Richard Belzer

by Frank Halperin

Is there anyone cooler than Richard Belzer? Certainly not in stand-up circles, where he’s always been the James Dean of postmodern comedy. Geared with an insouciant grace and a Ginsu-sharp intellect, his strychnine wit is not tainted by arrogance -- it glistens with a pointed, self-assured attitude that separates the wise from the wise-asses. Calling on the train from Philly en route to New York, Belz said he is looking forward to his return trip here this weekend to play the Keswick Theatre. "Philadelphia has always been a great city to work in, ever since I started out in the ’70s," he says. A few excerpts from Richard’s almanac: Hailing from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Belzer toiled as a newspaper reporter, teacher, census-taker and dockworker before his emergence as a key figure in the 1970s’ comedy revolution. First, there was the ’74 film The Groove Tube, Ken Shapiro’s counterculture hodgepodge of sketches satirizing TV that also included in its cast a young-and-struggling Chevy Chase. Then he contributed as a writer/performer for the landmark humor entity that was the National Lampoon, collaborating with future SNL pioneers Chase, John Belushi (a dear friend), Bill Murray and Gilda Radner on such projects as the classic 1977 album That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick!, the latter featuring Belzer improvising as the brilliantly caustic phone-in radio host Dick Ballentine. (Caller: "What’s a good shampoo to use, should I get one that’s pH balanced?" Ballentine/Belzer: "Yep, ah, excuse me one moment -- have you ever heard of the expression "gizzum"?) After decades of headlining on the club circuit, he’s also penned books (UFOs, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe and co-author of How to Be a Standup Comic) and appeared in countless films (Fame, Scarface). Currently, he can be seen each week on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective John Munch -- a character he has managed to reprise in five series, starting with Homicide: Life on the Street ("a highlight of my career," he says), and continuing with Law & Order, The X-Files and The Beat. Expect a full-tilt display of sardonic entertainment on Saturday night from a mind that always thinks in overdrive.