In what may have been the delicious nadir of her career, the irreplaceable Jessica Walter appeared in episodes of both Joanie Loves Chachi & Matt Houston in 1982. Of course, Walter, who proved her artistic mettle to genre fans as the psychotic Evelyn in Play Misty for Me and the bitter Frederica in Home for the Holidays, added her truly unique je ne sais quoi to her portrayals in each quickly canceled project. ( Note: JLC lasted for 2 mini-seasons and MH was terminated after its third year.)
Interestingly, on the former, Walter played a less homicidal variant of her Misty role. As a record executive determined to get Scott Baio’s virtually hairless Chachi into bed, she aggressively manipulates the young man. In a virtual recreation of Evelyn’s actions with Clint Eastwood’s Dave, she even appears unexpectedly at his home. After all this unnecessary lasciviousness, the script does give her a nice monologue about the hardships of being a woman in business – an almost conciliatory reaction to Joanie’s hurt & that character’s unshakable importance to her desired target’s life.
This type of emotionality is also at work in her final moments as Glynnis, a personal secretary with multiple secrets on Matt Houston. Riding shotgun to the amusingly silly plot involving a cheery yet trigger happy robot, Walter gives her teary all as her deceptions are finally revealed. This is even more impressive as Walter spends next to no screen time with the performers playing her co-conspirators, ultimately showing off the true power of her imagination and the precision of her technical skills.
Of course, sadly, due to her death in 2021 at the age of 80, there will be no more deliciously campy guest spots such as these for Walter. But with over 160 credits before her passing, her memory will proudly live on (in a variety of genres) throughout the decades to come.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Big Gay Horror Fan 