James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. He starred in many films of the 1980s and 1990s, which include Tin Men (1987), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Hoffa (1992), Nixon (1995), Sling Blade (1996), Breakdown (1997) and Pleasantville (1998).
Early life
Walsh was born in San Francisco, California. He had three siblings: Christopher, Patricia, and Mary.
After graduating from the University of Rhode Island in 1967, Walsh worked briefly as a VISTA volunteer in Newport, Rhode Island organizing tenants for the United Tenant Organizations of Rhode Island (UTO) before resigning to pursue his acting career. Prior to becoming an actor, he also worked as a barman, an encyclopedia salesman, a junior high school teacher, a gymnasium equipment salesman, and a reporter. In 1974, he was discovered by a theater director and began working in off-Broadway shows, where he began using the initials "J. T." to avoid confusion with another stage actor named James Walsh.
Career
On stage, Walsh received critical acclaim for his performance as John Williamson in the 1984 U.S. premiere of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross in Chicago and subsequently on Broadway.
Personal life and death
Walsh died of a heart attack in the hospital in La Mesa, California, on February 27, 1998, at the age of 54, after feeling ill and collapsing at the Optimum Health Institute in Lemon Grove. According to author Marc Seifer, for whom Walsh had narrated a documentary a few weeks earlier, Walsh had experienced chest pains and had an EKG test done that resulted in a misdiagnosis.
Jack Nicholson, who acted with Walsh in A Few Good Men and Hoffa, dedicated his Best Actor Oscar for As Good as It Gets to him.
In his tribute to Walsh in Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston wrote:
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1983
| Eddie Macon's Run
| Man in Bar
| Film debut
|-
| 1984
|
| Principal Stoddard
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Right to Kill?
| Major Eckworth
| TV movie
|-
| Hard Choices
| Deputy Anderson
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1986
| Hannah and Her Sisters
| Ed Smythe
|
|-
| Power
| Jerome Cade
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1987
| Tin Men
| Wing
|
|-
| House of Games
| The Businessman / Cop
|
|-
| Good Morning, Vietnam
| Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1988
| Things Change
| Hotel Manager
|
|-
| Tequila Sunrise
| DEA Agent Hal Maguire
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1989
|
| Allen Habel
|
|-
| Wired
| Bob Woodward
|
|-
| Dad
| Dr. Santana
|
|-
| rowspan="6" | 1990
| Why Me?
| Chief Inspector Francis Mahoney
|
|-
| Crazy People
| Mr. Charles F Drucker
|
|-
|
| Cole
|
|-
| Narrow Margin
| Michael Tarlow
|
|-
| Misery
| Chief Sherman Douglas
| Uncredited
|-
|
| Colonel Jackson Quinn
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1991
| Iron Maze
| Jack Ruhle
|
|-
| Backdraft
| Alderman Marty Swayzak
|
|-
| Defenseless
| Steven Seldes
|
|-
| True Identity
| Agent Houston
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1992
|
| Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson
|
|-
| Hoffa
| Frank Fitzsimmons
|
|-
|
| Grover Dean
|
|-
| rowspan="6" | 1993
| Sniper
| Colonel Chester Van Damme
|
|-
| Loaded Weapon 1
| Desk Clerk
|
|-
| Red Rock West
| Kevin McCord / Sheriff Wayne Brown
|
|-
| Needful Things
| Danforth "Buster" Keeton III
|
|-
| Morning Glory
| Sheriff Reese Goodloe
|
|-
| One Little Indian
| Marshall Robinson
| Short
|-
| rowspan="5" | 1994
|
| Frank Griffith
|
|-
| Blue Chips
| "Happy" Kuykendahl
|
|-
|
| FBI Agent Jason McThune
|
|-
| Silent Fall
| Sheriff Mitch Rivers
|
|-
| Miracle on 34th Street
| Ed Collins
|
|-
| rowspan="7" | 1995
| Outbreak
| White House Chief of Staff
| Uncredited
|-
|
| Mike Sr.
|
|-
|
| Harry Tucker
|
|-
| Black Day Blue Night
| Lieutenant John Quinn
|
|-
| Charlie's Ghost Story
| Darryl
|
|-
| Nixon
| John Ehrlichman
| rowspan="6" |
|-
| Sacred Cargo
| Father Stanislav
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| Executive Decision
| Senator Jason Mavros
|-
|
| Ted Hannon
|-
| Sling Blade
| Charles Bushman
|-
| 1997
| Breakdown
| Warren "Red" Barr
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1998
|
| Inspector Terence Niebaum
| rowspan="3" | Posthumous release
|-
| Pleasantville
| Bob "Big Bob"
|-
| 1999
| Hidden Agenda
| Jonathan Zanuck
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |Notes
|-
| 1983
| Blood Feud
| Photographer
| Television film
|-
| 1984
| The Edge of Night
| Ken Bloom #2
| 9 Episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| All My Children
| Jay Garland
| 1 Episode
|-
| The Equalizer
| Sam Griffith
| Episode: "The Lock Box"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1987
| Spenser: For Hire
| Andrew Lawford
| Episode: "Murder and Acquisitions"
|-
| The Ellen Burstyn Show
| Dan Hodges
| Episode: "Writer, Wronger"
|-
| The Equalizer
| Andrew Banks
| Episode: "Shadow Play"
|-
| 1988
| Windmills of the Gods
| Colonel Bill McKinney
| TV Miniseries
|-
| 1989
| L.A. Law
| Pete Bostik
| Episode: "Consumed Innocent"
|-
| 1990
| Roseanne
| Lieutenant Howard
| Episode: "An Officer and a Gentleman"
|-
| 1992
| In the Shadow of a Killer
| Inspector Leo Kemeny
| TV movie
|-
| 1993
| The American Clock
| Judge Bradley
| TV film based on the play by Arthur Miller
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1994
| Birdland
| Potter
| Episode: "Grand Delusion"
|-
| Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
| Colonel Charles Fane
| Episode: "Operation Blackout"
|-
| Starstruck
| Greer
| TV movie
|-
| 1995
| The X Files
| Warden Brodeur
| Episode: "The List"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Crime of the Century
| Norman Schwarzkopf Sr.
| rowspan="2" | TV movie
|-
| Gang in Blue
| Lieutenant William Eyler
|-
| 1996–1997
| Dark Skies
| Frank Bach
| 19 Episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1997
| Hope
| Ray Percy
| Goldie Hawn's directorial debut
|-
| C-16: FBI
| Jules Rozack
| Episode: "Radio FBI"
|-
|}
References
External links
- Bubblegun interview