Beloved, Prolific Character Actor M. Emmet Walsh Has Died, Aged 88
The actor, who became so well known for his sterling supporting actor work that Roger Ebert coined a rule about the reliability of his performances, died Tuesday.
M. Emmet Walsh in 'Outlaw Posse.' Photo: Quiver Distribution.
Preview:
- Actor M. Emmet Walsh has died at the age of 88.
- He was known for movies such as ‘Blood Simple’ and ‘Blade Runner’.
- ‘Knives Out’ director Rian Johnson is among those who have paid tribute.
M. Emmet Walsh, a reliable, fondly appreciated character actor known for corrupt cops, deadly crooks, and zany comedic performances, has died days short of his 89th birthday.
The actor’s manager Sandy Joseph and publicist Cynthia Snyder announced his death on Wednesday. Walsh died on Tuesday in St. Albans, Vermont, following cardiac arrest.
Here’s Snyder’s statement:
“In a remarkable career spanning six decades on stage, in film and television, he became widely recognized for his standout portrayals of such memorable characters.”
M. Emmet Walsh: Early Life and Career
M. Emmet Walsh in 'Critters.' Photo: New Line Cinema.
Born in 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York, Walsh was raised in Vermont. He kicked off his acting career in typical fashion, with guest roles in TV series in the 1960s and 70s, but unlike some of his peers, he continued to juggle big and small screen jobs throughout his life (his most recent small screen appearance was 2022’s ‘American Gigolo’ series.)
Early TV gigs included small roles on shows such as ‘The Doctors’, ‘All in the Family’, ‘Ironside’ ‘Bonanza’, ‘The Waltons’, ‘The Rockford Files’ and the pilot of ‘The Bob Newhart Show’.
His first cinematic appearance was in an uncredited role in 1969’s ‘Midnight Cowboy’ but he got his initial credit on ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ the same year.
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M. Emmet Walsh: Prolific Acting Work
(L to R) Daniel Craig, M. Emmet Walsh and LaKeith Stanfield in 'Knives Out.' Photo: Lionsgate.
From there, Walsh grew an incredibly prolific acting career thanks to his ability to knock supporting roles out of the park.
His credits are too many to list in one obituary, but he’ll be remembered for movies such as ‘Blade Runner,’ ‘Blood Simple’, ‘Raising Arizona’, ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’, ‘Fletch’, ‘Back to School’, ‘Critters’, ‘What’s Up, Doc?’ ‘Slap Shot’ and as the crazed sniper hunting Steve Martin in ‘The Jerk’.
Fletch
M. Emmet Walsh: Roger Ebert’s Rule
Walsh has long been considered a reliable supporting performer –– so reliable, in fact, that legendary movie critic Roger Ebert once coined the Stanton-Walsh Rule, which held that “no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad,” though he admitted it wasn’t an infallible rule.
Walsh had his own rule when it came to his career:
“I approach each job thinking it might be my last, so it better be the best work possible. I want to be remembered as a working actor. I’m being paid for what I’d do for nothing.”
M. Emmet Walsh: Tributes Paid
Director Rian Johnson, who worked with Walsh on ‘Knives Out’, was among those who paid tribute via social media:
Walsh is survived by his niece, nephew, grandniece and grandnephew.
Here’s what Walsh mused on his legacy to trade newspaper Drama-Logue in 1989:
“The parts are all your children. They’ll be my epitaph when they throw in that last shovelful of dirt.”
M. Emmet Walsh in 'Outlaw Posse.' Photo: Quiver Distribution.
M. Emmet Walsh Movies:
- 'Midnight Cowboy' (1969)
- ‘Serpico' (1973)
- 'The Gambler' (1974)
- 'Slap Shot' (1977)
- ‘Straight Time' (1978)
- 'The Jerk' (1979)
- 'Brubaker' (1980)
- 'Ordinary People' (1980)
- 'Reds' (1981)
- ‘Blade Runner' (1982)
- 'Silkwood' (1983)
- 'Blood Simple' (1984)
- 'The Pope of Greenwich Village' (1984)
- 'Fletch' (1985)
- 'Wildcats' (1986)
- 'Critters' (1986)
- 'Back to School' (1986)
- 'Harry and the Hendersons' (1987)
- 'Raising Arizona' (1987)
- 'Clean and Sober' (1988)
- 'The Mighty Quinn' (1989)
- 'A Time to Kill' (1996)
- 'Romeo + Juliet' (1996)
- 'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)
- 'Wild Wild West' (1999)
- 'The Iron Giant' (1999)
- 'Christmas with the Kranks' (2004)
- 'Knives Out' (2019)
- 'Outlaw Posse' (2024)
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