‘Blade Runner’ Actor Passes Away At 88

M. Emmet Walsh, the character actor known for major supporting roles in Hollywood hits like “Blade Runner” and “Knives Out,” has died at 88, according to the New York Post.

Walsh’s partner Sandy Joseph confirmed that the Ogdensburg, New York native died of a heart attack while receiving treatment at the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vermont.

In her announcement, Joseph included Walsh’s own reflections on his career spanning six decades and “a tremendous body of work includes 119 feature films and more than 250 television productions.”

“I approach each job thinking it might be my last so it better be the best work possible. I want to be remembered as a working actor. I’m being paid for what I’d do for nothing,” Walsh said.

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His first credit came with the film “Alice’s Restaurant” in 1969, impressing the director enough to shuffle him through the Hollywood circuit to play supporting characters alongside famous peers like Barbra Streisand (1972’s “What’s Up, Doc?”), Paul Newman (1977’s “Slap Shot”), Dustin Hoffman (1970’s “Little Big Man” and 1978’s “Straight Time”), Steve Martin (1979’s “The Jerk”), Harrison Ford (1982’s “Blade Runner”) and Frances McDormand (1984’s “Blood Simple”).

In the past several decades, Walsh could be seen working with Cameron Diaz in 1997’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and most recently with Daniel Craig in the 2019 hit “Knives Out.” He was a reliable cast member for some of TV’s biggest hits over the years, being credited for appearances on “The Righteous Gemstones,” “Sneaky Pete” and “The Mind of the Married Man,” as well as guest roles on “Frasier,” “Home Improvement,” “The X-Files,” “NYPD Blue,” “Army Wives,” “Damages,” “McMillan & Wife,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “The Rockford Files” and “The Waltons.”

“I don’t want to play the same type of character 10 times,” Walsh told USA Today in 2015. “I want to be a garbage collector in one film and a governor in the next.

“I got a degree in business administration and marketing,” he said of attending Clarkson University in New York. “That background taught me to live modestly when you’re working so you can survive on your savings when things aren’t going so well. I’ve had actor friends who made 10 times the money I did, but they have nothing now. I knew what to do with a dollar.”

Walsh leaves behind niece Meagan Walsh, nephew Kevin Walsh (Renee) and grandnephews Emmet and Elliot.