Comedian Richard Belzer, best known as TV detective John Munch, dies at 78

Comedian Richard Belzer gestures as he attends the 'Django Unchained' premiere in New York December 11, 2012. – Photo: REuters

Richard Belzer, the longtime stand-up comedian who became one of TV's most indelible detectives as John Munch in Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU, has died. He was 78.

Belzer died Sunday at his home in Bozouls in southern France, his longtime friend Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter. Comedian Laraine Newman first announced his death on Twitter. The actor Henry Winkler, Belzer's cousin, wrote "Rest in peace Richard.”