American actor M. Emmet Walsh on the set of Blood Simple, written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and directed by Joel Coen. Photo: Getty Images
Veteran character actor M Emmett Walsh appeared in more than 220 films and TV series, including Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Knives Out, and played Dermot Mulroney’s dad in My Best Friend’s Wedding. The prolific actor with the hangdog face and trademark paunch was a familiar face to movie-goers and while he was seldom a top-billed star Walsh’s presence usually lit up the screen. Film critic Roger Ebert created the "Stanton-Walsh Rule," which held that no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh could be altogether bad. Born in New York in 1935, Walsh’s prolific career began in 1969 in Alice’s Restaurant. He was also in demand as a voice actor, narrating Ken Burns’ The Civil War and Baseball documentaries. M Emmett Walsh died on March 19 aged 88. — Agencies
