Jessica Walter

A formidable screen presence, Jessica Walter worked steadily on television but made her first impression on critics as the frigid gossip Libby in Sidney Lumet's "The Group" (1966). She delivered on her promise as a woman romantically obsessed with Clint Eastwood in the influential thriller "Play Misty for Me" (1971). She won an Emmy for playing "Amy Prentiss" (NBC, 1974-75), a groundbreaking female police chief and earned another nomination for recurring as the ex-wife of "Trapper John, M.D." (CBS, 1979-1986). She played a bored housewife in Garry Marshall's "The Flamingo Kid" (1984), the campily named "Kay Mart" in the cult hit "Tapeheads" (1988), and the college president facing off against Jeremy Piven in "PCU" (1994). On television, she played a series of family matriarchs: the voice of Fran on "Dinosaurs" (ABC, 1991-94); the brilliantly boozy and manipulative Lucille Bluth on the much beloved "Arrested Development" (Fox, 2003-06); the alcoholic grandmother on "90210" (The CW, 2008-13); and the voice of the superspy matriarch Malory Archer on the animated cult fave "Archer" (FX, 2009- ). As filming began on an "Arrested Development" revival, Walter was tapped alongside George Segal to return to live-action sitcoms to play the parents of a young man who "Retired at 35" (TV Land, 2011-12), followed by a similar role opposite Jaime Pressley on "Jennifer Falls" (TV Land 2014). An impressively arch comedic force who only improved with age, Jessica Walter enjoyed an amazingly long career trajectory, proving that true talent was the most invaluable asset an actor of any age could have. Jessica Walter died at her home in Manhattan on March 24, 2021. She was 80.