Jessica Walter was definitely someone that many people looked up to, and her passing in recent days has been yet another reminder that no one gets to stick around forever. While the cause of her death has not been fully revealed it has been stated that she died in her sleep, which may or may not be a relief to her fans since dying is dying, no matter how it’s done, and those that are left behind are those that will feel the pain of mourning as they say goodbye to yet another legend of the small screen and theater. While she did take part in quite a few movies, her time on TV and in the theater was far more extensive, making it kind of clear where she might have preferred to be. It’s definitely interesting to see where actors find their comfort zones when it comes to their work since some will spread out their appearances as evenly as possible, either by design or by accident, while others will stick primarily to movies or TV, but will do both from time to time for various reasons. TV roles don’t always pay as well unless they’re on premium channels it sounds like, but they increase the level of exposure that a celebrity can depend on, and at times they’re a great launching point for some celebrities that become even more popular as their name and face are put where the average viewer can see them more often.
Jessica was a very active woman when it came to her career, and one reason why her passing is not quite as hard to take is that she lived a long, interesting life that allowed her to enjoy a successful and intriguing career that saw her perform many different roles that many fans happened to enjoy. Her time in live-action and as a voice actress made her quite popular among the many fanbases she played to, and it’s fair to say that if a person didn’t know who she was they likely weren’t paying as much attention as they needed to, since Jessica was present in several different shows in one way or another. But that’s one thing about show business, the more a person shows up, the less likely it is that a lot of people are going to notice every appearance since the average viewer will watch a handful of shows that align with their own personal interests, and if an actor is only a part of one or two of them, the viewer will tend to remember that actor from the role they’re familiar with, or not at all if they barely register the character in the show. In other words, a lot of actors are an acquired taste for many people and it’s a little impossible to think that people will remember her simply because they’re expected to if they watched a certain show. This would be like asking someone that watched a few shows for a while to remember the entire cast instead of just the characters they paid attention to, it doesn’t negate the role of any other actors, but it shows which actors/characters that people decided to invest in during the course of the show.
The fact that Jessica dated back so far is another reason why a lot of people might not remember her quite as well since by the time her career reached the 80s and beyond it’s very likely that she was starting to find that she could be overshadowed by the many upcoming talents that she continually surrounded herself with. In this manner though it’s very likely that she was both costar and mentor at times since her wealth of experience was no doubt a boon on many sets and from what’s been said about her, Jessica was a friendly woman that managed to get along with a lot of people. Even after being yelled at by Jeffrey Tambor on the set of Arrested Development, which she admitted had never happened to her before, she was gracious enough to forgive Tambor after he apologized and stated that she would continue to work with him if the opportunity came along. Sadly it did not, but the fact that she wasn’t angry and bitter towards Tambor says a lot about her character and the fact that she was indeed a very pleasant woman that people enjoyed working with most times.
Everyone has to go at some point, and while it might sound harsh or even callous to say, it’s the honest truth, and so long as one can experience a lifetime, no matter if it’s steeped in success or failure, it’s a lifetime that’s worth it since the chance to live and experience the world and all it has to give is a gift that too many take for granted. Rest in peace ma’am, you’ll be missed.
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