M. Emmet Walsh, the wily character actor who became an audience favorite for his deliciously despicabe performances in such films as Blood Simple, Blade Runner, Brubaker and The Jerk, has died. He was 88.
Walsh died on Tuesday in St. Albans, Vermont, his longtime manager, Sandy Joseph, told The Hollywood Reporter. His cause of death was cardiac arrest.
With his distinctive lumbering form and droll delivery, Walsh was an ideal supporting player. A master of off-kilter comic delivery and dogged edginess, he excelled at roles that dwelled in the darker corners of humanity. No matter whom he played, he made a colorful impact.
“A consummate old pro of the second-banana business, Walsh has left his mark on 109 movies and counting, with the grin of that big bastard who stands between you and something else — and knows it,” Nicolas Rapold wrote in a 2011 profile of the actor for L.A. Weekly.
In the same piece, Walsh — who wound up with more than 220 credits listed on IMDb — summed up his philosophy toward acting: “I don’t want you to see an M. Emmet Walsh. I want you to see a garbage collector or a president of Princeton or whatever. … I do everyman. And also I play hard.”
With his imposing stature, Walsh often was cast as someone in authority. He played an army recruitment sergeant in Alice’s Restaurant (1969), a prison guard in Little Big Man (1970), a doctor in Airport ’77 (1977), Dustin Hoffman’s belligerent parole office caught with his pants down in Straight Time (1978), a corrupt lumber merchant in Brubaker (1980), the police chief in Critters (1986), a governor in The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) and a sheriff in Bitter Harvest (1993).
Walsh also is fondly remembered for his winning performances as the humble sportswriter Dickie Dunn in Slap Shot (1977), as the relentlessly demented sniper determined to put a bullet in Steve Martin in The Jerk (1979) and as Michael Keaton’s sponsor…
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