Walter Olkewicz, Actor on 'Twin Peaks' and 'Grace Under Fire,' Dies at 72
He was not on the list.
He also appeared on the big screen in Steven Spielberg's '1941' and Joel Schumacher's 'The Client.'
Walter Olkewicz, the familiar character actor who played the bartender and croupier Jacques Renault on the original Twin Peaks and an oil refinery worker on Grace Under Fire, has died. He was 72.
Olkewicz died early Tuesday morning at his Reseda home in Los Angeles, his son, screenwriter Zak Olkewicz, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had struggled with health issues during the past 20 years and had a series of knee surgeries that caused infections, led to him being bedridden and forced him to take a break from acting.
Olkewicz also portrayed a mafia lawyer, Jerome "Romey" Clifford, whose death by suicide in front of two youngsters gets the plot rolling in the Joel Schumacher legal thriller The Client (1994).
On short-lived TV series, Olkewicz worked in a hotel kitchen on Gary David Goldberg's The Last Resort in 1979-80; starred opposite Jeff Conaway on CBS' Wizards and Warriors in 1983 and with Lynda Carter and Loni Anderson on NBC's Partners in Crime in 1984; and played a character named Bubba on Dolly Parton's 1987–88 ABC variety show.
Seinfeld fans know him as Nick the cable guy on the 1996 episode "The Cadillac," and his heavy-set physique led to roles as Tiny McGee on ABC's Who's the Boss? and Walter Plimp on NBC's Night Court.
Olkewicz was memorable as the crooked Canadian Jacques, brother of Michael Parks' Jean and Clay Wilcox's Bernie, on the first season of ABC's Twin Peaks in 1990, and his character was there again in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) and Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014).
He returned for the show's 2017 Showtime reboot, his final credit. "It was his first role in almost 15 years, and he did it all from behind a bar to cover the fact that he couldn’t stand," his son noted.
Olkewicz also recurred as Dougie Boudreau, a co-worker of Brett Butler's character at the local Missouri oil refinery, on the first four seasons (1993-96) of the ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire.
Born on May 14, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, Olkewicz attended Bayonne High School, St. Mary of the Plains College in Kansas and Colorado State University before making his onscreen debut in Futureworld (1976).
He played Private Hinshaw in Steven Spielberg's 1941 (1979) and went on to appear in other films like Making the Grade (1984), Christopher Guest's The Big Picture (1989), Stuart Saves His Family (1995) and Par 6 (2002).
Olkewicz also made an impression on episodes of The Rockford Files, Taxi, Barney Miller, Cheers, Newhart, Falcon Crest, ER, Family Ties, Married … With Children, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, Dharma & Greg and Brooklyn Bridge and on the 1982 miniseries The Blue and the Gray.
In addition to his son, survivors include his daughter-in-law, Katrina Rennells, an actress and screenwriter, and grandchildren Sadie and Declan Robert.
Filmography
Film
Par 6 (2001) .... Walt Hegelman
Emergency Room 2 (1999) (VG)
You're Killing Me... (1999) .... Embalmer
Meeting Daddy (1998) .... 'Dink' Branson
Suicide, the Comedy (1998)
... a.k.a. The Intervention (1998) (USA)
Milo (1998) .... Jack Wyatt
Tourist Trap (1998/I) (TV)
In Dark Places (1997) .... Vendor
Pronto (1997) (TV) .... Jimmy 'The Cap' Capotorto
Raven (1997) .... Bernie DeFrewd
Big Packages (1996) .... Richie
Last Days (1996) .... Warden Phillips
Stuart Saves His Family (1995) .... Larry Skoog
The Good Old Boys (1995) (TV) .... 'Fat' Gervin
The Client (1994) .... Jerome 'Romey' Clifford
Exquisite Tenderness (1995) .... Dr. Meade
... a.k.a. Die Bestie im weißen Kittel (1995) (Germany)
... a.k.a. Exquisite Tenderness - Höllische Qualen (1995) (Germany)
... a.k.a. The Surgeon (1995)
Grace Under Fire (1993) TV Series .... Dougie
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) .... Jacques Renault
... a.k.a. Twin Peaks (1992) (France)
The Big Picture (1989) .... 'Babe' Ruth
Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1989) (TV)
Full Exposure: The Sex Tapes Scandal (1989) (TV)
... a.k.a. The Sex Tapes Scandal (1989) (TV)
Baja Oklahoma (1988) (TV) .... Private Eye
Dolly (1987) TV Series .... Bubba (15 episodes)
Stillwatch (1987) (TV) .... Sid Sherman
Many Happy Returns (1986) (TV)
Heartbreakers (1984) .... Marvin
Making the Grade (1984) .... Coach Wordman
Partners in Crime (1984) TV Series .... Harmon Shain
... a.k.a. 50/50 (1984) (Europe)
Calamity Jane (1984) (TV) .... Will Lull
Jimmy the Kid (1983) .... Kelp
Circle of Power (1983) .... Buddy Gordon
... a.k.a. Mystique, Brainwash (1983)
... a.k.a. The Naked Weekend (1983)
Wizards and Warriors (1983) TV Series .... Marko
The Blue and the Gray (1982) (mini) TV Series .... Private Grundy
The Executioner's Song (1982) (TV) .... Pete Galovan
Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb (1980) (TV) .... Sergeant 'Shug' Crawford
1941 (1979) .... Private Hinshaw
The Last Resort (1979) TV Series .... Zach Comstock
Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses? (1977) .... Himself
TV guest appearances
Twin Peaks (2017) playing Jean-Michel Renault in episode Return part 2 (episode #3.2) and part 7 (episode # 3.7) 6/18/2017
ER (1994) playing "Georgia's Man" in episode: "Surrender" (episode # 7.12) 2/1/2001
G vs E (1999) playing "Gus Wine" in episode: "To Be or Not to be Evil" (episode # 1.7) 8/29/1999
Dharma & Greg (1997) playing "Howie" in episode: "Bed, Bath, And Beyond" (episode # 2.22) 5/12/1999
The Wayans Bros. (1995) playing "Ernie" in episode: "Saving Private Marlon" (episode # 5.15) 1/28/1999
Chicago Hope (1994) playing "Harry Zakovitch" in episode: "Austin, We Have a Problem" (episode # 5.7) 11/11/1998
Sliders (1995) playing "The Boss" in episode: "World Killer" (episode # 4.5) 6/29/1998
Michael Hayes (1997) playing "Albert Parker" in episode: "Mob Mentality" (episode # 1.11) 1/6/1998
Profiler (1996) in episode: "Shattered Silence" (episode # 1.10) 1/11/1997
Grace Under Fire (1993) playing "Dougie Boudreau" in episode: "The Ghost and Mrs. Kelly" (episode # 4.6) 10/30/1996
Seinfeld (1990) playing "Nick" in episode: "The Cadillac" (episode # 7.14) 2/8/1996
Grace Under Fire (1993) playing "Dougie Boudreau" in episode: "The Holidays" (episode # 2.12) 12/13/1994
Grace Under Fire (1993) playing "Dougie" in episode: "Up on the Roof" (episode # 1.2) 10/6/1993
Grace Under Fire (1993) playing "Dougie" in episode: "Grace Under Fire (pilot)" (episode # 1.1) 9/29/1993
Batman: The Animated Series (1992) playing "Falcone" in episode: "Blind as a Bat" (episode # 1.54) 2/22/1993
Batman: The Animated Series (1992) playing "Falcone" in episode: "The Mechanic" (episode # 1.48) 1/24/1993
Night Court (1984) playing "Walter Plimp" in episode: "To Sir With ... Ah, What the Heck ... Love" (episode # 9.18) 1992
Who's the Boss? (1984) playing "Tiny" in episode: "Who's the Boss?" (episode # 8.14) 1/25/1992
Night Court (1984) playing "Walter Plimp" in episode: "Shave and a Haircut" (episode # 9.12) 1992
Night Court (1984) playing "Walter Plimp" in episode: "The System Works" (episode # 9.9) 11/17/1991
Life Goes On (1989/I) playing "Nathan" in episode: "Arthur" (episode # 2.20) 4/7/1991
Night Court (1984) playing "Mr. Doyle" in episode: "Mama Was a Rollin' Stone" (episode # 8.15) 1991
Bagdad Cafe (1990) playing "Bobby" in episode: "City On A Hill" 10/26/1990
Matlock (1986) playing "Bartender" in episode: "No Where To Turn" (episode # 5.2) 9/25/1990
Twin Peaks (1990) playing "Jacques Renault" in episode: "The Last Evening" (episode # 1.7) 5/23/1990
Twin Peaks (1990) playing "Jacques Renault" in episode: "Realization Time" (episode # 1.6) 5/17/1990
Twin Peaks (1990) playing "Jacques Renault" in episode: "Rest in Pain" (episode # 1.3) 4/26/1990
Murder, She Wrote (1984) playing "Howard" in episode: "When the Fat Lady Sings" (episode # 6.8) 11/19/1989
Wiseguy (1987) in episode: "Sins of the Father" (episode # 3.3) 10/4/1989
Mr. Belvedere (1985) playing "Allan" in episode: "Really Full House" (episode # 5.18) 3/17/1989
Who's the Boss? (1984) playing "Tiny" in episode: "Boozin' Buddies" (episode # 5.17) 3/7/1989
L.A. Law (1986) playing "Mr. Hartvig" in episode: "Full Marital Jacket" (episode # 2.10) 1/7/1988
Mr. Belvedere (1985) playing "Allan" in episode: "The Wedding" (episode # 4.6) 12/4/1987
The Charmings (1987) playing "Henry Giant" in episode: "The Charmings and the Beanstalk" (episode # 2.9) 11/26/1987
Who's the Boss? (1984) playing "Tiny McGee" in episode: "Frankie and Tony are Lovers" (episode # 4.1) 9/22/1987
Who's the Boss? (1984) playing "Tiny McGee" in episode: "A Moving Episode" (episode # 3.24) 5/19/1987
Married... with Children (1987) playing "Violinist" in episode: "Sixteen Years and What Do You Get" (episode # 1.6) 5/10/1987
Family Ties (1982) playing "Walter Luskin" in episode: "Architect's Apprentice" (episode # 5.14) 1/15/1987
Shell Game (1987) playing "Norman van Delken" in episode: "Norman's Parking Ticket" (episode # 1.2) 1/15/1987
Designing Women (1986) playing "Mason Dodd" in episode: "A Big Affair" (episode # 1.3) 10/20/1986
Night Court (1984) playing "Mr. Freedman" in episode: "Giving Thanks" (episode # 4.2) 1987
Hardcastle and McCormick (1983) playing "Conyo" in episode: "In the Eye of the Beholder" (episode # 3.20) 3/17/1986
The A-Team (1983) playing "Joe Skrylow" in episode: "There Goes the Neighbourhood" (episode # 4.10) 12/3/1985
Tall Tales & Legends (1985) playing "Van Epps" in episode: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Newhart (1982) in episode: "My Fair Larry" (episode # 3.17) 3/4/1984
The Duck Factory (1984) in episode: "The Children's Half Hour" 1984
The Love Boat (1977) in episode: "Dee Dee's Dilemma/Julie's Blind Date/The Prize Winner" 12/10/1983
Cheers (1982) playing "Wally Bodell" in episode: "They Called Me Mayday" (episode # 2.9) 12/1/1983
Family Ties (1982) playing "Bill Channing" in episode: "Working At It" (episode # 2.8) 11/2/1983
Taxi (1978) playing "Tom" in episode: "Jim's Mario's" (episode # 5.22) 5/18/1983
It's a Living (1980) playing "Dan" in episode: "Falling in Love Again" (episode # 2.11) 2/19/1982
Barney Miller (1975) in episode: "The Clown" (episode # 8.10) 1/21/1982
Barney Miller (1975) playing "Walter Cushing" in episode: "Liquidation" (episode # 7.22) 5/21/1981
Alice (1976) playing "Sonny" in episode: "Vera Goes Out on a Limb" (episode # 5.11) 1/18/1981
Taxi (1978) playing "Tom" in episode: "Going Home" (episode # 3.5) 12/17/1980
The Rockford Files (1974) playing "Mac Amodeus" in episode: "The Jersey Bounce" (episode # 5.3) 10/6/1978
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