M Emmet Walsh the 88 year old American character actor who appeared in over 200 films and television series has died of a cardiac arrest. Hie roles included small but important supporting roles such as Earl Frank in Straight Time (1978), the Madman in The Jerk (1979), Captain Bryant in Blade Runner (1982), Harv in Critters (1986), and Walt Scheel in Christmas with the Kranks (2004). He starred as private detective Loren Visser in Blood Simple (1984), the Coen Brothers’ first film, for which he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.

His other numerous film appearances include Midnight Cowboy (1969), Little Big Man (1970), What’s Up, Doc? (1972), Serpico (1973), The Gambler (1974), Bound for Glory (1976), Slap Shot (1977), Airport ’77 (1977), Brubaker (1980), Ordinary People (1980), Reds (1981), Silkwood (1983), Fletch (1985), Back to School (1986), Raising Arizona (1987), Romeo + Juliet (1996), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), The Iron Giant (1999), Calvary (2014), and Knives Out (2019). Over 7 decades as a character actor, he has credited roles in more than 220 films and television shows.

Over seven decades of television, Walsh appeared in shows including Starsky and Hutch, Frasier, The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, Home Improvement and Adventure Time. Walsh born in Ogdensburg, New York, to Irish descandants, was just 3 days shy of his 89th birthday!