Life and career

Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of a truck driver.

He 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. He portrayed Frog Rothchild Jr. on the ABC sitcom Best of the West from 1981 to 1982. 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). He has been directed by Danny DeVito in three films: Matilda (1996), Death to Smoochy (2002), and Duplex (2003). He acted with and was directed by Jack Nicholson in The Two Jakes (1990). The two have acted together in nine films, the first being Goin' South in 1978.

He appeared in a small role with Clint Eastwood in the 1982 film Honkytonk Man and has coined the phrase "Right Cheer" (as in right here) while playing a service station attendant as well as "Make 'Em Bounce" (as in happy) from the movie Raggedy Man. His portrayal of Miller, the philosopher mechanic of Alex Cox's Repo Man, 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 knowledge of the Hinkley station water contamination.

Walter's television credits include guest appearances on 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 1996-2001 and on Reno 911! as Sheriff Walter Chechekevitch from 2003-2006.

Filmography

Film

• Annie Hall (1977)
• Blue Collar (1978)
• Goin' South (1978)
• The Fifth Floor (1978)
• Hardcore (1979)
• The Hunter (1980)
• The Octagon (1980) (uncredited)
• High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane (1980)
• The Hand (1981)
• Raggedy Man (1981)
• Honkytonk Man (1982)
• Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)
• Rumble Fish (1983)
• Conan the Destroyer (1984)
• Repo Man (1984)
• Something Wild (1986)
• At Close Range (1986)
• Malone (1987)
• Midnight Run (1988)
• Married to the Mob (1988)
• Mortuary Academy (1988)
• Homer and Eddie (1989)
• Batman (1989)
• Out of the Dark (1989)
• Pacific Heights (1990)
• The Two Jakes (1990)
• Young Guns II (1990)
• Wild at Heart (1990)
• City Slickers (1991)
• The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Guncrazy (1992)
• Philadelphia (1993)
• Amos & Andrew (1993)
• Cyborg 2 (1993)
• Junior (1994)
• Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995)
• Independence Day (1996)
• Amanda (1996)
• Matilda (1996)
• Larger Than Life (1996)
• Drive (1997)
• Kiss the Girls (1997) (uncredited)
• Playing God (1997)
• Wild America (1997)
• Beloved (1998)
• Desperate Measures (1998)
• Man on the Moon (1999)
• Erin Brockovich (2000)
• Drowning Mona (2000)
• Jack the Dog (2001)
• How High (2001)
• The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
• Ted Bundy (2002)
• Death to Smoochy (2002)
• Duplex (2003)
• Manhood (2003)
• Masked and Anonymous (2003)
• The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
• Berkeley (2005)
• Nobel Son (2006)
• Man in the Chair (2006)
• One Part Sugar (2006)
• The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2006)
• Relative Strangers (2006)
• Dark Reel (2007)
• Trailer Park of Terror (2008)
• Midnight Son (2008)
• The Perfect Game (2008)
• Cat Dragged In (2008)
• Wasting Away (2008)
• I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
• Alyce (2011)
• Politics of Love (2011)
• Savannah (2013)
• Swelter (2014)

Television

• Starsky and Hutch (1978)
• WKRP in Cincinnati (1979)
• Charlie's Angels (1980)..."An Angel's Trail" -Clint Mason
• Best of the West (1981, 1982)
• Hill Street Blues (1982, 1983)
• Taxi (1983)
• Cagney & Lacey (1983)
• Amazing Stories (1985, 1986)
• Designing Women (1986, 1987)
• Moonlighting (1987)
• ALF (1987)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987, 1992)
• Alien Nation (1989)
• Freddy's Nightmares (1989, 1990)
• Get a Life (1990)
• Monsters (1991)
• She-Wolf of London (1991)
• Wings (1992)
• On the Air (1992)
• The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993)
• Ride the Wind (1994)
• L.A. Law (1994)
• Melrose Place (1994)
• Buffalo Girls (1995)
• Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story (1996)
• In the Line of Duty: Kidnapped (1996)
• Nash Bridges (1996-2001)
• Tell Me No Secrets (1997)
• Boomtown (2002)
• The Division (2002)
• Justice League (2003) - Mophir (voice)
• Teen Titans (2003) (voice)
• Reno 911! (2003-2006)
• Veronica Mars (2005)
• Raines (2007)
• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007)
• Monk: "Mr. Monk and the Miracle" (2008)
• Southland: "Identity" (2012)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]