Richard Belzer’s spouse, Harlee McBride, remains silent as her husband, the renowned detective icon, passed away in Bozouls in southwest France yesterday, February 19, 2023.
Richard Belzer had been wed three different times in his life. Gail Susan Rose was his initial spouse. They tied the knot in 1966 but unfortunately parted ways in 1972.
Later, he wedded a boutique manager, Dalia Danoch, in 1976. His second marriage journey also ended in divorce in 1978.
Finally, in Los Angeles, Belzer encountered Harlee McBride. At that time, Harlee was a 31-year-old divorced woman with two daughters, Jessica and Bree Benton.
Harlee had previously appeared in Playboy magazine’s s*x-in-cinema with Young Lady Chatterley four years earlier.
Harlee was working as an actor in free theater and featuring in television commercials for Ford.
She was introduced to Special Victims Unit star Richard Belzer by a mutual friend, and the two hit it off. In 1985, they got married and have remained together since then.
Law & Order Actor: Richard Belzer Passes Away
Richard, the actor, and comedian best known for portraying the acerbic Detective John Munch over several NBC crime dramas, including “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” for over twenty years, has passed away at the age of 78.
According to his long-time friend, the actor passed away last Sunday, February 19, 2023, at his home in Bozouls in southwest France. However, Belzer’s cause of death has not been disclosed yet.
On Sunday, writer Bill Scheft, Richard’s long-time and close friend, said Detective John Munch had passed away. The writer was with him until his last breath and reported that Richard had been suffering from many health issues.
According to Scheft, Richard Belzer’s last words were, “F*ck you, motherf*cker.” His manager, Eric Gardner, also added that Belzer passed away peacefully at his place in France.
Richard was famous for his memorable role as Detective John Munch, first appearing on NBC’s crime drama series “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1999. In 2000, he reprised that role in the television movie “Homicide: The Movie” and also appeared as the famous detective in four episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Richard reappeared as John Munch again in “Law & Order: SVU,” where he continuously appeared in 326 episodes between 1999 to 2016. However, in 2013 his character retired, but he returned in two additional episodes after retirement.
Similar to Richard, detective John possesses conspiratorial thinking, a Jewish background, and a dry sense of humor. Over time, his glasses-wearing, wise-cracking, and scrawny investigator became one of the most famous cops in television crime show history.
In an interview with The Boomer Tube, he said, “I would never be a detective, but if I were, that’s how I’d be. The character is very close to how I would be. They write to all my paranoia and anti-establishment dissidence and conspiracy theories, so it’s been a lot of fun for me. It’s been a dream actually.”
