M. Emmet Walsh: Difference between revisions

| name = M. Emmet Walsh

| image = M Emmet Walsh at the= 2009M TribecaEmmet FilmWalsh FestivalLF.jpg

| caption = Walsh at the 2009 [[Tribeca= Walsh Filmin Festival]]2007

| birth_name = Michael Emmet Walsh

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|3|22}}

| birth_place = [[Ogdensburg, New York]], U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|3|19|1935|3|22}}

| death_place = [[St. Albans (city), Vermont|St. Albans, Vermont]], U.S.

'''Michael Emmet Walsh''' (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 films and television series, including supporting roles as Earl Frank in ''[[Straight Time]]'' (1978), the Madman in ''[[The Jerk]]'' (1979), Captain Bryant in ''[[Blade Runner]]'' (1982), Harv in ''[[Critters (film)|Critters]]'' (1986), and Walt Scheel in ''[[Christmas with the Kranks]]'' (2004). He starred as private detective Loren Visser in ''[[Blood Simple]]'' (1984), the [[Coen brothers]]' first film, for which he won the [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead]].

Walsh's other numerous film appearances include ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'' (1969) (his first and uncredited role), ''[[Little Big Man (film)|Little Big Man]]'' (1970), ''[[What's Up, Doc? (1972 film)|What's Up, Doc?]]'' (1972), ''[[Serpico]]'' (1973), ''[[The Gambler (1974 film)|The Gambler]]'' (1974), ''[[Bound for Glory (1976 film)|Bound for Glory]]'' (1976), ''[[Slap Shot (film)|Slap Shot]]'' (1977), ''[[Airport '77]]'' (1977), ''[[Brubaker]]'' (1980), ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980), ''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'' (1981), ''[[Silkwood]]'' (1983), ''[[Missing in Action (film)|Missing in Action]]'' (1984), ''[[Fletch (film)|Fletch]]'' (1985), ''[[Back to School]]'' (1986), ''[[Raising Arizona]]'' (1987), ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]'' (1996), ''[[My Best Friend's Wedding]]'' (1997), ''[[The Iron Giant]]'' (1999), ''[[Calvary (2014 film)|Calvary]]'' (2014), and ''[[Knives Out]]'' (2019). Over sevenfive decades as a character actor, he has credited roles in more than 220 films and television shows.<ref name="Cain">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/21/m-emmet-walsh-dies-aged-88-actor-cause-of-death-blade-runner-blood-simple-knives-out |title=M Emmet Walsh, Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Knives Out actor, dies aged 88 |first1=Sian |last1=Cain |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 19, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321131433/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/mar/21/m-emmet-walsh-dies-aged-88-actor-cause-of-death-blade-runner-blood-simple-knives-out |url-status=live }}</ref>

Walsh spent years honing his craft in movie bit parts and on stage. After appearances in the films ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'' (1969),<ref name="Cain"/> ''[[Alice's Restaurant (film)|Alice's Restaurant]]'' (1969),<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Pedersen" /> ''[[Little Big Man (film)|Little Big Man]]'' (1970), ''[[Escape from the Planet of the Apes]]'' (1971), ''[[They Might Be Giants (film)|They Might Be Giants]]'' (1971),<ref name="Pedersen"/> ''[[What's Up, Doc? (1972 film)|What's Up, Doc?]]'' (1972),<ref name="Pedersen"/> ''[[Serpico]]'' (1973),<ref name="Pedersen"/> ''[[The Gambler (1974 film)|The Gambler]]'' (1974), and ''[[Bound for Glory (1976 film)|Bound for Glory]]'' (1976), and ''[[Airport '77]]'' (1977),<ref name="Koseluk" /> Walsh came to prominence in the iconic 1977 hockey comedy film ''[[Slap Shot]]'', in which he played the cynical small town sportswriter Dickie Dunn,<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Pedersen"/><ref name="An Ode to Slap Shot's Dickie Dunn">{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Ken |title=An Ode to Slap Shot's Dickie Dunn, a.k.a. M. Emmet Walsh |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/an-ode-to-slap-shots-dickie-dunn-a-k-a-m-emmet-walsh |access-date=March 24, 2024 |work=[[The Hockey News]] |date=March 21, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and the 1978 crime film ''[[Straight Time]]'', in which he played a vicious parole officer opposite Dustin Hoffman.<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Pedersen"/> ''[[USA Today]]'' film critic Mike Clark wrote that the film character who was "a cesspool in a flowered shirt" was typically Walsh.<ref name="WP">{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Travis M. |date=March 20, 2024 |title=M. Emmet Walsh, actor who shined in seedy, menacing roles, dies at 88 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/03/20/m-emmet-walsh-dead/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name="BBC" /> He also had a small but memorable role as a crazed sniper in the [[Steve Martin]] comedy ''[[The Jerk]]'' (1979),<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Pedersen"/> followed by roles in the drama films ''[[Brubaker]]'' (1980),<ref name="Pedersen"/> ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (1980),<ref name="Pedersen"/> and ''[[Reds (film)|Reds]]'' (1981).<ref name="REDS-NYT"/><ref name="REDS-tvguide"/>

===Bigger Rolesroles===

Other prominent film roles include a prostate examining doctor in the [[Chevy Chase]] film ''[[Fletch (film)|Fletch]]'' (1985),<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Walsh" /> a college diving coach in the [[Rodney Dangerfield]] film ''[[Back to School]]'' (1986), Harva police chief in the horror film ''[[Critters (film)|Critters]]'' (1986), [[John Lithgow]]’s father in the [[Bigfoot]] comedy ''[[Harry and the Hendersons]]'' (1987),<ref name="Cain"/> the [[apothecary]] in [[Baz Luhrmann]]'s ''[[Romeo + Juliet]]'' (1996),<ref name="Cain"/> father of the groom in the romantic comedy ''[[My Best Friend's Wedding]]'' (1997),<ref name="Cain"/> the voice of Earl Stutz in animated film ''[[The Iron Giant]]'' (1999),<ref name="Cain"/> the adventure film ''[[Snow Dogs]]'' (2002), and the Christmas comedy film ''[[Christmas with the Kranks]]'' (2004), where he played one of the Kranks' neighbors.<ref name="Cain"/> In 1992, he appeared as a powerful U.S. Senator in [[David Winning]]'s Canadian film ''[[Killer Image]]''. He later appeared as a writer in the Irish comedy-drama film ''[[Calvary (2014 film)|Calvary]]'' (2014),<ref name="Cain"/><ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/> and a security guard in the mystery film ''[[Knives Out]]'' (2019).<ref name="Cain" /><ref name="USAToday" />

==Legacy and Accoladesaccolades==

Critic Nicolas Rapold called Walsh "a consummate old pro of the second-banana business", while [[Roger Ebert]] hailed him as "the poet of sleaze".<ref name="Twomey Times">{{cite news |last1=Twomey |first1=Matt |title=M. Emmet Walsh, Character Actor Who Always Stood Out, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/movies/m-emmet-walsh-dead.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 21, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321040059/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/20/movies/m-emmet-walsh-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Ebert also fabricated his "Stanton-Walsh Rule": "No movie featuring either [[Harry Dean Stanton]] or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad."<ref name="Cain"/> Walsh was "ham-faced, heavyset" and "often played good old boys with bad intentions".<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/6959028/actor-m-emmet-walsh-dies-blood-simple-obituary/ |first1=Andrew |last1=Dalton |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=M. Emmet Walsh, Actor Known for Blood Simple and Blade Runner, Dies at 88 |date=March 20, 2024 |access-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321162329/https://time.com/6959028/actor-m-emmet-walsh-dies-blood-simple-obituary/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Walsh died of cardiac arrest at [[Northwestern Medical Center]] in [[St. Albans (city), Vermont|St. Albans, Vermont]], on March 19, 2024, threeat daysthe beforeage hisof 89th birthday88.<ref name="Pedersen">{{cite magazine|last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |date=March 20, 2024 |title=M. Emmet Walsh Dies: Prolific Actor In 'Blade Runner', 'Ordinary People', Coen Brothers Pics & Hundreds More Was 88 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/03/m-emmet-walsh-dead-blade-runner-actor-1235864005/ |magazine=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321081457/https://deadline.com/2024/03/m-emmet-walsh-dead-blade-runner-actor-1235864005/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="USAToday"/><ref name="Koseluk"/>

| ''[[The Escape Artist (film)|The Escape Artist]]''

| ''[[Dotty & Soul]]''

| rowspan="6" scope="row" | 19711968

| ArthurEdgar DalesBurch

| Various roles

|<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=R.G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoJ4jTghUPYC|title=The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies|page=438|year=2000|publisher=[[Applause Books]]|isbn=978-1-55783-269-6 |access-date=March 26, 2024|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

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