Jessica Walter, the Emmy-winning actress best known as boozy matriarch Lucille Bluth on “Arrested Development,” died Wednesday. She was 80.
No cause of death was given, but Deadline reported that she died in her sleep.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom Jessica,” Walters’ daughter, Brooke Bowman, told Deadline. “A working actor for over six decades, her greatest pleasure was bringing joy to others through her storytelling both on screen and off. While her legacy will live on through her body of work, she will also be remembered by many for her wit, class and overall joie de vivre.”
Walter, who won a 1975 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for the NBC drama “Amy Prentiss,” was nominated for an Emmy for her “Arrested Development” role in 2005, as well as for parts in TV series including “Trapper John, M.D.” and “The Streets of San Francisco.”
Walter, who voiced domineering spy agency head (and difficult mother) Malory Archer in the FXX animated series “Archer,” is also remembered for roles in films including Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, “Play Misty for Me.” Her first movie part was in the 1964 flick “Lilith,” which also starred Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman and Jean Seberg.
The prolific, Brooklyn-born actress was an especially familiar TV presence for decades, appearing in a wide variety of series including “Good Girls,” “At Home With Amy Sedaris,” “90210,” “One Life to Live,” “Coach,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “The Love Boat” and many more. In addition, the New Yorker appeared in numerous Broadway shows, most recently in the 2011 production of “Anything Goes,” which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
In 2018, the Westchester resident — who always held a place in her heart for the Upper West Side and Broadway — shared with The Post her enduring love of New York City. “I like walking mostly everywhere,” she said. “Every day is an adventure here.”
Walter’s husband, Emmy-winning actor Ron Leibman, died in 2019 at age 82.
Walter’s “Arrested Development” co-stars remembered her legacy on social media Thursday. David Cross, who played Tobias Fünke on the show, called her “an absolutely brilliant actress and amazing talent,” adding, “I consider myself privileged and very lucky to have been able to work with her. Lucille Bluth is one of TV’s greatest characters.”
Tony Hale, who portrayed Lucille Bluth’s son Buster, tweeted a selfie with Walter, sharing that she “was a force, and her talent and timing were unmatched. Rest In Peace Mama Bluth.”
The oft-quoted “Arrested Development” actress had a deep love for many of her co-stars from that show — especially Michael Cera, whom she loved in Broadway’s “The Waverly Gallery” in 2018. “Michael is always brilliant. I always follow him wherever he goes,” she told The Post in 2017.
However, behind the scenes of the comedy, it wasn’t always laughs. In an emotional interview in 2018, Walter said her on-screen husband Jeffrey Tambor verbally harassed her on set. Tambor was later accused of inappropriate behavior on the set of “Transparent,” from which he was eventually written off. Jason Bateman, who played Walter’s on-screen son in “Arrested Development,” came under fire for belittling Walter in the interview. He later apologized for “mansplaining” what Walter experienced.
Although Walter was known for her out-there depictions in “Arrested Development” and “Archer,” she apparently had a more demure side in real life. In a 2019 interview with The Post, “Archer” executive producer Matt Thompson remembered having to explain to her some of the off-color terms used in the show.
“Some of the most uncomfortable moments we have had is explaining sexually based slang to Jessica Walter,” Thompson said with a laugh. “Hear this in Jessica Walter’s voice: ‘Tell me about this tea-bagging.‘ Then you have to methodically, like a lawyer, tell her. It’s not what can we get away with; it’s what we are comfortable explaining. Because there’s a point where it’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to say this to her.’ ”
In a statement to The Post, “Archer” creator and executive producer Adam Reed called her a “beloved colleague and friend,” adding that she “was a consummate professional, an actor’s actor, and the exact opposite of Malory Archer – warm, caring, and kind, with an absolutely cracking sense of humor – and it was both a privilege and a true honor to work with her over these many years. She will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.”
“Archer” actress Aisha Tyler praised Walter on Twitter as “a queen in every way: kind, classy, incredibly talented, generous with love & support. And so insanely funny.” Her co-star, Amber Nash, added her own salute on Instagram, writing, “I was so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with and know Jessica. She was the best of us. She would wait for a moment and then blow us all out of the water with the funniest thing you’ve ever heard. I learned so much from Jessica. A classy gal indeed.”
In 2012, Walter told AV Club she was drawn to quirky roles like the one in “Arrested Development” because they are “juicy,” adding that they are “much better than playing the vanilla ingénues” and noting that she has “played lots of mothers from hell.”
