By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — M. Emmet Walsh, the distinctive character actor who brought his recognizable face and unsettling presence to movies such as “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” has died at 88, according to his manager on Wednesday.
Walsh passed away from cardiac arrest on Tuesday at a hospital in St. Albans, Vermont, as confirmed by his long-time manager Sandy Joseph.
The round-faced, heavy Walsh often portrayed good old boys with nefarious intentions, as seen in one of his rare leading roles as a corrupt Texas private detective in the Coen brothers’ first film, the 1984 neo-noir “Blood Simple.”
Joel and Ethan Coen mentioned they specifically wrote the role for Walsh, who would later win the first Film Independent Spirit Award for best male lead due to his performance.
Critics and film enthusiasts enjoyed the moments when he appeared on screen.
Roger Ebert once noted that “no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad.”
Walsh portrayed a crazed sniper in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy “The Jerk” and a doctor performing a prostate exam in the 1985 Chevy Chase film “Fletch.”
In 1982’s gritty, “Blade Runner,” a film he described as grueling and challenging to make with exacting director Ridley Scott, Walsh takes on the role of a tough police captain who convinces Harrison Ford to come out of retirement to hunt down cyborgs.
Born Michael Emmet Walsh, his characters often led people to believe he was from the American South, but actually hailed from the northern border near Lake Champlain in Swanton, Vermont, where multiple generations of his family worked as customs officers.
He attended a small local high school with only 13 graduating students, then went on to Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
Initially, he focused solely on stage acting for ten years, working in summer stock and repertory companies.
His film career began in 1969 with a small role in “Alice’s Restaurant,” and he didn't start landing significant roles until nearly a decade later when he was in his 40s, finding his breakthrough with 1978’s “Straight Time,” where he played Dustin Hoffman’s arrogant, unpleasant parole officer.
While filming “Silkwood” with Meryl Streep in Dallas in the fall of 1982, Walsh received the offer for “Blood Simple” from the Coen brothers, then up-and-coming filmmakers who had seen and admired his work in “Straight Time.”
Walsh mentioned to The Guardian in 2017, “My agent called with a script written by some kids for a low-budget movie. It was a Sydney Greenstreet kind of role, with a Panama suit and the hat. I thought it was kinda fun and interesting. They were 100 miles away in Austin, so I went down there early one day before shooting.”
Walsh noted that the filmmakers didn’t even have enough money left to fly him to New York for the premiere, but he was astonished that first-time filmmakers had created something so impressive.
Walsh recalled shooting “Silkwood” with Meryl Streep in Dallas in the autumn of 1982 when he received the offer for “Blood Simple” from the Coen brothers, then-aspiring filmmakers who had seen and loved him in “Straight Time.”
He said he watched the movie a few days later when it premiered in LA, and he was amazed. Suddenly, his price went up five times and everyone wanted to hire him.
In the movie, he acts as Loren Visser, a detective who is hired to follow a man's wife, and then gets paid to murder her and her lover.
Visser also serves as the narrator, and the beginning speech, spoken in a Texas accent, contained some of Walsh's most memorable lines.
Visser says, "In Russia, they have a system where everyone supports each other. That's the idea, at least. But I know about Texas. And here, you're on your own."
He was still acting in his late 80s, and had recent roles in the TV shows 'The Righteous Gemstones' and 'American Gigolo'.
His extensive film work included the 2019 movie 'Knives Out' by director Rian Johnson, and the Western 'Outlaw Posse' by director Mario Van Peebles, which came out this year.
Johnson was one of many who honored Walsh on social media.
"Emmet arrived on set with two things: a list of his credits that covered a whole page, and two-dollar bills which he gave to the entire crew," Johnson wrote. "'Don't spend it and you'll never be broke.' He was a true legend."
