Tracey Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American retired

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He has appeared in more than 170

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series.

Life and career

Walter was born and grew up in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, the son of a

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

.Profile
FilmReference.com; accessed August 2, 2018. He attended St. Anthony's High School there and played basketball.
shockcinemamagazine.com
Issue No. 5
cover
/ref> He has one son and one daughter. He is known for his portrayal of "sidekicks" and "henchmen", such as Bob the Goon in ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', Cookie in '' City Slickers'', and Malak in '' Conan the Destroyer''. He portrayed Frog Rothchild Jr. on the ABC sitcom '' Best of the West'' from 1981 to 1982. Walter has acted in six

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...

films: '' Something Wild'' (1986), '' Married to the Mob'' (1988), '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991), ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

'' (1993), '' Beloved'' (1998), and '' The Manchurian Candidate'' (2004). He has been directed by

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

in three films: '' Matilda'' (1996), '' Death to Smoochy'' (2002), and '' Duplex'' (2003). He acted with and was directed by

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

in '' The Two Jakes'' (1990). He and Nicholson have appeared in nine films together, beginning with '' Goin' South'' in 1978. He appeared in a small role with

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

in the 1982 film '' Honkytonk Man'', and has coined the phrase "Right Cheer" (as in right here) while playing a service station attendant, also attributed to Andy Griffith on his first comedy album '' What it Was, Was Football'' (1953). Walter also coined the phrase "Make 'Em Bounce" (as in happy) in the film '' Raggedy Man''. His portrayal of Miller, the philosopher mechanic of

Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' (1984) and ''Sid and Nancy'' (1986 ...

's '' Repo Man'', earned Walter a Saturn Award in 1985 for Best Supporting Actor. In the 2000 film '' Erin Brockovich'', Walter played Charles Embry, the PG&E employee who supplied the memo that tied an executive at the PG&E corporate headquarters to the knowledge of the Hinkley station water contamination. Walter's television credits include guest appearances on '' WKRP in Cincinnati'', ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'', '' Charlie's Angels'', '' Hill Street Blues'', ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'', '' Moonlighting'',

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's '' On the Air'', '' Melrose Place'', '' The Division'', ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' and '' Cold Case''. He appeared on '' Nash Bridges'' as Angel from 1996 to 2001 and on '' Reno 911!'' as Sheriff Walter Chechekevitch from 2003 to 2006.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Tracey 1947 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey St. Anthony High School (New Jersey) alumni