'Arrested Development' and 'Archer' star Jessica Walter dead at 80
Jessica Walter, a beloved actress best known for playing Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development" and providing the voice of Malory Archer on "Archer," has died. She was 80.
"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of my beloved mom, Jessica," Walter's daughter, Brooke Bowman, confirmed in a statement. "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's career spanned decades, having earned an Emmy for "Amy Prentiss" in 1975 and starred in Clint Eastwood's 1971 directorial debut, "Play Misty for Me," which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
In recent years, Walter's talents were introduced to a new generation of fans thanks to her star turns as a boozy socialite and matriarch on "Arrested Development" and as a dysfunctional mother and spy agency head on "Archer."
"Did I ever think I'd be sitting here 15 years later talking about it? No," Walter told ABC Audio in 2018 about "Arrested Development," which she appeared on for five seasons between 2003 and 2019. "But oh, it's wonderful."
Walter's longtime husband, actor Ron Leibman, to whom she had been married since 1983, died in 2019.
