1. John Munch is a fictional character played by actor Richard Belzer.
35 Facts About John Munch
2.
John Munch is originally partnered with Detective Stanley Bolander.
3.
John Munch is based on Jay Landsman, a central figure in David Simon's 1991 true crime book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets.
4.
John Munch appeared in the first 15 seasons of that series from 1999 to 2014, and occasionally as a guest thereafter.
5.
On SVU, John Munch becomes a senior detective in the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit, and is first partnered with Brian Cassidy, followed by Monique Jeffries, and Fin Tutuola.
6.
In season 14, John Munch is temporarily reassigned to the Cold Case Unit, after solving a decade-old child abduction case in the episode "Manhattan Vigil".
7.
The character of John Munch has appeared in a total of ten series on five networks since the character's debut in 1993.
8.
Apart from Homicide and SVU Belzer's performances as John Munch were guest appearances or crossovers rather than regular or recurring appearances.
9.
John Munch first appeared as a central character in the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street, as a homicide detective in the Baltimore Police Department's fictionalized homicide unit, which debuted January 31,1993.
10.
John Munch appeared as a regular character in every season, and in almost every episode, of Homicide.
11.
John Munch is temporarily put in charge again when Cragen is suspended after the detectives mishandle a case.
12.
John Munch makes a cameo appearance on a fifth-season episode of The Wire.
13.
John Munch can be seen at Kavanaugh's Bar arguing with the bartender over his tab by referencing his experience running a bar.
14.
John Munch was born around 1951, though some references in Homicide suggest a birth year of 1944.
15.
John Munch explains growing up in either Pikesville, Maryland, or on the Lower East Side of New York City, depending on the series.
16.
John Munch had two brothers, Bernie and David, and a paternal uncle named Andrew, who suffered from depressive pseudodementia.
17.
John Munch worked with his grandfather in the garment industry and was involved in anti-Vietnam War protests during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
18.
John Munch joined the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit in 1983.
19.
John Munch was partnered with Stanley Bolander, with whom he shared a deep but often combative friendship.
20.
John Munch co-owned "The Waterfront," a bar near the precinct, a venture that he would later reference after moving to New York.
21.
John Munch then moved to New York City, where he joined the NYPD's Special Victims Unit.
22.
Over time, John Munch passed the sergeant's exam on a bet and was promoted, serving as acting commander when needed.
23.
John Munch later married for a fifth time, this time to a rabbi, and moved back to Baltimore, where he resumed ownership of The Waterfront.
24.
John Munch is familiar with common Yiddish words and phrases.
25.
The man remarks that John Munch must be Jewish and consequently agrees to help him out of a fraternal connection.
26.
John Munch has a younger brother named Bernie who owns a funeral parlor; he once joked that he occasionally "throws him some business".
27.
John Munch mentioned another brother who is in the drywall business.
28.
John 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".
29.
When John 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.
30.
John 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.
31.
John Munch closes the case, informing his shift commander there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone.
32.
John Munch has some conversational ability in Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish, Greek, and Hungarian.
33.
In Braugher's first appearance on SVU as Attorney Bayard Ellis, there is an implicit nod towards the shared continuity between the shows when John Munch greets Braugher's character as if he knows him.
34.
John Munch has become the only fictional character, played by a single actor, to physically appear on 10 different television series.
35.
John Munch has been one of the few television characters to cross genres, appearing not only in crime drama series, but sitcom, adult animated sitcom, late night comedy and horror and science fiction.