely a moment that Hargitay holds close to her heart.
A veteran of the long-running drama series Homicide: Life on the Street, Richard Belzer is one of the most prolific L&O stars, having appeared in over 400 episodes. He made quite a mark on the franchise and within the acting world as a whole. The late star was also a famed comedian known for his eclectic sense of humor. His influence was far-reaching, and we as viewers are a bit poorer for no longer having him on our screens.
After the Law & Order: SVU alum left, he stayed relatively busy. The star moved to a small town outside France to focus on his writing. His bibliography includes Corporate Conspiracies: How Wall Street Will Take Over Washington and Conversations with Jerry Lewis, along with a few other introspective books. His film credit, was 2016’s The Comedian, in which he played himself, and he also poked fun at his persona once more in a 2015 episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Although it had been a while since Richard Belzer was on SVU, John Munch’s absence could still be felt. He’s certainly one of the franchise’s key figures and, because of that, he and his work will likely never be forgotten. Based on Mariska Hargitay’s post, it seems very clear that she won’t forget Belzer’s tremendous impact. He’s wishing the beloved star a Happy Belated Heavenly Birthday.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit fans pining for John Munch stream past seasons of the show using a Peacock subscription.