TV's one-two Munch
Belzer's cop character has appeared on six skeins
Richard Belzer's character of Det. John Munch was skedded to appear on the April 15 episode of "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" -- the sixth series on which the cop has appeared. Belzer believes that's a record for a TV cop, maybe for any series character.
Munch originated on "Homicide" then became a regular on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." Along the way, he's cracked wise in episodes of UPN's "The Beat," "Law & Order" even Fox's "The X-Files," meaning Munch was on three networks.
Belzer can't recall how many perps Munch has shot or how many donuts he has eaten onscreen, but he has collared a real criminal.
"On 'Homicide,' we were filming a scene where he was arresting someone, and a shoplifter came running through the set," Belzer recalls. "He saw all these cop cars and when he saw me, he stopped and dropped the bag." By the time he'd realized it was a TV crew, the real cops had caught him and took him away. But don't expect the character to topline his own series.
"I wouldn't want the workload," says Belzer. "And when people ask what I like to see in a script, I always say, 'Days off.' "
