R.I.P. Jessica Walter of Arrested Development and Play Misty for Me

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Over the course of a screen acting career that lasted around sixty years, Jessica Walter built up a résumé that includes a staggering 161 credits. While she may be best known these days for playing Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development, I'll always remember her for her role in a film that's celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Clint Eastwood's directorial debut Play Misty for Me. That film was basically Fatal Attraction sixteen years before Fatal Attraction, and Walter did a fantastic, Golden Globe-nominated job as Evelyn Draper, a woman who becomes dangerously obsessed with a radio DJ played by Eastwood.

Sadly, it has been confirmed that Walter passed away in her sleep on March 24th at the age of 80. Her daughter Brooke Bowman released the following statement: 

It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica. A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre."

Born in New York City, Walter got her start acting on Broadway. Her transition to the screen earned her many awards wins and nominations over the decades, including an Emmy win for the 1970s mini-series Amy Prentiss.

Among Walter's many credits are the films Going Ape!, The Flamingo Kid, Tapeheads, Ghost in the Machine, PCU, Temptress, and Slums of Beverly Hills, the TV movies Dr. Strange, Vampire, She's Dressed to Kill, and Killer in the Mirror, and episodes of the shows The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; Flipper; The Fugitive; Mission: Impossible; Marcus Welby, M.D.; Mannix; Columbo; Barnaby Jones; Hawaii Five-O; Wonder Woman; Knots Landing; Joanie Loves Chachi; The Love Boat; Three's a Crowd; Trapper John, M.D.; Magnum, P.I.; Murder, She Wrote; Babylon 5; Coach; Law & Order; One Life to Live; Poltergeist: The Legacy; The Big Bang Theory; 90210; and Good Girls. She also did vocal work on Dinosaurs, Archer, Harley Quinn, and Justice League Action.

Our sincere condolences go out to Walter's family, friends, and fans.