J. T. Walsh Explained

J. T. Walsh should not be confused with J. D. Walsh (actor).

J.T. Walsh
Birth Name:James Thomas Patrick Walsh
Birth Date:28 September 1943
Birth Place:San Francisco, California, U.S.
Death Place:La Mesa, California, U.S.
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:1975–1998
Children:1
Alma Mater:University of Tübingen
University of Rhode Island

James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films 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).[1]

Early life

Walsh was born in San Francisco, California. He had three siblings: Christopher, Patricia, and Mary.[2] From 1948 until 1962, the family lived in West Germany, where Walsh's father was stationed; they lived in Munich for seven years before moving to Stuttgart.

Walsh and his brother studied at Clongowes Wood College (a Jesuit school in Ireland) from 1955 until 1961. He then attended the University of Tübingen (Walsh spoke fluent German) for a year before his father died of a brain tumour, after which he and his family moved back to the United States, settling in his mother's native Rhode Island. He completed his studies at the University of Rhode Island, where he majored in sociology and starred in many college theater productions. During this time, he was also active in SDS demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

After graduating from college 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.[3]

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. He did not appear in films until 1983, when he had a minor role in Eddie Macon's Run. Over the next 15 years, he appeared in over 50 feature films, increasingly taking the villain role for which he is well known, such as Sergeant Major Dickerson in Good Morning, Vietnam. On television, he again portrayed an evil character, prison warden Brodeur on the 1995 X-Files episode "The List".

Wishing to show his range as an actor and play good guys, despite being typecast as a villain, he played relatively decent characters in Outbreak and Sniper, and also played the rather sympathetic Marine Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson in A Few Good Men. He played a member of Majestic 12 in the 1996 sci-fi drama series Dark Skies. Walsh notably played real people in three films: journalist Bob Woodward in Wired, Teamsters president Frank Fitzsimmons in Hoffa, and Richard Nixon's domestic advisor John Ehrlichman in Nixon. He was fired from Loose Cannons after completing two days of filming because his co-star Dan Aykroyd had learned of Walsh's involvement in Wired, a biopic of Aykroyd's friend John Belushi, to which Aykroyd was hostile.

The 1997 thriller Breakdown, which featured Walsh as villainous truck driver Warren "Red" Barr, was his last starring film released during his lifetime. In his final year of life, Walsh starred in Hidden Agenda, Pleasantville, and The Negotiator, all of which were dedicated to his memory.[4]

Personal life and death

He married Susan West in 1972 and they had a son, John Alan West, who works in film production under the name John West. They divorced in 1982. Walsh lived in Encino, Los Angeles. He was a lifelong Democrat, and an avid reader with a strong interest in metaphysics.

A heavy smoker, 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, just a few weeks earlier, Walsh had experienced chest pains and had an EKG test done that resulted in a misdiagnosis.[5]

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.[6]

In his tribute to Walsh in Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston wrote:

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1983Eddie Macon's RunMan in BarFilm debut
1984Principal Stoddard
1985Right to Kill?Major EckworthTV movie
Hard ChoicesDeputy Anderson
1986Hannah and Her SistersEd Smythe
PowerJerome Cade
1987Tin MenWing
House of GamesThe Businessman / Cop
Good Morning, VietnamSergeant Major Phillip Dickerson
1988Things ChangeHotel Manager
Tequila SunriseDEA Agent Hal Maguire
1989Allen Habel
WiredBob Woodward
DadDr. Santana
1990Why Me?Chief Inspector Francis Mahoney
Crazy PeopleMr. Charles F Drucker
Cole
Narrow MarginMichael Tarlow
MiseryChief Sherman DouglasUncredited
Colonel Jackson Quinn
1991Iron MazeJack Ruhle
BackdraftAlderman Marty Swayzak
DefenselessSteven Seldes
True IdentityAgent Houston
1992Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson
HoffaFrank Fitzsimmons
Grover Dean
1993SniperColonel Chester Van Damme
Loaded Weapon 1Desk Clerk
Red Rock WestKevin McCord / Sheriff Wayne Brown
Needful ThingsDanforth "Buster" Keeton IIINominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
Morning GlorySheriff Reese Goodloe
One Little IndianMarshall RobinsonShort
1994Frank Griffith
Blue Chips"Happy" Kuykendahl
FBI Agent Jason McThune
Silent FallSheriff Mitch Rivers
Miracle on 34th StreetEd Collins
1995OutbreakWhite House Chief of StaffUncredited
Mike Sr.
Harry Tucker
Black Day Blue NightLieutenant John Quinn
Charlie's Ghost StoryDarryl
NixonJohn EhrlichmanNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Sacred CargoFather Stanislav
1996Executive DecisionSenator Jason Mavros
Ted Hannon
Sling BladeCharles BushmanNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997BreakdownWarren "Red" BarrNominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
1998Inspector Terence NiebaumPosthumous release
PleasantvilleBob "Big Bob"
1999Hidden AgendaJonathan Zanuck

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984The Edge of NightKen Bloom #29 Episodes
1985All My ChildrenJay Garland 1 Episode
1987Andrew LawfordEpisode: "Murder and Acquisitions"
The Ellen Burstyn ShowDan HodgesEpisode: "Writer, Wronger"
The EqualizerAndrew Banks / Sam Griffith2 Episodes
1988Windmills of the GodsColonel Bill McKinneyTV Miniseries
1989L.A. LawPete BostikEpisode: "Consumed Innocent"
1992In the Shadow of a Killer Inspector Leo KemenyTV movie
1993The American ClockJudge BradleyTV film based on the play by Arthur Miller
1994BirdlandPotterEpisode: "Grand Delusion"
Colonel Charles FaneEpisode: "Operation Blackout"
StarstruckGreerTV movie
1995The X FilesWarden BrodeurEpisode: "The List"
1996Crime of the CenturyNorman Schwarzkopf Sr.TV movie
Gang in BlueLieutenant William Eyler
1996–1997Dark SkiesFrank Bach19 Episodes
1997HopeRay PercyGoldie Hawn's directorial debut
Jules RozackEpisode: "Radio FBI"

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2004. Salon. J. T. Walsh.
  2. News: Frammolino . Ralph . tuaries J.T. Walsh; Actor Excelled in Malevolent Roles . August 16, 2023 . Los Angeles Times . February 28, 1998 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150920020902/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/feb/28/news/mn-23903 . September 20, 2015.
  3. https://marcseifer.com/assets/jimwalshreflection.pdf J. T. Walsh (1943-1998): Reflections Of A Friend
  4. http://supersite.jtwalsh.org The J.T. Walsh Supersite
  5. Web site: Reflections of a Friend . Seifer . Marc . 1998-03-04 . marcseifer.com . 2023-07-30.
  6. Web site: J.T. Walsh Was Hollywood's Ultimate Go-To Villain. . 12 August 2019 .