So who saw this past Sunday's episode of The Wire? If you did, then you probably saw the quick little cameo by Richard Belzer as a bar patron near the end of the episode. After I watched it, one question came to mind: was he playing John Munch? According to this NPR article, he was. However, the basis for the logic was subtle and only a serious TV buff would have picked up on it. Not even I caught it and I'm a huge Wire and Homicide fan.
At one point during his conversation with the bartender (as Clark Johnson's character Gus Haynes walked by) Munch mentioned that he owned a bar once. Now if you recall, in the later seasons of Homicide, Munch did own a bar. Here's where it gets interesting though. Do you remember who he owned the bar with? Detective Meldrick Lewis... played by Clark Johnson. Crazy, huh?
Anyway, here's the real point of this post. With this appearance on The Wire, Belzer has now played Munch on eight different programs. That's insane! The only other characters to come close to that are Norm and Cliff (George Wendt and John Ratzenberger) from Cheers with seven distinct appearances each. Read on for more...
Where else have you seen John Munch? Here's the list:
- Homicide: Life on the Street
- The X-Files
- Law & Order
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury
- The Beat
- Arrested Development
- The Wire
I think what surprises me the most is that he's never guested on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Or for that matter, an episode of The Simpsons. Regardless, it's still pretty impressive.
UPDATE: Make that ten different series. According to this USA Today post dated 8/5/07, Belzer has played Munch on The Simpsons as well as Sesame Street. Hilarious. [Thanks to Nate for the tip!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-19-2008 @ 10:21AM
Dawn said...
I actually caught this one right away , it was great. I turned to my son and said he's Munch and the whole bar thing I'm surprised that he was never on Oz now that would have been truly unexpected
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2-19-2008 @ 10:21AM
Billy said...
So this means The Wire is merely a figment of Tommy Westphall's mind:
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~kwgow/crossovers.html
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2-19-2008 @ 10:57AM
Tele-Toby said...
What makes it more impressive, and leaves any other contenders in the dust, is that Munch has also been appearing on several different networks, as opposed to most crossovers which stick to the home base.
NBC, FOX, UPN, HBO.... They need to get him into an episode of 'CSI:NY' or 'Without A Trace' for that CBS link, and maybe 'Boston Legal' for ABC? I guess something could come up for the CW as well.....
Also, I would have counted the 'Homicide: The Movie' as a separate entity, but I guess I'm in the minority there.
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2-19-2008 @ 10:58AM
Mandy said...
"I think what surprises me the most is that he's never guested on Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Rumor is he will be playing Det. Munch on France's version of this show in the spring.
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2-19-2008 @ 11:33AM
eric f. said...
Ah! You solved the mystery for me!! I immediately got the Munch appearance as I did remember him owning a bar on Homicide.
The mystery for me was Clark Johnson. The Wire has been spread out for so many years, I couldn't remember who his character was. When he appeared so many times at the beginning of this season in the newspaper, I thought "didn't he used to be a cop at the beginning of the series?".
But alas, he was on Homicide. Thank you. Now my brain can rest.
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2-19-2008 @ 11:52AM
Saundra said...
What makes Munch’s appearance so apropos is that he is a Baltimore detective and also, if you recall, Gus Haynes stated that he was in a cop bar. Whatever the reason, it was a nice moment for Homicide fans!
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2-19-2008 @ 12:08PM
nate said...
i think it's actually ten shows. i'm pretty sure he also showed up on the simpsons and sesame street as munch.
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2-19-2008 @ 12:08PM
nate said...
check out this u.s.a. today article for confirmation of those two shows. http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/2007/08/belzer-characte.html
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2-19-2008 @ 12:12PM
Kid Zed said...
Detective Munch is like a singularity in the universe contained within the mind of Tommy Westfall!
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2-19-2008 @ 12:13PM
Marney Clay said...
Munch is the greatest character of all time! Too bad Kyle Secor didn't have him included in any of his shows. Maybe they would have lasted longer. Munch would have fit right in at the White House. He could have played an aid to Gena Davis, the President. He is so good I have even imortalized him by naming my Shar Pei John Munch and he is one beautiful purebred! Munch lives forever!
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2-19-2008 @ 1:10PM
sitruc said...
Does Criminal Intent even exist in the L&O world anymore?
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2-19-2008 @ 1:33PM
D-Bo said...
Richard Belzer ftw
I would love to see Munch and Goren work a case together...
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2-19-2008 @ 5:50PM
Andy said...
Munch has never been on The Simpsons, and the character's appearance on Sesame Street was not played by Belzer.
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2-19-2008 @ 5:50PM
Urban Thought said...
Of course, Criminal Intent exists in the Law & Order world. This is why Chris Noth (Mike Logan) is able to play his reprised roll on the show.
Criminal Intent shares the same Medical Examiner as the original Law & Order.
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2-19-2008 @ 5:51PM
Urban Thought said...
Of course, Criminal Intent exists in the Law & Order world. This is why Chris Noth (Mike Logan) is able to play his reprised roll on the show.
Criminal Intent shares the same Medical Examiner as the original Law & Order.
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2-20-2008 @ 7:20AM
FreeAgent said...
Munch is the king. They need to put him back in major status on SVU instead of recurring.
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2-20-2008 @ 7:21AM
SJ said...
How about some more trivia for the scene:
-Munch was based on the real life detective Jay Landsman. The real Jay Landsman plays Lt. Mello on The Wire and he was in the bar at the same time as Munch too. The only thing which would have made it even more weird was if the Jay Landsman of The Wire (fat sergeant who orders the detectives around) was also in the bar at the same time.
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2-20-2008 @ 7:24AM
Jonathan Toomey said...
You lifted that right from my review of the episode :)
http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/02/17/the-wire-took/
"Richard Belzer! He only had a few lines and no one, other than the bartender, acknowledged him. So, the big question? Was he supposed to be just some guy? Or was he supposed to be Munch? Because if so, that would create a nice little connection with Homicide. Plus it would be about the millionth show that Belzer has portrayed that role on. Also of note? The character of John Munch was based on the real life Jay Landsman, who just so happened to also be in the bar. Landsman plays Lt. Dennis Mello, whom Gus sat done and spoke with. (Not to be confused with Delaney Williams, who plays Jay Landsman on The Wire. Got it?)"
2-20-2008 @ 11:58AM
SJ said...
Hmm that does seem like it is from your review. To be honest I already knew this info from before.
2-20-2008 @ 7:20AM
Nathaniel said...
I remember reading (sorry, don't have a source, and no, not from earlier in this thread) that the Sesame Street appearance was not played by Belzer.
Nonetheless, this is awesome! Even though I have only seen the Arrested Development appearance of Munch, I am a nerd for crossovers, and this is amazing.
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