M. Emmet Walsh (1935-2024)
About a week ago, the unforgettable character actor M. Emmet Walsh, who was best known for his roles in "Blade Runner", "Knives Out" and "My Best Friend's Wedding" and the Coen brothers' movies "Blood Simple" and "Raising Arizona" has just passed away on 19th March 2024. He was 88. I didn't think he was famous enough until I changed my mind and wrote a late obituary.
Born in 1935 in New York and raised in Vermont, Walsh first performed in a series of stage productions, which led to his Broadway debut in 1969, starring opposite Al Pacino in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" Walsh received his first uncredited film role - as an extra in "Midnight Cowboy" - and his first credited film role in "Alice's Restaurant", both of which came in 1969. After "Alice", Walsh headed for Los Angeles in 1970 to pursue film and television work. He starred opposite Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal in the 1972 hit movie "What's Up Doc". His breakthrough role was when he played Dustin Hoffman's gruff probation officer in 1978's "Straight Time".
Perhaps one of his two best-known performances was that of the hard-nosed police captain Harry Bryant, who brings Harrison Ford's character out of retirement in 1982's "Blade Runner". The other was the corrupt Texas private detective in the first film from the Coen brothers, the 1984 neo-noir "Blood Simple". The other movies from his career include "Little Big Man", "The Jerk", "Serpico", "The Gambler", "Slap Shot", "Ordinary People", "Fletch", "Critters", "Raising Arizona", "Romeo + Juliet", "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "The Iron Giant", as well as numerous guest appearances on television, including "Starsky and Hutch", "Frasier", "The Twilight Zone", "The X Files", "Home Improvement" and "Adventure Time".
His most recent performance came in Rian Johnson's 2019 murder mystery comedy "Knives Out". Walsh portrayed Mr Proofroc, the ageing security guard at the Thrombey mansion, where much of the film takes place after a murder, as part of an ensemble cast led by Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc.
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