M. Emmet Walsh Dies: ‘Blade Runner’ & Prolific Character Actor Was 88

Kelli Boyle March 20, 2024, 5:56 pm

M Emmet Walsh attends the premiere of Lionsgate's — Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

Longtime character actor M. Emmet Walsh has died at the age of 88. The actor, known for his roles in films like Knives Out, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Blade Runner, The Jerk, Romeo + Juliet, Ordinary People, and more, died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday, March 19.

Walsh’s longtime manager, Sandy Joseph, said the actor died at Kerbs Memorial Hospital in St. Albans, Vermont, per Entertainment Tonight.

Walsh had been a working actor in Hollywood since his first role in 1969’s Alice’s Restaurant. He racked up over 200 onscreen credits throughout his long career. He acted with some of the biggest names in the business, like Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (Walsh played Ford’s boss at the LAPD), Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in Romeo + Juliet (as the Apothecary who sold Romeo the poison), Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal (who died in December 2023) in What’s Up Doc?, Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney in My Best Friend’s Wedding (as Mulroney’s father), and Steve Martin in The Jerk.

One of his most memorable roles was as a vicious private eye in Blood Simple. Walsh is considered one of the best character actors of the 20th century.

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On TV, Walsh appeared in episodes of The X-Files, Twin Peaks, Damages, Army Wives, Frasier, The Mind of a Married Man, NYPD Blue, and more. His most recent credits were in Sneaky Pete, The Righteous Gemstones, American Gigolo, and the 2024 film Outlaw Posse. Viewers have also heard his vocal talents in The Iron Giant, Adventure Time, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, and The Wild Thornberrys.

Michael Emmet Walsh was born March 22, 1935, in Ogdensburg, New York, the son of customs agent Harry Maurice Walsh Sr., and his wife, Agnes. Walsh first got a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing from Clarkson University (where he was roommates with fellow future actor William Devane) and later trained at New York City’s Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961. As Walsh booked more and more onscreen projects, he proved he was believable in any role sent his way.