Richard Belzer, who was known for his role on the hit TV series “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” died at the age of 78, a friend of the actor confirmed to Fox News Digital on Sunday.
Belzer received scores of tributes across social media, and many stories about the famed actor surfaced. Fans of Belzer and pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan recalled the incident that led to a lawsuit.
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Richard Belzer attends a special screening of “Blood Diamond” in New York on Nov. 30, 2006. (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
Belzer was the host of the show “Hot Properties” in the mid-1980s, and in one episode Hogan and Mr. T were on the program to promote the first-ever WrestleMania. To prove that pro wrestling wasn’t fake, Hogan put Belzer into a front chinlock and the actor passed out and fell to the ground.
Belzer would be knocked out briefly and was helped up by Hogan.
The incident would lead to a lawsuit from Belzer against Hogan, Mr. T, Vince McMahon and WWE (which was known as World Wrestling Federation at the time), according to The Hollywood Reporter. Belzer and the company would reportedly settle for $400,000 in 1990, which he would use for a home in France.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan is shown at WrestleMania X8. (George Pimentel / WireImage / File)
RICHARD BELZER MOURNED BY MARISKA HARGITAY, CHRIS MELONI, BILLY CRYSTAL AND MORE
Belzer named the home Chez Hogan.
“He came very close to killing me,” Belzer told broadcaster Roy Firestone in 1990. “I was told by a sports medicine expert that if I had fallen a few inches either way I could have been crippled for life, I could have been dead.”
Belzer originated in the role of Munch on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” in 1993, later reprising the character on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” People magazine reported that he appeared in nearly 330 episodes of “SVU” between 1999 and 2013 and made two additional cameos in 2014 and 2016.
Comedian Richard Belzer attends the “Django Unchained” premiere in New York on Dec. 11, 2012. (Reuters / Andrew Kelly / File)
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He is survived by his wife, Harlee McBride. They married in 1985. The pair share no biological children, but McBride has two from a previous marriage, Jessica and Shannon Benton.
Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
