M. Emmet Walsh, Actor from Knives Out, Blade Runner and More, Dead at 88

M. Emmet Walsh, a famous character actor who starred in Blade Runner and Knives out, died on Tuesday. He was 88 years old.

The actor’s manager Sandy Joseph and publicist Cynthia Snyder confirmed his death to PEOPLE on Wednesday. He died of cardiac arrest in St. Albans, Vermont, on Tuesday, according to Snyder.

“In a remarkable career spanning six decades on stage, film and television, he has become widely recognized for his extraordinary portrayals of such unforgettable characters,” Snyder’s statement read.

Walsh has appeared in 119 feature films and more than 250 television productions.

Michael Emmet Walsh was born on March 22, 1935 in Ogdensburg, New York and raised in Swanton, Vermont.

He graduated in business administration and marketing from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his screen debut in the 1969 film Alice’s restaurantand next year he is moving from New York to Los Angeles.

M. Emmet Walsh in “Blade Runner”.

Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett

During the 1970s, he acted alongside the biggest names in Hollywood. At the beginning of the decade, he appeared alongside Dustin Hoffman in Little big man. The following year he was with Joanna Woodward They could be giants. Then in 1972 he appeared in a romantic comedy What’s up doctor? — starring Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand.

He then appeared alongside Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman, in the 1977 sports hit Slap shot. He then reunited with Hoffman in 1978 for Straight Time. He entered the following year Moron with Steve Martin.

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M. Emmet Walsh in “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”

TriStar Pictures/ Everett

In the following decade, he ventured into neo-noir films and starred in the 1982 sci-fi cult classic. Blade Runner with Harrison Ford. Two years later, he starred in the debut film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, a crime thriller Blood Simple with Frances McDormand. He worked again with the Coen brothers in the 1987 comedy Raising Arizonastarring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter.

In addition to the aforementioned features, Walsh also starred alongside many other stars throughout the 1980s—including Robert Redford in Brubaker (1980), Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary people (1980), Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in Red (1981), Chevy Chase in Fletch (1985), Michael Keaton in Clean and sober (1988), and many more.

In the next few decades, he also starred in a number of films, from romantic comedies My best friend’s wedding to a sports movie Racing stripes hit murder mystery Knives out.

“I don’t want to play the same type of character 10 times,” Walsh said Denver Gazette in 2014. “I want to be a garbage collector in one movie and a governor in the next.”

“I approach every job thinking it could be my last,” Walsh added. “So it better be the best work possible.”

M. Emmet Walsh in “Knives Out.”.

Lionsgate

Walsh has also appeared in several TV shows, including a recent series Fair gemstones and Sneaky Pete, as well as Frasier, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, The Twilight Zone, The Bob Newhart Show and Rockford files.

He has two projects that will be released posthumously. Later this year, Western Outlaw unit will be premiered, while Green and gold it is currently in post-production.

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John Goodman and M. Emmet Walsh in “The Righteous Gemstones.”.

Ryan Green/HBO/Everett

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In 1998, he was honored at the Breckenridge Film Festival, and the same year he received the Clarkson University Alumni Award, Golden Knight. In 2018, he received the Carney Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Carney Awards, known as the Actors’ Hall of Fame.

He also established the Blarney Fund Education Trust in 1979 to help provide scholarships to Vermont students.

He is survived by a niece, a nephew and two grandchildren.

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