One of the best-known faces in cinema of the last 50 years has died. M. Emmet Walsh has left his mark on an incredible array of classic films, from Blade runner for Simple Blood for Midnight Cowboy for Fletch for Serpico for The iron giant It is Knives out.
Sadly, Walsh passed away on Tuesday. He was 88 years old. His manager said The Hollywood Reporter Walsh died after a heart attack.
Michel Emmet Walsh was born on March 22, 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York. After studying business in college, he began acting. By the late 1960s, he was appearing in Hollywood films of almost every genre and style. You could see Walsh in the revisionist West Little Big Man. You can also see him in the slapstick comedy The idiot. Although Walsh was an actor with a distinctive appearance and voice, he was a perfect fit for all types of films.
After an important supporting role in the original Blade runnerWalsh had his breakthrough performance in Coen Brothers‘ directorial debut, Simple Bloodplaying the untrustworthy private detective who becomes involved in a murder plot.
Following Simple Blood, Walsh could appear in a film or two — or more — in virtually a single year for decades. A short list of the films where you may have seen him includes The Pope of Greenwich Village, Creatures, Back to school, Harry and the Hendersons, Rising Arizona, Free Willy 2, Time to kill, My best friend’s wedding, Snow dogs, Christmas with the Kranks, The Strange Life of Timothy Green, and so on. Walsh eventually appeared in over 200 films and shows.
On television, Walsh has worked on shows such as Everyone in the family, Bonanza, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, The Twilight Zone, Incredible stories, Home improvementIt is The x-files, among many, many others. Walsh continued acting until the end of his life. He can be seen in the Mario Van Peebles film Bunch of Outlawswhich was released on Netflix just a few weeks ago.
You won’t find many actors with a better body of work than M. Emmet Walsh. Your performances will stand the test of time.
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