J.T. "Do You Know Me?" Walsh
Poor J.T. Walsh. He brought us so much pleasure in his long and un-sung career, but nobody knows who the heck he was! And then, just when he was on the verge of fame, he was snatched from us by death himself. Well, it's time to set that injustice aright. J.T. was the John Entwhistle of Hollywood; like a talented bass player in a rock band, his strong presence lent weight and credibility to any production, while never announcing attention for himself. Yet this gravitas, this grounding, this gratuitous greatness that he granted (okay that's enough "gr" words) brought an indefinable grandness (hey!) and believability and memorability to many a movie. With a face and a build that made him a natural for playing everything from duplicitous state troopers to duplicitous sheriffs to duplicitous bureaucrats, when you saw Mr. J. T. coming down the pike, you knew your hero was in for a rough time!
In films as varied as "Breakdown" (as the evil trucker) and "The Negotiator" (as the evil inspector) and "Executive Decision" (as the evil senator) and "Outbreak" (as the evil chief of staff) as well as "Backdraft", "Misery", "Needful Things", "A Few Good Men", "The Grifters", "Pleasantville", and of course "The Last Seduction" and "Red Rock West", and the TV show "Dark Skies" and so many, many more, he has played evil, duplicitous characters as depraved yet compelling as the day is long! Let us drink a posthumous toast to Mr. Walsh, and pray that none of us will be as poorly recognized in our day for our own wondrous accomplishments!!
By the by, IMDB seems to have trouble listing him in their "search" database, due to his penchant for going by initials, so if you want to look him up there, just click here.
"I just killed my wife. Is that bad?"
