M Emmet Walsh cause of death: ‘Blade Runner and Knives Out actor, dies at 88

M Emmet Walsh

M Emmet Walsh cause of death—

M Emmet Walsh, the renowned character actor who starred in Blade Runner and Knives Out, has died.

His manager Sandy Joseph confirmed that he died Tuesday in Vermont. He was 88.

M Emmet Walsh

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Who was M Emmet Walsh?

Emmet Walsh was an American character actor.

Michael Emmet Walsh was born on March 22, 1935, in Ogdensburg, New York to Agnes Katharine
(Sullivan) and Harry Maurice Walsh, a customs agent. He is of Irish descent.

He earned a degree in business administration and marketing from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, and studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Emmet Walsh made his onscreen debut in the 1969 film Alice’s Restaurant, and the next year, he moved from New York to Los Angeles.

Throughout the 1970s, he starred alongside Hollywood’s biggest names. At the start of the decade, he appeared alongside Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man. The following year, he was in Joanne Woodward’s They Might Be Giants. Then, in 1972, he appeared in the romantic comedy What’s Up, Doc — which starred Ryan O’Neal and Barbra Streisand.

He then appeared alongside Woodward’s husband, Paul Newman, in the 1977 sports hit Slap Shot. He then reunited with Hoffman in 1978 for Straight Time. The next year, he was in The Jerk with Steve Martin.

In the following decade, he ventured into neo-noir films and starred in the 1982 sci-fi cult classic Blade Runner with Harrison Ford. Two years later, he starred in directors Joel and Ethan Coen’s debut film, the crime noir Blood Simple with Frances McDormand. He worked with the Coen Brothers again in the 1987 comedy Raising Arizona, starring Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter.

In addition to the aforementioned features, Walsh also acted alongside many more stars throughout the 1980s — including Robert Redford in Brubaker (1980), Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People (1980), Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in Reds (1981), Chevy Chase in Fletch (1985), Michael Keaton in Clean and Sober (1988), and many more.

In the next few decades, he also starred in a gamut of films, from the romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding to the sports film Racing Stripes to the murder mystery hit Knives Out.

Walsh also appeared in several TV shows, including the recent series The Righteous Gemstones and Sneaky Pete, as well as Frasier, The X-Files, NYPD Blue, The Twilight Zone, The Bob Newhart Show and The Rockford Files.

He has two projects that will come out posthumously. Later this year, the Western Outlaw Posse will premiere, while Green & Gold is currently in post-production.

In 1998, he was honored by the Breckenridge Festival of Film, and that same year received Clarkson University’s alumni award, The Golden Knight. In 2018, he received the Carney Life Achievement Award at the annual Carney Awards, known as the Character Actors Hall of Fame.

He also established the Blarney Fund Education Trust in 1979 to help provide scholarships to Vermont students.

M Emmet Walsh cause of death

M Emmet Walsh died from a cardiac arrest in St. Albans, Vermont, on March 19, 2024, at the age of 88, three days before his 89th birthday.

Walsh is survived by his niece, Meagan Walsh, nephew, Kevin Walsh (Renee), and grandnephews, Emmet and Elliot.

He was preceded in death by his father, Harry Maurice Walsh Sr., his mother, Agnes, and his brother, Harry Maurice Walsh, Jr.