Beloved actor Jessica Walter has died at the age of 80, her family has confirmed, passing away peacefully in her sleep in New York. She gave memorable performances across TV series, movies and animated shows, and particularly in her later years was a major force of comic acting in shows like Arrested Development and Archer.
Walter’s screen career largely played out across a prolific TV career that began in the 1960s, though she did appear in a string of movies too – including Sidney Lumet’s 1968 comedy-drama Bye Bye Braverman. Her most iconic role, though, came in cult comedy Arrested Development, in which Walter played Bluth family matriarch Lucille – never far from a withering putdown or a martini glass, dispensing several of the series’ most iconic lines (“Here’s some money, go see a Star War”). She played Lucille Bluth across the show’s original three-season run between 2003 and 2006, and returned for the revived fourth and fifth seasons on Netflix between 2013 and 2019.
Several of her Arrested Development co-stars shared tributes to her online. Jason Bateman said he will “forever remember” working with Walter.
Tony Hale called her “a force”, and shared a selfie of them together.
Will Arnett remembers being “blown away” by Walter when they met in 1996, years before they starred together on Arrested Development.
Paul Feig, who directed several Arrested Development episodes and also worked with Walter on his film Unaccompanied Minors (aka Grounded) said she was a “true original”.
And the show’s executive producer Ron Howard thanked her for “a lifetime of laughs”.
Following her original run on Arrested Development, Walter went on to voice Mallory Archer in 119 episodes of hit animated TV comedy Archer – a character that’s said to have been inspired in look and tone by Lucille Bluth. Her final film role is in Thomas F. Mazziotti’s The Mimic, which arrived in the US in February and is yet to receive a UK release date. She also appeared in an episode of US sitcom American Housewife in February, and recently lent her voice to Granny Goodness in an episode of the Harley Quinn animated series.
She’ll be sorely missed, and our thoughts are with her friends and family – next time we go see a Star War, we’ll be sure to raise a martini glass to Jessica Walter.