Wikipedia
M. Emmet Walsh
Michael Emmet Walsh (born March 22, 1935) is an American actor[1] who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including small but important supporting roles in dozens of major studio features of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in Blood Simple (1984), the Coen Brothers' first film for which he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also appeared in Carl Reiner's comedy The Jerk (1979), Robert Redford's drama Ordinary People (1980), Ridley Scott's science fiction film Blade Runner (1982), Barry Sonnenfeld's steampunk western Wild Wild West (1999) and Brad Bird's animated film The Iron Giant (1999). Roger Ebert said that "No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad."
M. Emmet Walsh | |
|---|---|
Walsh at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | Michael Emmet Walsh March 22, 1935 Ogdensburg, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Clarkson University, B.A. 1958 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1969–present |
Early life
Walsh was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of Agnes Katharine (née Sullivan) and Harry Maurice Walsh Sr., a customs agent.[2] He is of Irish descent.[3] He was raised in rural Swanton, Vermont,[4] and attended Clarkson University.
He graduated in 1958 (B.A., Business Administration). In 1998, the Clarkson Alumni Association presented him with the Golden Knight Award.[5]
Career
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
Walsh came to prominence in the 1978 crime film Straight Time, in which he played a parole officer. He also had a small but memorable role as a crazed sniper in the Steve Martin comedy The Jerk. One of his best-known roles was Captain Harry Bryant in Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner. His most acclaimed performance was arguably the double-crossing private detective in Blood Simple (1984), for which he won the 1986 Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.
Walsh made occasional guest appearances on Home Improvement as Tim Taylor's father-in-law. In 1992, he appeared as a powerful U.S. Senator in David Winning's Killer Image. In Christmas with the Kranks, he played one of the Kranks' neighbors. He also appeared as Alex Lembeck, a motorcycle cop who appointed himself as Sandy Stockton's chaperone and protector on The Sandy Duncan Show in 1972. He appeared in an episode of the NBC drama series Gibbsville in 1976 and Little House on the Prairie in 1981.[6] He appeared as Dr. Joseph Kroft, a medical examiner with a grudge against Sipowicz, on an episode of "NYPD Blue".
Some comedy roles include the cynical small town sportswriter Dickie Dunn in the iconic 1977 hockey film Slap Shot, and a college diving coach in the Rodney Dangerfield film Back to School.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Alice's Restaurant | Group W Sergeant | |
| Midnight Cowboy | Bus Passenger | Uncredited | |
| Stiletto | Racing Partner | ||
| 1970 | End of the Road | Crab Man / Tutu Man | |
| The Traveling Executioner | Warden Brodski | ||
| Little Big Man | Shotgun Guard | ||
| 1971 | Cold Turkey | Art | |
| Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Aide to General Winthrop | ||
| They Might Be Giants | 1st Sanitation Man | ||
| 1972 | What's Up, Doc? | Arresting Officer | |
| Get to Know Your Rabbit | Mr. Wendel | ||
| 1973 | Kid Blue | Barber | |
| Serpico | Chief Gallagher | ||
| 1974 | The Gambler | Las Vegas Gambler | |
| 1975 | At Long Last Love | Harold | |
| Crime Club | Harold | ||
| The Prisoner of Second Avenue | Joe | ||
| 1976 | Bound for Glory | Husband | |
| Nickelodeon | Father Logan | ||
| The Invasion of Johnson County | Irvine | ||
| Mikey and Nicky | Bus Driver | ||
| 1977 | Slap Shot | Dickie Dunn | |
| Airport '77 | Dr. Williams | ||
| 1978 | Straight Time | Earl Frank | |
| 1979 | The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh | Wally Cantrell | |
| The Jerk | Madman | ||
| 1980 | Brubaker | C.P. 'Woody' Woodward | |
| Raise the Titanic | Master Chief Walker | ||
| Ordinary People | Coach Salan | ||
| 1981 | Back Roads | Arthur | |
| Reds | Speaker At Liberal Club | ||
| 1982 | Cannery Row | Mack | |
| The Escape Artist | Fritz | ||
| Blade Runner | Captain Bryant | ||
| Fast-Walking | Sergeant Sanger | ||
| 1983 | Silkwood | Walt Yarborough | |
| 1984 | Courage | Colonel Crouse | |
| Missing in Action | Jack 'Tuck' Tucker | ||
| Grandview, U.S. | Mr. Clark | ||
| Blood Simple | Loren Visser | ||
| The Pope of Greenwich Village | Burns | ||
| Scandalous | Simon Reynolds | ||
| 1985 | Fletch | Dr. Joseph Dolan | |
| 1986 | Wildcats | Walt Coes | |
| Critters | Harvey 'Harv' | ||
| The Best of Times | Charlie | ||
| Vanishing America | Earl Crockett | ||
| Back to School | Coach Turnbull | ||
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | George Henderson Sr. | |
| No Man's Land | Captain Haun | ||
| Raising Arizona | Machine Shop Ear-Bender | ||
| 1988 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Governor | |
| Clean and Sober | Richard Dirk | ||
| Sunset | Chief Dibner | ||
| War Party | Colin Ditwelier | ||
| Red Scorpion | Dewey Ferguson | ||
| 1989 | The Mighty Quinn | CIA Agent Fred Miller | |
| Catch Me If You Can | Johnny Phatmun | ||
| Chattahoochee | Morris | ||
| Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat | Mort | ||
| Thunderground | Wedge | ||
| 1990 | Narrow Margin | Sergeant Dominick Benti | |
| 1992 | The Naked Truth | Garcia | |
| Killer Image | Senator John Kane | ||
| White Sands | Bert Gibson | ||
| Equinox | Pete Petosa | ||
| Four Eyes and Six Guns | Mayor Thornbush | ||
| 1993 | Bitter Harvest | Sheriff Bob | |
| The Music of Chance | Calvin Murks | ||
| Wilder Napalm | Fire Chief | ||
| 1994 | Dead Badge | Sergeant Miller Hoskins | |
| Relative Fear | Earl Ladelle | ||
| Camp Nowhere | T.R. Polk | ||
| The Glass Shield | Detective Jessie Hall | ||
| Cops & Robbersons | Captain Ted Corbett | Uncredited | |
| 1995 | Criminal Hearts | Martin | |
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | Bill Wilcox | ||
| Panther | Dorsett | ||
| 1996 | Portraits of a Killer | Raymond Garrison | |
| Albino Alligator | Dino | ||
| A Time to Kill | Dr. Bass | Uncredited | |
| William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet | Apothecary | ||
| 1997 | The Killing Jar | Sheriff Foley | |
| Retroactive | Sam | ||
| My Best Friend's Wedding | Joe O'Neal | ||
| 1998 | Chairman of the Board | Freemont | |
| Twilight | Lester Ivar | ||
| Erasable You | Ralph Worth | ||
| Nightmare in Big Sky Country | US Marshal Phillips | ||
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | US Marshal Coleman | |
| The Iron Giant | Earl Stutz (voice) | ||
| Random Hearts | Billy | Uncredited | |
| Me and Will | Dean | ||
| Jack of Hearts | Commissioner Menlo Boyce | ||
| 2000 | Poor White Trash | Judge Pike | |
| 2001 | Eyeball Eddie | Coach Cook | Short film |
| Christmas in the Clouds | Stu O'Malley | ||
| 2002 | Snow Dogs | George Murphy | |
| 2003 | Baggage | Sandy Westphall | |
| 2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Walt Scheel | |
| 2005 | Greener Mountain | Muggs | |
| Racing Stripes | Woodzie | ||
| 2007 | Man in the Chair | Mickey Hopkins | |
| Big Stan | Lew Popper | ||
| 2008 | Sherman's Way | Hoyt | |
| Your Name Here | Kroger / Maurice Stanz | ||
| Haunted Echoes | Neil | ||
| 2009 | Don McKay | Samuel | |
| Sam Steele and the Jr. Detective Agency | Chief Van Owen | ||
| Youth in Revolt | Mr. Saunders | ||
| 2010 | Chasing 3000 | Chuck Ireland | |
| 2012 | The Odd Life of Timothy Green | Bub | |
| Arthur Newman | Zazek | ||
| Love Sick Love | Ed | ||
| 2013 | Cigar Man | Cigar Man | Short film |
| 2014 | Calvary | The Writer | |
| 2015 | Boiling Pot | Dean Marison | |
| The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power | Gorak | ||
| 2018 | Shifting Gears | Hank | |
| Change in the Air | Walter Lemke | ||
| 2019 | Raising Buchanan | Larry Kiesling | |
| Faith, Hope & Love | Mr. John | ||
| Knives Out | Mr. Proofroc | ||
| 2020 | The Mimic | The Director | |
| 2022 | Shriver | Professor Arthur Baldwin | Completed |
| 2022 | The Immaculate Room | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Doctors | Jason Randall | Multiple episodes |
| 1969 | N.Y.P.D. | Freibisch | Episode: "Who's Got the Bundle?" |
| 1970 | Arnie | Cliff | Episode: "To Buy or Not to Buy?" |
| 1971 | Julia | Gus Anderson | 2 episodes |
| All in the Family | Billy Hartfield | Episode: "The Saga of Cousin Oscar" | |
| The Jimmy Stewart Show | Lionel Atkins | Episode: "Another Day, Another Scholar" | |
| Ironside | Telegraph Clerk | Episode: "Dear Fran..." | |
| Bonanza | Mattheson | Episode: "Warbonnet" | |
| 1971–1972 | Nichols | Gabe McCutcheon | 6 episodes |
| 1972 | The Don Rickles Show | Kingston | Episode: "Episode Four" |
| The Bob Newhart Show | Jack Hoover | Episode: "P-I-L-O-T" | |
| The Sandy Duncan Show | Alex Lembeck | 11 episodes | |
| 1974 | Doctor Fran | Mr. Wallace | Television film |
| McMillan & Wife | Officer Ames | Episode: "Buried Alive" | |
| Amy Prentiss | Tom | Episode: "Baptism of Fire" | |
| 1975 | The Rockford Files | Edgar Burch | Episode: "Counter Gambit" |
| Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic | Mr. Wallace | Television film | |
| The Waltons | David Fletcher | Episode: "The Venture" | |
| 1975–1976 | Baretta | McDade / Potter | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | Gibbsville | Yostie | Episode: "Afternoon Waltz" |
| 1976–1978 | Starsky and Hutch | Freddie / Lloyd Herman Eckworth | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Officer Malloy | |
| Red Alert | Sheriff Sweeney | Television film | |
| 1978 | Superdome | Whitley | |
| James at 15 | Coach Federson | Episode: "Queen of the Silver Dollar" | |
| 1979 | The French Atlantic Affair | Harry | 3 episodes |
| Dear Detective | Captain Gorcey | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| No Other Love | DeFranco | Television film | |
| The Gift | Legion Commander | ||
| 1980 | City in Fear | Sheldon Lewis | |
| Skag | Moran | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane | Harold Patton | Television film | |
| 1981 | East of Eden | Sheriff Horace Quinn | 3 episodes |
| Little House on the Prairie | Callahan | Episode: "Chicago" | |
| 1983 | ABC Afterschool Special | Joe Lempke | Episode: "The Woman Who Willed a Miracle" |
| Night Partners | Joe Kirby | Television film | |
| 1984 | AfterMASH | Samuel Lynn | Episode: "The Case of the People of Florida vs. Joseph Landrum" |
| The Outlaws | Warden MacDonald | Television film | |
| 1985 | ABC Weekend Special | Rocco | Episode: "The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn" |
| The Twilight Zone | Peter | Episode: "Dealer's Choice" | |
| 1986 | The Hitchhiker | Detective Underhill | Episode: "Ghostwriter" |
| The Right of the People | Mayor | Television film | |
| Resting Place | Sergeant | ||
| The Disney Sunday Movie | General Presser | Episode: "Hero in the Family" | |
| The Deliberate Stranger | Detective Sam Davies | Television film | |
| Amazing Stories | Grandpa | Episode: "Magic Saturday" | |
| 1987 | Broken Vows | Detective Mulligan | Television film |
| The Abduction of Kari Swenson | Don Nichols | ||
| Murder Ordained | Vern Humphrey | Miniseries | |
| 1989 | Brotherhood of the Rose | Hardy | 2 episodes |
| Unsub | Ned Platt | 8 episodes | |
| Tales from the Crypt | Jonas | Episode: "Collection Completed" | |
| 1990 | True Betrayal | Clyde Wilson | Television film |
| The Civil War | Various (voice) | 9 episodes | |
| The Flash | Henry Allen | 2 episodes | |
| 1991 | Deadly Identity | Harry | Television film |
| Silverfox | Charles Blankenship | ||
| 1992 | Wild Card | Mose | |
| 1993 | The Jackie Thomas Show | Arlen Thomas | Episode: "Aloha, Io-wahu" |
| 1994 | Home Improvement | Colonel Fred Patterson | 2 episodes |
| Probable Cause | Sadler | Television film | |
| 1995 | From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler | Morris | |
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Sanford Vallé | Episode: "The Refuge" |
| Early Edition | Santa | Episode: "Christmas" | |
| Madness of Method | Rudolph Thorndyke | Television short film | |
| 1998 | Tracey Takes On... | Jimmy Duff | Episode: "Sports" |
| Men in White | Junior Assistant Dispatch Trainee Stanley Snyder | Television film | |
| 1999 | The X-Files | Arthur Dales | Episode: "The Unnatural" |
| The Wild Thornberrys | Gemsbok #1 (voice) | Episode: "Rain Dance" | |
| Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | Mack (voice) | Multiple episodes | |
| Monster! | Lloyd Reeves | Television film | |
| 2000 | NYPD Blue | Joe Kroft | Episode: "Roll Out the Barrel" |
| Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family | Aubrey Lang | Episode: "The Book of Danny" | |
| Ed | Mayor Wally Kendricks | Episode: "Home Is Where the Ducks Are" | |
| 2001 | Gideon's Crossing | Dr. George Matthews | Episode: "A Routine Case" |
| Night Visions | Gus | Episode: "Reunion" | |
| The Mind of the Married Man | Randall Evans | 5 episodes | |
| Frasier | Rich Koechner | Episode: "Bully for Martin" | |
| 2002 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Jeb (voice) | Episode: "Scooby-Doo Christmas" |
| 2003 | Charlie Lawrence | 'Cubby' | Episode: "New Kid in School" |
| Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales | Wally Westland | Television special | |
| The Guardian | Ezra Pence | Episode: "Big Coal" | |
| 2010 | 'Til Death | Uncle Rudolph | Episode: "Let's Go" |
| 2010–2013 | Pound Puppies | Olaf (voice) | 46 episodes |
| 2012 | Army Wives | Bernie Wolzoczak | Episode: "Battle Scars" |
| Damages | Lyle Hewes | 3 episodes | |
| 2012–2015 | Adventure Time | Cosmic Owl (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories | Detective | Episode: "Toes" |
| 2015 | Empire | Harold Blakeley | Episode: "The Lyon's Roar" |
| 2016–2020 | Elena of Avalor | Raymundo | 60 episodes |
| 2019 | Sneaky Pete | 'Tex' Hopkins | 7 episodes |
| 2019–present | The Righteous Gemstones | Grandaddy Roy Gemstone | 2 episodes |
References
- ^ . Digital Polyphony. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ^ "M. Emmet Walsh profile at". Filmreference.com. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
- ^ Jacobs, Alex (July 12, 2008). . Watertown Daily Times. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^ Jacobs, Alex (July 12, 2008). . WatertownDailyTimes.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^ . Clarkson University. August 21, 1998. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
- ^ "Little House on the Prairie Season 8 Episode 8 Chicago". TV.com. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
External links
- M. Emmet Walsh at IMDb
- at the TCM Movie Database
Wikimedia Commons has media related to M. Emmet Walsh.