Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Sports and Religion
The Day I Talked with Richard Belzer

The Day I Talked with Richard Belzer

Last updated on: February 19, 2023 at 11:24 pm by Jim Meisner Jr.

0 Comments

The Day I Talked with Richard Belzer 2023-02-19T23:24:37-05:00 Jim Meisner Jr.

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Detective John Munch has died. He was 78.

photo by Jay Tamboli

Comedian Richard Belzer played Munch from the first episode of Homicide: Life on the Street in 1993, through eight other series, to his last episode of Law & Order: SVU in 2016.

I spoke to Belzer during filming of the Homicide episode Identity Crisis, season 7, episode 19.

The episode aired April 30, 1999, so we must have shot in late ’98 or early ’99.

Belzer was number one on the call sheet and I was dead last. I was the last person in the last scene on a Friday.

I was lucky to be there at all. After seven years in Baltimore, the producers hired from a very tight core of cast and crew and the same background artists worked several days a week for years.

I played a crime scene photographer.

I spent all day hanging out with the other actors in my scene and wandering back and forth to craft services, where I had the best lobster bisque I’ve ever had. The cook said his secret was not diluting it with milk, it was pure lobster bisque.

I was warned by all the other background actors not to interact with Belzer. It’s known protocol not to distract the principal actors on set, but Belzer was especially bad, I was told. Stay out of his eye line, they said, don’t interact with him in anyway. I had seen him on television and he looked pretty intimidating, so I had no reason not to believe them.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “his last words were, ‘Fuck you, motherfucker.’”

I shot on the same day the cast and crew were told at lunch that the series was probably getting canceled. The mood on the set that afternoon was somber. (I had lunch with Austin Pendleton, but that’s another story. If you’ve ever had lunch with Pendleton, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.)

When I got to set for my scene, a fellow extra dressed as a cop introduced me to the second assistant director, saying, “this is Jim, he’s new.”

The second AD looked me up and down and said, “I can tell.”

A prop person handed me a medical examiner’s camera and showed me how to make it flash, despite the fact it had no film in it.

The second AD showed me my blocking, my first position and where to walk.

The scene was in a coroner’s lab, with Belzer, Pendleton as the coroner, and Kyle Secor as detective Tim Bayliss.

At the end of the scene, after one of the principles made a wisecrack, the second AD yelled “flash,” and I took a picture and set off the flash.

“Can I get a copy of that?” Belzer said after the first take, evoking the only laugh I remember.

We shot the scene repeatedly, each time ending with me and my flash. The camera was on a Steadicam and was constantly moving around the crowed, chaotic set. Blocking went out the window. At one point after a take, I found myself behind the camera operator.

The prop person kept track of how many times I flashed the flash, because he occasionally came over and replaced the bulbs between takes.

When we all wrapped, Belzer and Secor dumped their prop guns and police badges on the examination table and rushed from the set to catch flights home.

I had spoken with Belzer earlier in the day, despite being warned to avoid him.

During one of our many walks to craft services, I found myself several long steps ahead of the rest of the actors in my scene. That’s when I noticed Belzer walking towards us, his hands in his raincoat pockets.

We were about to pass each other in the parking lot and I had only moments to decide what to do. I didn’t want to ignore him, that would have been rude. And yet, I was afraid to look him in the eye and perhaps evoke his wrath.

Finally, as he stepped next to me, I looked Belzer in the eye, and said, “hey,” with a casual nod.

“How’s it going,” he replied.

Jim Meisner, Jr. is the author of the novel Faith, Hope, and Baseball,** available on Amazon, or follow this link to order an autographed copy.

Religious Music and Entertainment

culture

in the news

Richard Belzer

Previous Post

January 24, 2023

Progressive Christianity in 2023

Next Post

February 22, 2023 The Day My Daughter Met President Jimmy Carter

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Jim Meisner reveals in this article his support for the likes of the heartless Biden ..."

notpc

Woody Guthrie’s Deportee

"Your reply to my earlier post suggests that you yourself do not know the Bible ..."

notpc

The Christian Response to Trump

"Jim Meisner is clearly blinded by hate that comes from the far Left propaganda lies ..."

notpc

The Christian Response to Trump

"I suggest you ask Jesus (the teacher, Matthew 23:8-10) to give you the understanding of ..."

notpc

The Christian Response to Trump

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Celtic spirituality Christmas Civil Rights culture Easter Faith images in the news Prayer Quote Scripture Uncategorized vocational ministry Writing

Select a Month August 2026 July 2026 May 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 July 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does Paul say is the greatest of faith, hope, and love?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Strength Faith Hope Love