J. T. Walsh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids J. T. Walsh
J. T. Walsh as Warren 'Red' Barr in Breakdown (1997)
Born	James Thomas Patrick Walsh (1943-09-28)September 28, 1943 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	February 27, 1998(1998-02-27) (aged 54) La Mesa, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Tübingen University of Rhode Island
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–1998
Spouse(s)	Susan West ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1982)​
Children	1

James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was a talented American actor. He was known for playing many different characters in movies and TV shows. Some of his most famous 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).

Early Life and Education

Walsh was born in San Francisco, California. His parents, Mary Louise and James Patrick Walsh, were both from Irish families. His father worked for the U.S. Army as a comptroller, which means he managed money and accounts.

From 1948 to 1962, Walsh's family lived in West Germany because of his father's job. They lived in Munich for seven years, then moved to Stuttgart.

Walsh and his brother went to Clongowes Wood College in Ireland. This was a special school run by a religious group called the Jesuits. After that, he studied at the University of Tübingen in Germany for a year. He could speak German very well.

His family moved back to the United States after his father died from a brain tumor. They settled in Rhode Island, where his mother was from. Walsh finished his studies at the University of Rhode Island. He studied sociology, which is the study of how people live in groups. He also acted in many plays at his college. During this time, he joined student protests against the Vietnam War.

After college in 1967, Walsh worked for a short time as a volunteer. He helped people who rented homes in Newport, Rhode Island. But he soon left to become an actor. Before acting, he had many other jobs, like working in a bar, selling encyclopedias, teaching, and being a reporter. In 1974, a theater director noticed him. He started acting in plays that were not on Broadway, which are smaller, independent shows. He began using "J. T." as his name to avoid being confused with another actor named James Walsh.

Acting Career

J. T. Walsh became well-known for his acting on stage. He got great reviews for his role in a play called Glengarry Glen Ross in 1984. He first appeared in movies in 1983, with a small part in Eddie Macon's Run.

Over the next 15 years, he acted in more than 50 movies. He often played bad guys, like Sergeant Major Dickerson in Good Morning, Vietnam. On TV, he also played a mean prison warden in an episode of The X-Files called "The List" in 1995.

Even though he was often chosen to play villains, Walsh wanted to show he could play different kinds of characters. He played some good characters in movies like Outbreak and Sniper. He also played a kind Marine officer in A Few Good Men. In the 1996 TV show Dark Skies, he played a member of a secret group called Majestic 12.

Walsh also played real people in three movies:

• Journalist Bob Woodward in Wired.
• Union leader Frank Fitzsimmons in Hoffa.
• President Richard Nixon's advisor John Ehrlichman in Nixon.

He was even fired from a movie called Loose Cannons. This happened because his co-star, Dan Aykroyd, didn't like that Walsh was in Wired. That movie was about Aykroyd's friend, John Belushi, and Aykroyd was upset about it.

The 1997 movie Breakdown was the last film he starred in that was released while he was alive. In this movie, he played a villainous truck driver named Warren "Red" Barr. After his death, three more of his films were released: Hidden Agenda, Pleasantville, and The Negotiator. These movies were dedicated to his memory.

Personal Life and Passing

J. T. Walsh married Susan West in 1972. They had a son named John Alan West, who was born in 1974 and now works in film production. Walsh and West divorced in 1982. Walsh lived in Encino, Los Angeles.

He was a supporter of the Democratic Party his whole life. He loved to read and was very interested in metaphysics, which is a branch of philosophy that explores basic questions about reality.

Walsh was a heavy smoker. He died from a heart attack on February 27, 1998, when he was 54 years old. He had felt sick and collapsed at a health institute in Lemon Grove. Just a few weeks before, he had chest pains and had a heart test (an EKG), but the results were wrongly read as normal.

Legacy

The popular website feature "Hey It's That Guy!" was inspired by J. T. Walsh. This feature highlights actors who appear in many films but whose names people might not know well. Walsh was in over 60 films, making him a perfect example. In 2005, the creators of the feature even wrote a book called Hey! It's That Guy!: The Fametracker.com Guide to Character Actors.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: J. T. Walsh para niños