John Munch

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John Munch
Homicide: Life on the Street and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit character
First appearance
Last appearance
  • "
    Forgive Us Our Trespasses
    " (HLOTS) 1999
  • "
    Fashionable Crimes
    " (SVU) 2016
Created byPaul Attanasio
Portrayed by
Other appearances
In-universe information
Nickname
  • Johnny (in childhood)[1]
  • Munchkin (as Baltimore detective)
GenderMale
Title
  • Homicide Detective (HLOTS)
  • Special Victims Unit Detective (SVU seasons 1–8)
  • Special Victims Unit Sergeant (SVU seasons 9–15)
  • Cold Case Sergeant (SVU season 14)
  • DA Investigator (SVU season 15 – present)
Occupation
Family
  • Pete Munch (father)
  • Bernard Munch (brother)
  • David Munch (brother)
  • Andrew Munch (uncle)
Spouse
  • Gwen Munch (divorced)
  • Billie Lou Hatfield (divorced)
  • Felicia Munch (divorced)
  • Nancy Munch (divorced)
Relatives
  • Andrew Munch (uncle)
  • Lee Munch (cousin)
ReligionJudaism

John Munch is a fictional character played by actor

David Simon's 1991 true crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.[3]

Upon the cancellation of Homicide in 1999, Belzer was offered a regular role as Munch on the

Fashionable Crimes
".

The character of Munch has appeared in a total of ten series on five networks since the character's debut in 1993. Apart from Homicide and SVU, however, Belzer's performances as Munch were guest appearances or crossovers rather than regular or recurring appearances. With Munch's retirement in the character's 22nd season on television, he was a regular character on U.S. television longer than Marshal Matt Dillon (Gunsmoke) and Frasier Crane (Cheers and Frasier), both of whom were on television for 20 seasons; he is only behind Mariska Hargitay's character Olivia Benson and Ice-T's Fin Tutuola. Munch's return to help his friends in the SVU seventeenth-season episode "Fashionable Crimes" marks the 23rd season that the character has appeared on television in any capacity.

Character progression

Munch first appeared as a central character in the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street, as a homicide

David Simon's 1991 true crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, a documentary account of the homicide unit's operation over one year.[4] However, Munch's storyline also touched on the book's depiction of the relationship between real-life detectives Donald Worden and David Brown, in which Worden was relentless in his tutelage/hazing of the younger detective but also genuinely wanted him to succeed and was impressed when the younger cop did excellent work. A storyline in the book involving Brown's cracking a very difficult hit-and-run homicide was included almost verbatim in the show's pilot
.

Barry Levinson, co-creator and executive producer of Homicide, said Belzer was a "lousy actor" during his audition when he first read lines from the script for "Gone for Goode", the first episode in the series.[5] Levinson asked Belzer to take some time to reread and practice the material, then come back and read it again. During his second reading, Levinson said Belzer was "still terrible", but that the actor eventually found confidence in his performance.[6]

Munch appeared as a regular character in every season, and in almost every episode, of Homicide. After Homicide: Life on the Street concluded its seventh season in May 1999, the character transferred into the Law & Order universe as a regular character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (both Homicide and the original Law & Order had crossed-over numerous times before, and Munch had featured centrally in each crossover). It is explained that Munch had retired from the Baltimore Police Department, taken his

sex crimes
investigation unit, where he was eventually given a promotion to sergeant.

Munch joined the BPD's homicide unit in 1983.[7] During the fourth-season premiere of Homicide: Life on the Street, he signs up to take a promotion exam in hopes of becoming a sergeant, but a "comedy of errors" prevents him from showing up for it. In the first episode of the ninth season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, it is revealed that he passed the NYPD sergeant's exam, having taken it on a bar bet, and earned his promotion.[8] He is temporarily promoted to commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit following Cragen's temporary reassignment, but is depicted as happily relinquishing control back to him, commenting upon Cragen's return, "This job sucks." He kept his rank, however, as he is still referred to as Sergeant in later episodes.[9] He is temporarily put in charge again when Cragen is suspended after the detectives mishandle a case.[10]

Munch makes a cameo appearance on a fifth-season episode of The Wire.[11] Munch can be seen at Kavanaugh's Bar arguing with the bartender over his tab by referencing his experience running a bar (he opened The Waterfront Bar in Homicide). He appears in "Unusual Suspects", the third episode of the fifth season of The X-Files—the episode is set in 1989, when Munch was still at the Baltimore Police Department.[12]

Character biography

Though his age is never directly stated on Homicide, a few clues are presented pointing to it. In the episode "

Homicide in which the ongoing conflict between Munch and Det. Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety) culminates. After a confrontation inside the Waterfront bar, Gharty asks Munch how old he was in 1970, during the Vietnam War
, to which Munch responds "Eighteen", putting the year of his birth circa 1951.

SVU and Homicide have Munch growing up in different places. In Homicide, he is a native of Maryland and attended high school in Pikesville, which has a large Jewish community. Munch said that he took many field trips to Fort McHenry as a child, which would likely only happen were he to live in the area.[14] In SVU, however, Munch tells Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) that he grew up on the "Lower East Side".[15] Munch also tells Det. Fin Tutuola (Ice-T) that he "came back from Baltimore" after his fourth marriage broke up.[16] In Homicide, he says he attended Pikesville High School for four years.[1] His grandfather worked in the garment business. Munch worked with him in the early 1960s.[17]

Munch's childhood was not a happy one. He and his brothers Bernie and David were physically abused by their father, who had

third season of Homicide, Munch mentions to both Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) that he had an uncle who lived up north but was unsure of what became of him – this is presumably Andrew. Munch is affected by the death of a young girl who lived near him when he was a teenager; he feels guilty for not noticing that she was being abused by her mother, who eventually killed her, despite seeing the girl every day when he came home from school.[15] In the 14th season SVU episode "Twenty-Five Acts", it is mentioned that Munch's mother is living in a retirement community.[20]

During the late 1960s and the early 1970s, he was an occasional reporter and music reviewer for the

anti-Vietnam War protests, the FBI believed that he was a dilettante and posed no threat.[21]

Munch's partner at the start of Homicide is Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty), an experienced police detective with more than 20 years under his belt. The two are partners through the show's first three seasons until Bolander is first suspended and then retires. Despite the tremendous amount of grief the two give each other, Munch respects him and counts him as a dear friend.

In SVU, Munch is first partnered with

Neo-Nazi during a trial,[25] the dialogue he shares with Fin in the hospital demonstrates the warm regard the characters have for each other. When Fin gets frustrated over a potential witness being unable to testify due to relapsing on heroin, Munch mentions a former partner – likely Steve Crosetti – who took cases like that personally and eventually committed suicide as a result.[26]

In Homicide, along with Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson), Munch is co-owner of "The Waterfront", a bar located across the street from their Baltimore police station. This is referenced in season 5 of The Wire, in episode 7, titled "Took". Munch is speaking to a bartender at Kavanaugh's as journalist Augustus Haynes (Clark Johnson) walks in. The camera pans by him as he says the lines, "Rodney, you can't press a regular for his whole tab. It just isn't done. I used to run a bar, I know how these things work, remember?"

Even during the

severe recession of the late 2000s, Munch talks about wanting to buy a bar again in New York.[27]

In SVU, Munch takes the Sergeant's exam on a bar bet, passes, and is promoted to that rank.

shadow box containing all the badges he carried as a police officer in both Baltimore and New York. As the episode concludes, Munch is at his desk in the squad room, packing his personal items into a box. He has a brief flashback to "Gone for Goode", the Homicide series premiere, in which he sat at his desk to go through a pile of mug shots. The phone rings, and he answers it "Homicide, I mean SVU"; he then puts the caller on hold and leaves with his box.[29]

Munch later returns to SVU to bail Amaro out of jail after the latter beats up a

pedophile.[30]

Munch returns for the final time to help SVU investigate a photographer who has raped several female models. After the case is closed, he babysits Benson's son, Noah. Before he leaves, Munch and Benson both remark that there are so many things in life that are more important than working at SVU.[31]

In a later episode, Fin relates that Munch has married for a fifth time, his new wife being a rabbi, and that he has moved back to Baltimore and resumed ownership of the Waterfront.[32]

In "Tunnel Blind", the premiere episode of the show's 25th season, it is revealed that Munch has passed away. After celebrating the christening of Rollins and Dominick Carisi, Jr.'s son, Fin, Carisi, and Benson make a toast to his memory.[33]

List of assignments

  • Detective, Baltimore PD Homicide (1983–May 5, 1995)
  • Senior Detective, Baltimore PD Homicide (October 20, 1995 – May 21, 1999)
  • Senior Detective, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (September 20, 1999 – May 22, 2007)
  • Sergeant–Detective Squad, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (September 25, 2007 – October 16, 2013)
  • Special Investigator, New York County District Attorney's Office (October 16, 2013–Present)

Temporary assignments

  • Acting Commanding Officer, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (September 25, 2007)
  • Acting Commanding Officer, NYPD 16th Precinct (Special Victims Unit) (November 11, 2009)
  • Sergeant–Detective Squad, NYPD Cold Case Squad (October 31, 2012 – February 13, 2013)

Ranks

  • Officer
  • Detective (Baltimore PD)
  • Detective 1st Grade (NYPD)[34]
  • Sergeant[8]
  • District Attorney Special Investigator (New York County DA)[8]

Partners

Homicide: Life on the Street:

Law & Order: SVU:

Awards and decorations

The following are the medals and service awards worn by NYPD Detective Munch, as seen in "Alternate".

American Flag Breast Bar
World Trade Center Breast Bar
NYPD Excellent Police Duty
NYPD Firearms Proficiency Bar

Characteristics

Munch is

Riverdale neighborhood in The Bronx.[35] He identifies his ethnic background as Romanian.[15]

He has a younger brother named Bernie who owns a

funeral parlor; he once joked that he occasionally "throws him some business". He mentioned another brother who is in the drywall business.[7] His brother David attended his farewell roast.[29]
His cousin Lee acts as his accountant—and the accountant for The Waterfront—when he lives in Baltimore.

Munch has been described as a stubborn man who distrusts all women, all forms of government and authority, and "can smell a conspiracy at a five-year-old's lemonade stand".

hallucinogenic gas.[12]

At the onset of Homicide, he had been divorced twice and was dating a woman named Felicia. By the seventh season, he had a total of three ex-wives until marrying Waterfront bartender Billie Lou Hatfield (Ellen McElduff).[37] Before leaving Baltimore, Munch had divorced Billie Lou after discovering she had been having an affair with a member of his own precinct after less than one day of marriage.[34] In the season 1 finale of SVU, a police psychiatrist notes that despite his cynicism regarding relationships, Munch still believes in true love and is devastated by the fact he has not yet found it.[36]

He once stated that he and his first wife Gwen had sex once after their divorce. Her first on-screen appearance is the Homicide episode "All Is Bright", in which she is played by Carol Kane. Gwen shows up at The Waterfront to inform Munch her mother has died. As the two catch up, he agrees to arrange for the funeral of Gwen's mother despite the fact his ex-mother-in-law loathed him and did everything in her power to disrupt her daughter's marriage to him. Near the end of the episode, Munch performs a touching toast to his former mother-in-law in one of the few times his cynical façade slips. Kane next returns as Gwen in "Zebras", the season 10 finale of SVU, and is portrayed as suffering from

Ed Green, played by Jesse L. Martin
).

While Munch could never be accused of being sentimental, his cynical façade has occasionally slipped, revealing a deep compassion for children born from his unhappy childhood. When Munch emerges unscathed from an ambush shooting during a third-season episode of Homicide that leaves three of his colleagues hospitalized, he tries to laugh it off but breaks down in tears.[39] In the second season of SVU, after solving a case dealing with an abusive mother who put her daughter in a coma, Munch tells Benson that when he was in high school, one of his neighbors killed her daughter and for years afterward he felt guilty for failing to recognize the girl needed help.[15]

Munch is a staunch believer in individual rights and occasionally finds that something he has to do in the line of duty goes against his sense of morality. A particularly disturbing experience for him was having to see patients on dialysis have their kidney transplants denied.[40]

In a third-season episode of Homicide, Munch is suspected by Detective Tim Bayliss of having murdered Gordon Pratt (Steve Buscemi), the suspect in the shooting of three homicide detectives, including Munch's partner Stanley Bolander. Munch had motive, opportunity, an unconfirmed alibi, and never actually denies killing Pratt, but Bayliss refuses to question Munch further or test his service weapon to determine if it has been fired recently. He closes the case, informing his shift commander there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone.[41]

Munch is fluent in

Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, Greek, and Hungarian
.

Diminished role

A 2007 news item noted the character of Munch "has slowly disappeared from [SVU's] plotlines", and quotes Belzer as saying "[i]t's mystifying to me", admitting his feelings to be "slightly hurt".[44] Following season nine, in which Munch appeared in just over half of the episodes, Belzer reiterated his mystification at the development but also seemed to want to tone it down: "It's like yanking the tonsils out of the gift horse if I complain too much. I've been lucky over the years...c'est la vie, I'm not starving."[45]

Continuity

Although Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: SVU officially share the same continuity, they provide conflicting accounts of Munch's childhood and SVU rarely mentions Munch's past as a Baltimore homicide detective. Four regular actors from Homicide (Peter Gerety, Callie Thorne, Michael Michele, Andre Braugher) and two recurring ones (Clayton LeBouef, Željko Ivanek), whose characters regularly interacted with Munch on that series have appeared as different, unrelated characters on SVU, sometimes sharing scenes with Munch. In Braugher's first appearance on SVU as Attorney Bayard Ellis, there is an implicit nod towards the shared continuity between the shows when Munch greets Braugher's character as if he knows him. "There's a glimmer of [recognition]," as Braugher described the meeting.[46]

There were three specific examples of consistent continuity between the two shows, all related to Munch's personal life. One is Munch's amicable divorce from Gwen, who has appeared in episodes of both Homicide and SVU.

Homicide: The Movie features Munch's temporary return to assist the Baltimore Homicide Unit when his friend and former boss – BPD Lieutenant Al Giardello – has been shot, with dialogue acknowledging that Munch is currently assigned to Manhattan's Special Victims Unit. The two shows come together for Munch's retirement when his SVU party is attended by Homicide BPD Detective Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) and his first and fourth ex-wives, Gwen and Billie Lou, who were both introduced as characters on Homicide.[47]

Credits

From 1993 to 1997, Belzer has been credited as portraying Detective John Munch in all 122 episodes of

Homicide: The Movie
.

Belzer continued to portray Munch on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 1999 to 2016, being credited in 325 episodes (appearing in 242 episodes).

Additionally, within the larger Law & Order universe, Belzer has been credited for appearing as Munch in five other episodes—four episodes in the original Law & Order series, appearances spanning from 1996 to 2000, and one episode of the short-lived spinoff series, Law & Order: Trial by Jury in 2005.

Homicide: Life on the Street appearances
Season Years Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
1
 1993
2
 1994
3
 1994–95
4
 1995–96 ×
5
 1996–97
6
 1997-98 ×
7
 1998–99 ×
Homicide: The Movie
 2000
Seasons Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Episodes
Law & Order appearances
Season Years Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
6
 1996
8
 1997
9
 1999
10
 2000
Seasons Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Episodes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit appearances
Season Years Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1
 1999–2000
2
 2000–2001 ×
3
 2001–2002 × ×
4
 2002–2003 ×
5
 2003–2004 × ×
6
 2004–2005 × × ×
7
 2005–2006 × × ×
8
 2006–2007 × × × ×
9
 2007–2008 × × × × × × ×
10
 2008–2009 × × × × × × ×
11
 2009–2010 × × × × × × × × × × ×
12
 2010–2011 × × × × × × × × × × × × × × ×
13
 2011–2012 × × × × × × × × × ×
14
 2012–2013 × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × ×
15
 2013–2014 × ×
17
 2015–2016
Seasons Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Episodes
Law & Order: Trial by Jury appearances
Season Years Episodes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1
 2005
Seasons Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Episodes

Other appearances

The character has spanned over 20 years and 23 seasons of network television. Along with his main cast roles on Homicide and SVU, Munch, or Belzer portraying a parody of the role, has also appeared as a character in other TV series, movies, talk shows, albums and comic books:

Munch has become the only fictional character, played by a single actor, to physically appear on 10 different television series. These shows were on five different networks:

HBO (The Wire) and ABC
(Jimmy Kimmel Live!). Munch has been one of the few television characters to cross genres, appearing not only in crime drama series, but sitcom (Arrested Development), adult animated sitcom (American Dad), late night comedy (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) and horror and science fiction (The X-Files).

See also

References

  1. ^
    Kaddish". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 5. Episode 17. February 21, 1997. NBC.
  2. ^ J Bobby. "The HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET Glossary".
  3. Baltimore Sun Media Group. Archived from the original
    on December 13, 2013.
  4. ISBN 0-395-48829-X
    .
  5. A.H. Belo Corporation
    . p. 1E.
  6. A&E Home Video
    .
  7. ^
    Gone for Goode". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 1. Episode 1. January 31, 1993. NBC.
  8. ^
    Alternate". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 9. Episode 1. September 25, 2007. NBC.
  9. Savant". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 9. Episode 7. October 16, 2007. NBC.
  10. Turmoil". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 11. Episode 8. November 11, 2009. NBC.
  11. Took". The Wire
    . Season 5. Episode 7. February 17, 2008. HBO.
  12. ^ a b "Unusual Suspects". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 3. November 16, 1997. NBC.
  13. ^ In 1958, Maryland required students complete 12th grade to receive a diploma.
  14. A Many Splendored Thing". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 2. Episode 4. January 27, 1994. NBC.
  15. ^
    Legacy". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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  16. Manhunt". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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  17. Entitled". Law & Order
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  18. Painless". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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  19. Uncle". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 8. Episode 4. October 10, 2006. NBC
    .
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    .
  21. Sideshow". Law & Order
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  22. Disrobed". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 1. Episode 13. February 4, 2000. NBC
    .
  23. Limitations". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 1. Episode 14. February 11, 2000. NBC
    .
  24. Honor". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 2. Episode 2. October 27, 2000. NBC
    .
  25. Raw". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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  26. Sacrifice". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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  27. Trials". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 10. Episode 1. September 23, 2008. NBC
    .
  28. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 15. Episode 4. October 9, 2013. NBC.
  29. ^
    Wonderland Story". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 15. Episode 5. October 16, 2013. NBC.
  30. Spring Awakening". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 15. Episode 24. May 21, 2014. NBC.
  31. Fashionable Crimes". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 17. Episode 20. May 4, 2016. NBC.
  32. ^ Hurley, Laura (February 17, 2023). "Law And Order: SVU's Big Fin Episode Came With An Update On Munch, And Now I Miss The Old Days". CIN EMABLEND. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  33. Tunnel Blind". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Season 25. Episode 1. January 18, 2024. NBC
    .
  34. ^
    Payback". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 1. Episode 1. October 18, 1999. NBC.
  35. Stalked". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 1. Episode 8. November 22, 1999. NBC.
  36. ^
    Slaves". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 1. Episode 22. May 19, 2000. NBC.
  37. Forgive Us Our Trespasses". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 7. Episode 22. May 21, 1999. NBC.
  38. For God and Country". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 4. Episode 12. February 9, 1996. NBC.
  39. The City That Bleeds". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 3. Episode 12. January 27, 1995. NBC.
  40. Parts". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 6. Episode 22. May 17, 2006. NBC.
  41. Law and Disorder". Homicide: Life on the Street
    . Season 3. Episode 15. February 24, 1995. NBC.
  42. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 12. Episode 15. February 2, 2011. NBC.
  43. Russian Love Poem". Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
    . Season 1. Episode 12. January 21, 2000. NBC.
  44. ^ "Belzer Wants More Episodes". Contact Music. December 11, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  45. ISBN 978-1933771885
    .
  46. ^ Stanhope, Kate (November 1, 2011). "Andre Braugher on SVU: "He May Be the Enemy, But He's Not a Villain". TV Guide. New York City: NTVB Publishing. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  47. Zap2It. Archived from the original
    on October 10, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  48. ^ "Jimmy Kimmel Live, Season 7, 130 : Joel McHale, Richard Belzer, KISS". WJLA-TV. Internet Archive. 8 October 2009. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
  49. Radio.com. Archived from the original
    on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017. There was a Law & Order star, Richard Belzer, in a fake spin-off.
  50. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

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