Remembering Jessica Walter With a Look Back at 13 Memorable TV Roles
Emmy-winning actress Jessica Walter, who died on March 24 at the age of 80, may be most recognizable for her characters on Arrested Development (as Lucille Bluth) and Archer (voicing Malory Archer), but those are just two in a long list of memorable TV roles over the course of a 60-year career.
Walter’s first credited TV role was a guest spot in 1951 in Love of Life, which eventually led to her first full-time role in For the People with William Shatner in 1965. Since then, she’s appeared in numerous TV shows, TV movies, and films.
Her most recent roles came in American Housewife, Harley Quinn, and Good Girls, and fans will still get to hear her voice on Archer when the upcoming Season 12 airs on FXX. While the comedy hasn’t completed production, the stars did finish recording their voice work, according to Deadline.
“Jessica was a consummate professional, an actor’s actor, and the exact opposite of Malory Archer — warm, caring, and kind, with an absolutely cracking sense of humor — and it was both a privilege and a true honor to work with her over these many years. She will be greatly missed, but never forgotten,” Archer‘s creator and executive producer Adam Reed posted to the show’s Twitter account on March 25.
She will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. pic.twitter.com/FRqb964ZOX
— Archer (@archerfxx) March 25, 2021
Scroll down for a look at just some the characters Walters has played, including those from Archer and Arrested Development (also pictured above), her Emmy-winning Amy Prentiss, and more.
Phyllis Koster, For the People
1965: The American legal drama was Walter’s first full-time TV role.
Amy Prentiss, Amy Prentiss
1974-1975: Walter starred in the police drama, which aired on NBC. It was an Ironside spinoff.
Jocelyn Hyatt Matthews/Madeline Harris/Sally Welker/Marcia Farnsworth/Holly Hartman/Louise Hastings, The Love Boat
1978-1985: The actress appeared in a long list of Love Boat segments, which of course had such stellar names as “Love and the Three Timer” and “Love and the Old Cowboy.”
Ava Marshall, Bare Essence
1983: This primetime soap opera, which aired on NBC, was all about the perfume industry.
Claudia Bradford, Three's a Crowd
1984-1985: Walter’s starred in this Three’s Company spinoff. (She also starred in a 1969 made-for-TV movie with the same name; it also starred Larry Hagman.)
Connie Lo Verde, Aaron's Way
1988: This short-lived, critically disliked series was about an Amish family adapting to a new life in California.
Celia Calloway, Oh Baby
1998-2000: This Lifetime sitcom was about a single working woman who decides to have a child through artificial insemination; Walter’s played her mother.
Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development
2003-2019: Walter-plus-Lucille Bluth, the entitled matriarch with the icy comebacks, was a match made in heaven.
Tabitha Wilson, 90210
2008-2009: Walter’s played another matriarch, this one an alcoholic actress.
Malory Archer, Archer
2009-2021: Mom to Archer and ex-head of ISIS, she always has a sharp remark and cocktail in hand.
Elaine Robbins, Retired at 35
2011-2012: Walter stars with the late George Segal in this TV Land sitcom.
Maggie, Jennifer Falls
2014: This short-lived TV land sitcom starred Jaime Pressly as a high-powered exec forced to move back in with her mother, played by, you guessed it, Walter.
Judith McKnight, NCIS
2015-2017: Walter also had a guest role on NCIS in the episode “Non Stop.”
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services