R I C H A R D   B E L Z E R

"Richard's deep thinking just makes the rest of us look like we're sleeping face down in the sand box."
--Lynne Russell, CNN

"Richard Belzer is one of the funniest black men in America!"
--Chris Rock

Richard Belzer, the veteran stand-up comic, actor, talk show host, and author, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Thrown out, or asked politely to leave, every school he ever attended "due to uncontrollable wit," Belzer parlayed his talent outside of the classroom into a career that has spanned two decades.

Richard Belzer currently stars as John Munch on the NBC-TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street," an intense detective whose temper sometimes gets the best of him. The one-hour series is about a team of Baltimore homicide investigators. The drama is filmed entirely in Baltimore and is executive produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barry Levinson ("Bugsy," "Rain Man").

Widely known for his astute political observations and an insatiable appetite for the news, Belzer began his career as a reporter for the Bridgeport Post and several other newspapers around the country. This interest can be traced directly back to his days as a paper boy in his hometown. Belzer honed his life experiences into barbed comedic material drawn from former jobs as a teacher, census taker, jewelry salesman, dock worker, and several other unmentionable occupations.

Richard Belzer began his career in show business with a starring role in "Groove Tube," the counterculture film that went on to become a cult classic. Since then, Belzer's comedic talents have been featured in every show business medium from off-Broadway ("The National Lampoon Show" with Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi) to radio (Brink and Belzer morning drive-time WNBC) to major Hollywood movies ("Fame," "Author, Author," "Night Shift," and "Scarface").

For the small screen, Belzer recently made television history when his "Homicide" character, Detective John Munch, appeared in three different primetime series in the same week ("Homicide," "Law and Order," and "X-Files"). He starred in his own comedy special for HBO entitled "Another Lone Nut"; the hour special was a mix of vintage "Belzer" and topical material culled from the state of today's political climate. He hosted Comedy Central's 1997 year-end Town Meeting special and recently hosted an ABC primetime special entitled "When Cars Attack." He also appeared in "Elmopalooza," ABC's primetime special commemorating Sesame Street's thirtieth anniversary. Belzer's first-ever comedy CD, "Another Lone Nut," was recently released by Uproar Records.

Belzer has made numerous appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "The Tonight Show," and "Late Night with David Letterman," was a regular on "Thicke of the Night," and had his own six-part comedy series, "The Richard Belzer Show," directed for Cinemax by David Steinberg. He hosted the live national talk show "Hot Properties" on the Lifetime Cable Network. In addition, Richard Belzer is the author of How to Be a Stand-Up Comic, published by Random House, a satirical how-to book with practical information for today's would-be comics.

New projects include an animated weekly series for HBO, "Belzer's Conspiracy Chronicles" (featuring an animated Belzer hosting), a weekly late-night talk show for King World, and hosting Court TV's nightly series "Crime Stories."

Belzer's comedy is perceptive and unrestrained by convention, emanating from a free thinker who has no reservations about saying what is on his mind; that has become Belzer's legendary trademark. There's as much spontaneous invention in a Belzer performance as there are set pieces. The audience never knows what he'll do next...and neither does he. It's comedy with an edge, laughter with a thrill.

Richard Belzer and his wife, Harlee McBride, have two daughters, Jessica and Bree. They live in Baltimore while filming "Homicide" and in France and New York City during the rest of the year. Harlee is his love interest both on and off screen--she has a recurring role as a medical examiner on "Homicide: Life on the Street."