M. Emmet Walsh
Born: 1935-03-22 in Ogdensburg, New York, USA
Died: 2024-03-19
Known For: Acting
Biography
Michael Emmet Walsh (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) was an American character actor who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including 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 The Jerk (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Blade Runner (1982), Wild Wild West (1999), and The Iron Giant (1999). His final films included Knives Out (2019) and Brothers (2024).
Filmography
2025
- Green and Gold as Scotty
2024
- Brothers as Judge Farful
- Outlaw Posse as Catfish
2023
- A Little White Lie as Arthur Baldwin
- Dotty and Soul as Harold Eichelbaum
2022
- American Gigolo as Coleman
- The Immaculate Room as Kate's Father
2021
- The Mimic as The Director
2019
- The Righteous Gemstones as Roy Gemstone
- Knives Out as Mr. Proofroc
- Faith, Hope & Love as Fr. John
- Raising Buchanan as Larry Kiesling
- South of Bix as Grandpa
- Sorry, Not Sorry as Harry's Father
2018
- Change in the Air as Walter Lemke
- Shifting Gears as Hank
- Toto as Toto
2015
- Empire as Harold Blakeley
- Sneaky Pete as Tex Hopkins
- The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power as Gorak
- Boiling Pot as Dean Marison
2014
- Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories as Detective
- Calvary as The Writer
2012
- The Odd Life of Timothy Green as Uncle Bub
- Arthur Newman as Zazek
- Love Sick Love as Ed
2011
- Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency as Chief Van Owen
2010
- Adventure Time as Cosmic Owl (voice)
- Pound Puppies as Olaf (voice)
- Chasing 3000 as Chuck Ireland
- The Assignment as Mr. Beudreaux
2009
- Youth in Revolt as Mr. Saunders
- Don McKay as Samuel
2008
- Your Name Here as Kroger
- Haunted Echoes as Neil
- A True Character as Self
2007
- Army Wives as Bernie Wallacheck
- Damages as Lyle Hewes
- Big Stan as Lew Popper
- Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner as Self
- Man in the Chair as Mickey Hopkins
2006
- 'Til Death as Uncle Rudolph
2005
- Racing Stripes as Woodzie
- Greener Mountains as Muggs
2004
- Christmas with the Kranks as Walt Scheel
2003
- Charlie Lawrence as Cubby
- Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales as Wally Westland
- Baggage as Sandy Westphall
2002
- What's New, Scooby-Doo? as Jeb (voice)
- Snow Dogs as George
2001
- The Guardian as Ezra Pence
- Night Visions as Gus (segment "Reunion")
- Christmas in the Clouds as Stu O'Malley
- Eyeball Eddie as Coach Cook
2000
- Ed as Mayor Wally Kendricks
- Poor White Trash as Judge Pike
- On the Edge of 'Blade Runner' as Self
- Jack of Hearts as Comissioner Menlo Boyce
1999
- The Iron Giant as Earl Stutz (voice)
- Wild Wild West as Coleman
- Random Hearts as Billy (uncredited)
- The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot as Mack (voice)
- Me and Will as Dean
- Monster! as Lloyd Reeves
1998
- The Wild Thornberrys as Gemsbok #1 (voice)
- Twilight as Lester Ivar
- Chairman of the Board as Freemont
- Men in White as Stanley
- Erasable You as Ralph Worth
- Nightmare in Big Sky Country as Marshal Jim Phillips
1997
- My Best Friend's Wedding as Joe O'Neal
- Albino Alligator as Dino
- Retroactive as Sam
- The Killing Jar as Sheriff Foley
1996
- Early Edition as Santa
- A Time to Kill as Willard Tyrell Bass (uncredited)
- Tracey Takes On...
- Romeo + Juliet as Apothecary
- The West as Self (voice)
- Criminal Hearts as Martin
- Portraits of a Killer as Raymond Garrison
- The Lottery as Chief Davis
1995
- The Outer Limits as Sanford Vallé
- Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home as Bill Wilcox
- Panther as Dorsett
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as Morris
- Dead Badge as Sergeant Miller Hoskins
1994
- Baseball as (voice)
- Camp Nowhere as T.R. Polk
- The Glass Shield as Det. Jesse Hall
- Cops & Robbersons as Captain Ted Corbett (uncredited)
- Probable Cause as Sadler
- Relative Fear as Earl Ladelle
- Madness of Method as Rudolph Thorndyke
1993
- The X-Files as Arthur Dales
- Frasier as Rich Koechner
- NYPD Blue as Joe Kroft
- Wilder Napalm as Fire Chief
- The Music of Chance as Calvin Murks
- Bitter Harvest as Sheriff Bob
1992
- White Sands as Bert Gibson
- Equinox as Pete Petosa
- Four Eyes and Six-Guns as Mayor Thornbush
- The Naked Truth as Garcia / Gesundheim
- Killer Image as John Kane
- Wild Card as Mose
1991
- Home Improvement as Colonel
- Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat as Mort
- Fourth Story as Harry
- Silverfox as Charles Blankenship
1990
- The Flash as Henry Allen
- The Civil War as Various
- Narrow Margin as Sergeant Dominick Benti
- The Flash as Henry Allen
- Chattahoochee as Morris
- Love and Lies as Clyde Wilson
1989
- Tales from the Crypt as Jonas
- Unsub as Ned Platt
- Brotherhood of the Rose as Hardy
- The Mighty Quinn as Fred Miller
- Catch Me... If You Can as Johnny Phatmun
- Thunderground as Wedge
1988
- Red Scorpion as Dewey Ferguson
- The Milagro Beanfield War as Governor
- Sunset as Chief Marvin Dibner
- Clean and Sober as Richard Dirks
- War Party as Colin Ditweiler
1987
- Raising Arizona as Machine Shop Ear-Bender
- Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson Sr.
- Murder Ordained as Vern Humphrey
- No Man's Land as Captain Haun
- Murder Ordained as Vern Humphrey
- The Abduction of Kari Swenson as Don Nichols
- Broken Vows as Detective Mulligan
1986
- Critters as Harv
- Back to School as Coach Turnbull
- Wildcats as Walt Coes
- The Deliberate Stranger as Det. Sam Davies
- The Deliberate Stranger as Det. Sam Davies
- The Best of Times as Charlie
- Resting Place as Sarge
- The Right of the People as Sindaco
- Hero in the Family as General Presser
1985
- The Twilight Zone as Peter (segment "Dealer's Choice")
- Amazing Stories as Grandpa
- Blood Simple as Private Detective
- Fletch as Dr. Joseph Dolan
- The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn as Rocco
1984
- Missing in Action as Tuck
- The Pope of Greenwich Village as Burns
- Grandview, U.S.A. as Mr. Clark
- Scandalous as Simon Reynolds
- The Outlaws as Warden MacDonald
- Courage as Colonel Crouse
1983
- The Hitchhiker as Detective Underhill
- AfterMASH as Reverend Horn
- Silkwood as Walt Yarborough
- The Woman Who Willed a Miracle as Joe Lemke
- Night Partners as Joe Kirby
1982
- Blade Runner as Bryant
- Cannery Row as Mack
- The Escape Artist as Fritz
- Fast-Walking as Sergeant Sanger
1981
- East of Eden as Sheriff Horace Quinn
- Reds as Speaker at Liberal Club
- Back Roads as Arthur
- Hellinger's Law as Mr. Graebner
1980
- Ordinary People as Swim Coach
- Brubaker as C.P. Woodward
- Raise the Titanic as Master Chief Vinnie Walker
- City in Fear as Sheldon Lewis
- Skag as Moran
- High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane as Harold Patton
1979
- The French Atlantic Affair as Harry
- The Jerk as Madman
- The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh as Wally Cantrell
- The Gift as Legion Commander
- No Other Love as DeFranco
- Dear Detective as Capt. Gorcey
1978
- Straight Time as Earl Frank
- Superdome as Whitley
- A Question of Guilt as Inspector McCartney
1977
- Slap Shot as Dickie Dunn
- Airport '77 as Dr. Williams
- Red Alert as Sheriff Sweeney
1976
- Gibbsville as Yostie
- Mikey and Nicky as Bus Driver
- Nickelodeon as "Father" Logan
- Bound for Glory as Husband
- The Invasion of Johnson County as Irvine
1975
- Starsky & Hutch as Freddie
- Baretta
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue as Doorman
- At Long Last Love as Harold
- Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic as Mr. Peterson
- Crime Club as Jack Doyle
1974
- Little House on the Prairie as Callahan
- The Rockford Files as Edgar Burch
- The Gambler as Las Vegas Gambler
1972
- The Waltons as David Fletcher
- The Bob Newhart Show as Jack Hoover
- What's Up, Doc? as Arresting Officer
- The Sandy Duncan Show
- Get to Know Your Rabbit as Mr. Wendel
1971
- All in the Family as Billy Hartfield
- Nichols as Gabe McCutcheon
- McMillan & Wife as Officer Ames
- Escape from the Planet of the Apes as Aide
- Cold Turkey as Art
- They Might Be Giants as 1st Sanitation Man
1970
- Arnie
- Little Big Man as Shotgun Guard
- End of the Road as Crab Man / Tutu Man
- The Traveling Executioner as Warden Brodski
1969
- Midnight Cowboy as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
- Stiletto as Racing Partner (uncredited)
- Alice's Restaurant as Group W Sergeant
1967
- Ironside as Telegraph Clerk
1959
- Bonanza as Mattheson
1954
- The Wonderful World of Disney as General Presser
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Sarge