|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
BIO:
M. Emmet Walsh defines himself as "a working actor." With talent spanning the comedy and drama arenas, Walsh has more than 100 feature films and over 150 television credits to his name.
He spent his childhood in Swanton, Vermont and still maintains a home there on Lake Champlain. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, Walsh's first job in professional theater was at Buck's County Playhouse, Pennsylvania, as a prop man. The following summers found him performing stock theater throughout Vermont, Kentucky and with the Berkshire Festival in Massachusetts over the next ten years. He also did regional theater in Buffalo, New Haven, Philadelphia and numerous Off-Broadway productions. Walsh's path eventually led to Broadway and performances in That Championship Season and Does A Tiger Wear a Necktie? He recently starred in Sweet Bird of Youth, by Tennessee Williams, at the La Jolla Playhouse.
He made his on-screen debut in End of the Road. Other late 1960's films include; Alice's Restaurant, The Traveling Executioner, Cold Turkey and They Might Be Giants.
He moved to California in 1970 with What's Up Doc? and Airport '77, helping to establish him as a working actor in Hollywood.
Walsh's films attest to a Yankee work ethic: "I approach each job thinking I may die of a heart attack, so it had better be the best work possible."
Walsh, the consummate character actor, has worked with the best actors of our time. He appeared with Dustin Hoffman in Straight Time, Paul Newman in Slapshot, Geraldine Page in The Pope of Greenwich Village, Harrison Ford in Blade Runner and in the Coen Brothers' Blood Simple, for which he was given the Independent Feature Projects West "Spirit Award" for Best Performance by an Actor. He also received critical praise for his performance in Clean and Sober as a straight-talking Alcoholics Anonymous veteran sponsor who befriends a chemically dependent Michael Keaton.
Other films include: A Time to Kill, Glass Shield, Black Panther, The Killing Jar, Portraits of Innocence, Carrot Top, Chairman of the Board, Jack of Hearts, Goodbye Sunrise, Baggage, Poor White Trash and Eyeball Eddie. Walsh provided the voice of "Earl Stuz" in the sleeper hit animation feature, The Iron Giant, and was the voice of "Mack" in the television cartoon series "Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot." He was also heard on two series produced by Ken Burns for PBS, "Baseball" and "The Civil War."
A sampling of Walsh's favorite television credits include: an appearance on "AFI's 100 Years, 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies," (for "Blade Runner"), "Monster," a movie for UPN, playing Jill's (Patricia Richardson) father in "Home Improvement," "The Jackie Thomas Show," "Rockford Files," "The Waltons," "East of Eden I & II," "The Twilight Zone," "Amazing Stories," "The Abduction of Kari Swenson," "The Deliberate Stranger," "Murder Ordained," "Unsub," and "The Lottery," a MOW. He guest-starred on "Tracey Takes On..." the critically acclaimed HBO comedy series starring Tracey Ullman.
In 1996, the Breckenridge Film Festival honored Walsh for his memorable portrayals in films. "Straight Time" and "Blood Simple" were screened as representative of his contribution to the cinema. In 1998 he was honored at film festivals in Austin and Fort Worth, Texas.
Walsh makes his home in Los Angeles, summers in Vermont and slums in a New York City co-op that he bought when the market was high. He is a bachelor, but still looking. Away from show business, Walsh (who lettered in four sports) can be found snow skiing, sailing and carries a respectable golf handicap of twelve. He is reasonably content and considers himself to be a fortunate man, "I'm being paid for what I'd do for nothing."
|
|
|
|
|
