Jessica Walter’s 5 most memorable on-screen characters
Share this post:
Jessica Walter was that rare actor who could make people laugh, cry or pull the sheets over their heads in fright.
Anyone who can intimidate Clint Eastwood on-screen has real performing power, and Jessica Walter had it in spades.
Walter, whose career spanned six decades, died in her sleep at home March 24. She was 80.
Despite all of her exceptional work, she never really received the kind of recognition she deserved. She was never nominated for an Academy Award, even though her performance as the unhinged, knife-wielding Evelyn Draper in “Play Misty for Me” was Oscar-worthy. All she earned for her first major movie role was a Golden Globe nomination.
She did receive an Emmy but not, as most would assume, for her portrayal of Lucille Bluth in “Arrested Development.” Walter won for playing the lead in “Amy Prentiss,” a police procedural that lasted just one season on NBC in the mid-1970s.
In no particular order, here are five of Jessica Walter’s most memorable characters.
Evelyn Draper — “Play Misty for Me”
Before Alex Forrest, the creepy Glenn Close character who tormented Michael Douglas in “Fatal Attraction,” there was Evelyn Draper in “Play Misty for Me.” As scary as “Fatal Attraction” was, “Play Misty for Me” was much more frightening. The movie was Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut and he got the most out of Walter, whose performance as Evelyn established the template for other actresses to follow when playing deranged stalkers. Eastwood plays a smooth-talking jazz disc jockey being stalked by a female fan who won’t let go.One can’t help being genuinely afraid for him when Evelyn shows up in his bedroom one night to attack him with a large knife. It’s heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat stuff.
Susan Miller — “Coach”
The award-winning ABC sitcom “Coach” featured Walter in a recurring role as overbearing agent Susan Miller. The series starred Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, head coach of the fictional Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team. When Fox decides it’s time for him to move up to pro football, he hires Miller to land him a job in the NFL. Walter’s character is wonderfully unscrupulous and manages to intimidate the coach to the point where he acts against his better judgment and abuses his players to achieve her ambitious goals.
Inez Braverman — “Bye Bye Braverman”
An underrated 1968 cult classic, “Bye Bye Braverman” tells the humorous story of four Jewish intellectuals, including writer Morroe Rieff, played by George Segal. When his best friend and fellow writer Leslie Braverman suddenly dies of a heart attack at 41, it creates a life crisis for Segal’s character as he confronts his own mortality. Walter is absolutely hilarious as “grieving” sex-starved widow Inez Braverman. When Rieff comes to console her, Braverman, in a black mourning dress, practically seduces him and it’s all he can do to escape her clutches.
Phyllis Brody — “The Flamingo Kid”
In this coming-of-age comedy, Matt Dillon stars as a working-class kid who takes a summer job at a Long Island beach resort and learns valuable life lessons. It’s a warm-hearted film and Walter stands out as bored wife Phyllis Brody. At one point she struts around in front of Dillon’s character in a red bikini. Walter, who was born in Brooklyn, no doubt channeled memories from her Jewish upbringing. In one memorable exchange with her husband Phil, played by Richard Crenna, he tells Phyllis he hates aspic. Phyllis replies, “Oh Phil, Lizzy worked all day on this dish. I read it to her from The New York Times.” Phil responds with, “I don’t want anything on my plate that moves.”
Laura — “Lilith”
This is an obscure neo-noir drama from 1964 that stars Warren Beatty as an ex-soldier who lands a job as a trainee occupational therapist in a private mental institution. He ends up being seduced by a beautiful young schizophrenic patient named Lilith, played by Jean Seberg. Walter’s character Laura was involved with Beatty before marrying a clod played by Gene Hackman. Laura is deeply unhappy with her marriage, but Walter conveys it more through facial expressions and attitude than words. Her regret and desperation are so effectively displayed that one can’t help feeling profoundly sorry for her.