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M. Emmet Walsh, a celebrated character actor with credits including “Blade Runner,” “Blood Simple” and “Knives Out,” has died. He was 88 years old.
The news was confirmed by Walsh’s manager, Sandra L. Joseph, who said the actor died Tuesday in a Vermont hospital after going into cardiac arrest.
Walsh’s career spanned six decades and saw the actor perform on screens big and small, racking up more than 230 credits on IMDb, as well as in theater.
Among many notable film roles, the actor will be remembered for playing the groom’s father in the late ’90s Julia Roberts film “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” and as the local sheriff in the B-movie horror comedy from the 80s “Critters”. His role as the stern Los Angeles police chief to Harrison Ford’s agent in Ridley Scott’s 1982 classic “Blade Runner” helped give the sci-fi film its unmistakable noir edge.
On television, Walsh appeared in a host of beloved comedies and dramas, including “Frasier,” “The X-Files,” “NYPD Blue,” “Damages,” “The Twilight Zone” and “The Bob Newhart Show.”
Born in March 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York and raised in Vermont, Walsh graduated from the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961, according to an obituary provided by his manager.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1970 to appear in the films “Little Big Man,” “What’s Up, Doc?” and later “Airport 77”, among many others, establishing himself as an active actor in Hollywood.
Walsh quickly earned a reputation as a talented actor with an unforgettable face, appearing in films such as “The Jerk” opposite Steve Martin, “Ordinary People,” winner of the 1981 Best Picture Oscar, “Reds” and “Fletch.” “.
In 1985, Walsh won the first Independent Spirit Award for best male lead for the Coen brothers’ film “Blood Simple,” and then appeared in the couple’s 1987 film “Raising Arizona.”
Walsh’s most recent credits include “The Righteous Gemstones” and “American Gigolo.”
In 2018, Walsh received the Carney Life Achievement Award from her “Blade Runner” co-star Harrison Ford at the annual gala. Carney Awardsalso known as the Character Actors Hall of Fame.
“I approach every job thinking it could be my last, so it better be the best job it can be,” Walsh once said when asked about his career, according to the obituary provided by Joseph. “I want to be remembered as a working actor. “They pay me for what I would do for nothing.”
This story has been updated with additional information.