Tracey Walter

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Tracey Walter
Walter in 2006
Born	(1947-11-25) November 25, 1947 (age 77) Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1971–2016
Children	2

Tracey Clive Walter (born November 25, 1947) is an American retired character actor,^[1] who appeared in more than 170 films and television roles. He is best known for his appearances alongside his real-life friend Jack Nicholson, as well having been a regular collaborator of directors Jonathan Demme and Danny DeVito.^[2] He won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Miller in Repo Man.

Walter was born and grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver.^[3] He attended St. Anthony's High School there and played basketball.^[4] He credited the off-Broadway play Scuba Duba with spurring his interest in acting.^[5] He studied acting under Jean Stapleton at the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.^[5] He made his screen debut in the low-budget exploitation film Ginger.

Walter is known for his portrayal of "sidekicks" and "henchmen", such as Bob the Goon in Batman, Cookie in City Slickers, and Malak in Conan the Destroyer.^[1] He portrayed Frog Rothchild Jr. on the ABC sitcom Best of the West from 1981 to 1982.^[1]

Walter is well-known for his appearences alongside his real-life friend Jack Nicholson. The two appeared in nine films together, beginning with Goin' South in 1978.^[1] Walter has acted in six Jonathan Demme films: Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998), and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).^[1] He has been directed by Danny DeVito in three films: Matilda (1996), Death to Smoochy (2002), and Duplex (2003).

Walter appeared in a small role with Clint Eastwood in the 1982 film Honkytonk Man,^[1] 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).^{[citation needed]} Walter also coined the phrase "Make 'Em Bounce" (as in happy) in the film Raggedy Man.^{[citation needed]}

His portrayal of Miller, the philosopher mechanic of Alex Cox's Repo Man,^[1] 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, Charlie's Angels, Hill Street Blues, Amazing Stories, Moonlighting, David Lynch's On the Air, Melrose Place, The Division, Veronica Mars, Criminal Minds 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.

Walter has two children.^[4]

• Tracey Walter at IMDb