Veteran character player of film and TV since the early 1970s. Husky, balding and often rather phlegmatic in his line delivery, Walsh convinces as unsympathetic working-class authority figures and bad guys. While he excels in realizing the sleaze potential of Everyman, Walsh also remains credible playing basically benign elders. After learning his craft in summer stock and regional theater, he made both his Broadway and feature debuts in 1969 with the play "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" and an uncredited bit in "Midnight Cowboy". Over the next quarter of a century, Walsh became a prolific supporting actor in Hollywood.
Some highlights among Walsh's many small but indelible feature roles include Dustin Hoffman's slimy parole officer in "Straight Time" (1978); the madman stalking Steve Martin throughout "The Jerk" (1979); young Timothy Hutton's insensitive swim coach in "Ordinary People" (1980); and the callous police captain in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" (1982). He may be best remembered as the gleefully crooked Southern private eye in the Coen Brothers' bravura debut, "Blood Simple" (1984). In this major supporting role, Walsh not only narrated the film but his character's twisted sensibility set the story's (im)moral tone. He later played a relentless repo-man in pursuit of Christopher Lloyd's 1979 Gremlin in the kid comedy, "Camp Nowhere" (1994).
Walsh is also a TV fixture, appearing in numerous TV series--as both a regular and a guest star--and TV-movies and miniseries. More often than not, he was cast as crusty cops. Walsh's distinctive voice was well utilized by Ken Burns in his two landmark documentary series "The Civil War" (PBS, 1990) and "Baseball" (PBS, 1994). He was memorable in a 1994 guest spot on the hit ABC family sitcom "Home Improvement" as Tim Allen's gung ho father-in-law, a retired colonel. Walsh also continues to work on stage in summer stock and regional theater.
- Also Credited As:
MEmmet Walsh, Michael Emmet Walsh
- Born:
March 22, 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York
-
Job Titles:
Actor
Family
-
Father: Harry Maurice Walsh.
-
Mother: Agnes Kathrine Walsh.
Education
-
American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York, NY, 1959-1961
-
Clarkson College of Technology, Potsdam, NY, business administration, BA
Milestones
-
1969 Broadway debut, "Does A Tiger Wear a Necktie?"
-
1969 Film debut (uncredited) in "Midnight Cowboy"
-
1972 Played Sandy's neighbor on CBS's "The Sandy Duncan Show"
-
1972 Was a regular on CBS's "The Don Rickles Show" played Rickles' boss at an ad agency
-
1978 First stand-out performance in the crime drama, "Straight Time" playing a sadistic parole officer
-
1979 First TV miniseries, "The French Atlantic Affair"
-
1979 Played Captain Mike Gorcey on the CBS cop/family drama "Dear Detective"
-
1982 Breakout role in Ridley Scott's cult classic "Blade Runner" as Captain Bryant
-
1984 Played a double crossing private detective in "Blood Simple"
-
1990 Played the recurring role of Henry Allen, father of "The Flash" on the CBS superhero series
-
1990 Provided a "Voice" for Ken Burns' acclaimed PBS documentary series, "The Civil War"
-
1994 Made occasional guest appearances on "Home Improvement" (ABC) as Tim Allen's father-in-law
-
1994 Provided a "Voice" for Ken Burns' ambitious PBS documentary on "Baseball"
-
1996 Cast in the Baz Luhrmann directed "Romeo + Juliet" an adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy
-
1997 Cast in the romantic comedy, "My Best Friend's Wedding" as Dermot Mulroney's father
-
1999 Lent his voice to the animated feature, "The Iron Giant"
-
2001 Had regular role in the HBO series "Mind of a Married Man"
-
2004 Cast opposite Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis in the holiday comedy "Christmas with the Kranks" directed by Joe Roth
-
2007 Appeared in "Man in the Chair" an independent film starring Christopher Plummer
-
First TV series as a regular in the NBC Western "Nichols" starring James Garner
-
Grew up in Swanton, Vermont
-
Played Police Chief Demsey on "Amy Prentiss," an NBC cop drama about a female chief of detectives