According to a statement from his manager, the American actor passed away on Tuesday at Kerbs Memorial Hospital in St. Albans, Vermont, following a heart arrest.
Walsh portrayed a number of characters in his six-decade career, including Harrison Ford’s chief in Sir Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982).
Two years later, he starred as a dishonest private investigator in Ethan Coen’s Blood Simple, for which he would get the first-ever Film Independent Spirit Award for best male lead.
He also portrayed Dustin Hoffman’s aggressive parole officer in Straight Time and the father of Dermot Mulroney in Julia Roberts’ film My Best Friend’s Wedding.
“No movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad,” noted film critic Roger Ebert once.
Originally named Michael Emmet Walsh, he has appeared in 250 TV shows and 119 movies. Most recently, he played an elderly security officer in Rian Johnson’s 2019 murder mystery comedy Knives Out, starring Daniel Craig.
