M. Emmet Walsh
Biography
Michael Emmet Walsh (March 22, 1935 – March 19, 2024) was an American character actor who has appeared in over 200 films and television series, including supporting roles in dozens of major studio features of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in Blood Simple (1984), the Coen Brothers' first film for which he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also appeared in The Jerk (1979), Ordinary People (1980), Blade Runner (1982), Wild Wild West (1999), and The Iron Giant (1999). His final films included Knives Out (2019) and Brothers (2024).
Gallery
Known For
Acting History
2025
Green and Gold as Scotty
2024Brothers as Judge Farful
2024Outlaw Posse as Catfish
2023Dotty and Soul as Harold Eichelbaum
2023A Little White Lie as Arthur Baldwin
2022American Gigolo as Coleman
2022The Immaculate Room as Kate's Father
2021The Mimic as The Director
2019Knives Out as Mr. Proofroc
2019The Righteous Gemstones as Roy Gemstone
2019South of Bix as Grandpa
2019Raising Buchanan as Larry Kiesling
2019Faith, Hope & Love as Fr. John
2019Sorry, Not Sorry as Harry's Father
2018Change in the Air as Walter Lemke
2018Toto as Toto
2018Shifting Gears as Hank
2015Boiling Pot as Dean Marison
2015Sneaky Pete as Tex Hopkins
2015The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power as Gorak
2015Empire as Harold Blakeley
2014Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories as Detective
2014Calvary as The Writer
2012Love Sick Love as Ed
2012Arthur Newman as Zazek
2012The Odd Life of Timothy Green as Uncle Bub
2011Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency as Chief Van Owen
2010Pound Puppies as Olaf (voice)
2010Chasing 3000 as Chuck Ireland
2010The Assignment as Mr. Beudreaux
2010Adventure Time as Cosmic Owl
2009Youth in Revolt as Mr. Saunders
2009Don McKay as Samuel
2008Haunted Echoes as Neil
2008Your Name Here as Kroger
2008A True Character as Self
2007Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner as Self
2007Big Stan as Lew Popper
2007Damages as Lyle Hewes
2007Army Wives as Bernie Wallacheck
2007Man in the Chair as Mickey Hopkins
2006'Til Death as Uncle Rudolph
2005Greener Mountains as Muggs
2005Racing Stripes as Woodzie
2004Christmas with the Kranks as Walt Scheel
2003Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales as Wally Westland
2003Charlie Lawrence as Cubby
2003Baggage as Sandy Westphall
2002What's New, Scooby-Doo? as Jeb (voice)
2002Snow Dogs as George
2001The Guardian as Ezra Pence
2001Night Visions as Gus (segment "Reunion")
2001Eyeball Eddie as Coach Cook
2001Christmas in the Clouds as Stu O'Malley
2000Poor White Trash as Judge Pike
2000Jack of Hearts as Comissioner Menlo Boyce
2000Ed as Mayor Wally Kendricks
2000On the Edge of 'Blade Runner' as Self
1999Random Hearts as Billy (uncredited)
1999The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot as Mack (voice)
1999Monster! as Lloyd Reeves
1999The Iron Giant as Earl Stutz (voice)
1999Me and Will as Dean
1999Wild Wild West as Coleman
1998The Wild Thornberrys as Gemsbok #1 (voice)
1998Nightmare in Big Sky Country as Marshal Jim Phillips
1998Men in White as Stanley
1998Erasable You as Ralph Worth
1998Chairman of the Board as Freemont
1998Twilight as Lester Ivar
1997My Best Friend's Wedding as Joe O'Neal
1997The Killing Jar as Sheriff Foley
1997Retroactive as Sam
1997Albino Alligator as Dino
1996Romeo + Juliet as Apothecary
1996The Lottery as Chief Davis
1996Early Edition as Santa
1996The West as Self (voice)
1996A Time to Kill as Willard Tyrell Bass (uncredited)
1996Portraits of a Killer as Raymond Garrison
1996Criminal Hearts as Martin
1996Tracey Takes On...
1995Relative Fear as Earl Ladelle
1995Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home as Bill Wilcox
1995From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as Morris
1995Panther as Dorsett
1995Dead Badge as Sergeant Miller Hoskins
1995The Outer Limits as Sanford Vallé
1994Probable Cause as Sadler
1994Baseball as (voice)
1994The Glass Shield as Det. Jesse Hall
1994Camp Nowhere as T.R. Polk
1994Cops & Robbersons as Captain Ted Corbett (uncredited)
1994Madness of Method as Rudolph Thorndyke
1993Bitter Harvest as Sheriff Bob
1993NYPD Blue as Joe Kroft
1993Frasier as Rich Koechner
1993The X-Files as Arthur Dales
1993Wilder Napalm as Fire Chief
1993The Music of Chance as Calvin Murks
1992Four Eyes and Six-Guns as Mayor Thornbush
1992The Naked Truth as Garcia / Gesundheim
1992Equinox as Pete Petosa
1992Wild Card as Mose
1992White Sands as Bert Gibson
1992Killer Image as John Kane
1991Home Improvement as Colonel
1991Silverfox as Charles Blankenship
1991Fourth Story as Harry
1990The Flash as Henry Allen
1990The Flash as Henry Allen
1990The Civil War as Various
1990Narrow Margin as Sergeant Dominick Benti
1990The Flash as Henry Allen
1990Chattahoochee as Morris
1990Love and Lies as Clyde Wilson
1989Catch Me... If You Can as Johnny Phatmun
1989Thunderground as Wedge
1989Tales from the Crypt as Jonas
1989Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat as Mort
1989The Mighty Quinn as Fred Miller
1989Unsub as Ned Platt
1989Brotherhood of the Rose as Hardy
1988Red Scorpion as Dewey Ferguson
1988War Party as Colin Ditweiler
1988Clean and Sober as Richard Dirks
1988Sunset as Chief Marvin Dibner
1988The Milagro Beanfield War as Governor
1987No Man's Land as Captain Haun
1987Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson Sr.
1987Murder Ordained as Vern Humphrey
1987Murder Ordained as Vern Humphrey
1987Raising Arizona as Machine Shop Ear-Bender
1987Abduction as Don Nichols
1987Broken Vows as Detective Mulligan
1986Hero in the Family as General Presser
1986Back to School as Coach Turnbull
1986The Deliberate Stranger as Det. Sam Davies
1986The Deliberate Stranger as Det. Sam Davies
1986Resting Place as Sarge
1986Critters as Harv
1986Wildcats as Walt Coes
1986The Best of Times as Charlie
1986The Right of the People as Sindaco
1985Amazing Stories as Grandpa
1985The Twilight Zone as Peter (segment "Dealer's Choice")
1985The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn as Rocco
1985Fletch as Dr. Joseph Dolan
1985Blood Simple as Private Detective
1984Missing in Action as Tuck
1984Courage as Colonel Crouse
1984Grandview, U.S.A. as Mr. Clark
1984The Outlaws as Warden MacDonald
1984The Pope of Greenwich Village as Burns
1984Scandalous as Simon Reynolds
1983Silkwood as Walt Yarborough
1983The Hitchhiker as Detective Underhill
1983Night Partners as Joe Kirby
1983AfterMASH as Reverend Horn
1983The Woman Who Willed a Miracle as Joe Lemke
1982Blade Runner as Bryant
1982The Escape Artist as Fritz
1982Fast-Walking as Sergeant Sanger
1982Cannery Row as Mack
1981Reds as Speaker at Liberal Club
1981Back Roads as Arthur
1981Hellinger's Law as Mr. Graebner
1981East of Eden as Sheriff Horace Quinn
1980High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane as Harold Patton
1980Ordinary People as Swim Coach
1980Raise the Titanic as Master Chief Vinnie Walker
1980Brubaker as C.P. Woodward
1980City in Fear as Sheldon Lewis
1980Skag as Moran
1979The Gift as Legion Commander
1979The Jerk as Madman
1979The French Atlantic Affair as Harry
1979The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh as Wally Cantrell
1979Dear Detective as Capt. Gorcey
1979No Other Love as DeFranco
1978Straight Time as Earl Frank
1978A Question of Guilt as Inspector McCartney
1978Superdome as Whitley
1977Red Alert as Sheriff Sweeney
1977Airport '77 as Dr. Williams
1977Slap Shot as Dickie Dunn
1976Mikey and Nicky as Bus Driver
1976Nickelodeon as "Father" Logan
1976Bound for Glory as Husband
1976Gibbsville as Yostie
1976The Invasion of Johnson County as Irvine
1975Starsky & Hutch as Freddie
1975Starsky & Hutch as Lloyd Herman Eckworth
1975Crime Club as Jack Doyle
1975The Prisoner of Second Avenue as Doorman
1975At Long Last Love as Harold
1975Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic as Mr. Peterson
1975Baretta
1974The Gambler as Las Vegas Gambler
1974The Rockford Files as Edgar Burch
1974Little House on the Prairie as Callahan
1973Serpico as Gallagher
1973Kid Blue as Barber
1972The Sandy Duncan Show
1972The Bob Newhart Show as Jack Hoover
1972The Waltons as David Fletcher
1972Get to Know Your Rabbit as Mr. Wendel
1972What's Up, Doc? as Arresting Officer
1971McMillan & Wife as Officer Ames
1971Nichols as Gabe McCutcheon
1971They Might Be Giants as 1st Sanitation Man
1971Escape from the Planet of the Apes as Aide
1971Cold Turkey as Art
1971All in the Family as Billy Hartfield
1970Little Big Man as Shotgun Guard
1970The Traveling Executioner as Warden Brodski
1970Arnie
1970End of the Road as Crab Man / Tutu Man
1969Alice's Restaurant as Group W Sergeant
1969Stiletto as Racing Partner (uncredited)
1969Midnight Cowboy as Bus Passenger (uncredited)
1967Ironside as Telegraph Clerk
1959Bonanza as Mattheson
1954The Wonderful World of Disney as General Presser
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Sarge