Walter Olkewicz (May 14, 1948 – April 6, 2021) was an American
character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
. He played Marko in the short-lived TV series ''
Wizards and Warriors'' and Coach Wordman in the feature film ''
Making the Grade''.
Biography
Olkewicz was born in
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...
,
and attended a Catholic grammar school there and
St. Peter's Preparatory School
Saint Peter's Preparatory School ("Saint Peter's Prep" or "Prep") is a private, all-male, Jesuit, college-preparatory school located in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. T ...
in Jersey City before graduating from
Bayonne High School
Bayonne High School (BHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Bayonne, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operated by the Bayonne Board of Education. The school has been ...
in 1965.
He continued his education at Plains College in Kansas and at
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
.
During his high-school years, he was active in plays.
Before he began acting professionally, Olkewicz sold insurance, sold office supplies, and drove a taxi.
Early in his career, Olkewicz acted with improv and other groups. He co-founded the improvisational group Saturday Bath, which had a national tour that lasted more than a year.
Originally billed as Ray Holland, He appeared in the films ''Futureworld'' (1976), ''The Greatest'' (1977), ''Summer Camp'' (1979), ''Hot T-Shirts'' (1981), and ''The Client'' (1994).
[
Olkewicz guest-starred in many TV shows, including '']Barney Miller
''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was cre ...
'' (two episodes), '' Night Court'', ''Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
'', '' ER'', and '' Who's the Boss?''. He was a semi-regular performer on Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...
's 1987–88 variety show ''Dolly!
''Dolly'' is an American variety show starring Dolly Parton broadcast in first-run syndication from September 13, 1976 to March 7, 1977.
Background
In the mid-1970s, Parton was approached by Bill Graham, president of Show Biz, Inc., the same co ...
'' and appeared in several episodes of ''Grace Under Fire
''Grace Under Fire'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her ...
''. He played Jacques and Jean-Michel Renault on ''Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 ...
'' (1990).
Olkewicz died at his Reseda, California, homeobesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
on April 6, 2021 at age 72.
YouTube videos
reaching out to all of his friends from his years of work, hoping that someone he knew would help him. The video messages were posted as being meant for Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Board of Review Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Aw ...
, Chuck Lorre
Charles Michael Lorre (; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor.
Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including '' ...
, Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...
, and John Larroquette
John Bernard Larroquette (; born November 25, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his starring roles in the NBC military drama series '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'' (1976–1978), the NBC sitcom '' Night Court'' (1984–1992; for which he rec ...
, among many others. He spoke of his illness and struggling to get back into work. The pain that he was in, his substantial number of knee surgeries (19 at that point as he states). As well as his resulting insurance-related financial losses. In his message to John Larroquette, he said he'd been out of work approximately 12 years because he was too sick to go on, with the exception of two episodes of ''Twin Peaks'' where he appeared in 2017. His final video was posted as "Message to Sam Elliott."
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olkewicz, Walter
1948 births
2021 deaths
American male television actors
American male film actors
Male actors from New Jersey
Actors from Bayonne, New Jersey