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Ice T Opens Up About Richard Belzer's Passing: 'I Love Him, Man'
The two played work partners for years on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Ice T recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and opened up about the recent passing of his former co-star, Richard Belzer, who played Detective Munch on SVU.
After discussing his eventful past month—which included getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and performing in the Grammys hip-hop tribute—Ice T's interview took a more bittersweet turn when Host Jimmy Fallon brought up Belzer.
“I have one of the greatest weeks of my life. I go out, have fun at the Grammys, I get this star. Everybody’s like ‘Ice, Ice, this is your week.’ [I] wake up the next day, Belzer passed away,” Ice T said.
“So those moments when I was having fun, that was just a short blip. And now I gotta deal with the death of one of my really close friends,” he added introspectively.
Ice T then went on to discuss the dynamic between himself and Belzer on set. “I mean, when I came on SVU, me and Belzer, we clicked really quickly," he said. "It's hard to talk about Belzer without being funny, but Belzer was like-"
“He was one of the funniest people on Earth,” Fallon commented.
Ice T continued to reminiscence about Belzer’s memorable sense of humor. “Belzer got me real quick. He says, ‘Ice T, you’re gonna be my partner. You know what I look for in a script?’ I’m like, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘Days off,”" he recollected, causing the audience to roar with laughter. “He said, ‘We’re both nightclub entertainers. We both don’t like working late, and we don’t like working much. Me and you will be great partners.’”
“I love Belzer, man,” Ice T concluded with a sentimental sigh.
Richard Belzer passed away in February at the age of 78. Shortly after the news broke, Ice T took to his official Instagram page to honor the late actor’s memory.
“Highs and Lows… After one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I wake up to the news I lost my friend today. Belz is gone.. Damn it! But remember this..’When you ARE having real fun and are Truly Happy. ENJOY it to the fullest! Cause Pain is inevitably coming.’ I’ll miss you Homie 🙏” he captioned a post with an SVU snapshot of the two.
Watch Law & Order: SVU on NBC Thursdays at 9/8c and next day on Peacock. Also be sure to watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC weeknights at 11:35/10:35c and next day on Peacock.
