ENGLISH LIT 344 / COMEDY & SATIRE

Who's Who in American Comedy

Richard Belzer

Belzer, known in comic circles as a comedian's comedian, is also a writer and actor, ptobably best known for his tole as Detective John Munch "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." He began his career as a stand-up comic at clubs like Pips, The Improv, and Catch a Rising Star and was a member of the Channel One satirical comedy group (which formed the basis of the movie The Groove Tube. He was the wearm-up comic for Saturday Night Live He wrote sketches for the National Lampoon Radio Hour. He is also the author of How to Be a Stand-Up Comic.

Here he is in 1978 doing his stand-up act.

[For more details on these people, check their listing in Wikipedia, but note--this is one of the rare times I can accept the use of Wikipedia as a source. I have found that most of the information there about these people is reliable.]