Mariska Hargitay Mourns ‘Law & Order’ Co-Star Richard Belzer: ‘I Miss Your Unique Light’

Richard Belzer was honored by his TV household from Law & Order: SVU after helium passed away astatine the property of 78. Following the quality of his decease connected Sunday, February 19, Mariska Hargitay started the outpouring of emotion and enactment from the formed of the constabulary procedural by taking to her Instagram. “Goodbye my dear, beloved friend. I volition miss you, your unsocial light, and your singular instrumentality connected this unusual world,” she wrote alongside a beauteous photograph of the precocious comedian/actor.

The formed of ‘Law & Order: SVU’ paid tribute to Richard Belzer pursuing his decease successful Feb. 2023. (Everett Collection)

“I consciousness blessed to person known you and adored you and worked with you broadside by side, for truthful galore years,” the histrion continued. “How fortunate the angels are to person you. I tin perceive them laughing already. I emotion you truthful precise much, present and forever.”

Belzer’s iconic quality of Detective John Munch was archetypal introduced connected Dick Wolf’s Homicide successful 1993. After the amusement wrapped successful 1999, Wolf wrote Munch arsenic portion of the spinoff Law & Order: SVU and the detective recovered himself relocating from Baltimore to New York to articulation forces with Det. Olivia Benson (Hargitay) and Det. Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). The amusement debuted successful September 1999 and Belzer stayed for 14 seasons.

“I emotion the character. The writers got to cognize me. The quality of Munch was truly adjacent to however I bash things,” Belzer told Smashing Interviews successful 2017. “It was a imagination travel existent for maine and an utter delight to play this quality for truthful galore years. I’m precise lucky.”

Belzer’s longtime household friend, writer Bill Scheft, confirmed the quality of his passing to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday, saying the histrion “had died with this household astir him.” The prima passed distant astatine his location successful southwest France aft a conflict with “lots of wellness issues,” Scheft told the outlet. And to perfectly sum up Belzer’s acerbic wit, Scheft added, “His past words were, ‘F*** you, m***********.’”

HollywoodLife volition proceed to stock tributes from the ‘Law & Order’ formed arsenic they travel in. Stay tuned for more…

Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.