Walter Olkewicz, the gentle giant who stole scenes in “Twin Peaks”, “Seinfeld” and “Grace Under Fire”, has died at the age of 72.
The veteran actor died Tuesday morning at his Los Angeles home, his son, Zak Olkewicz, confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter.
The co-star of Steven Spielberg’s cult film “1941” and Joel Schumacher’s hit John Grisham adaptation “The Client” have died after a 20-year health battle that included a series of knee surgeries that caused infections, leading to disabilities which forced him out of show business.
“He was a good man who expressed his love of creativity and the arts in everything he did,” Zak told Deadline on behalf of his family. “He passed on the passion to me, and I look forward to passing it on to the grandchildren he loved so much.”
Olkewicz was born on May 14, 1948, in Bayonne, NJ, and attended Bayonne High School, St. Louis. Mary of the Plains College in Kansas and Colorado State University, before making his film debut in 1976’s “Futureworld” opposite Peter Fonda and Blythe Danner.
Fans of ‘Seinfeld’ know him as Nick the cable guy from a classic episode in 1996 – but Olkewicz is perhaps best known as the shadowy Jacques Renault in David Lynch’s ABC series ‘Twin Peaks’ in 1990, as well as in the 1992 feature film. ‘Twin’. Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. ”
Olkewicz repeated his role for Lynch’s 2017 Showtime reload, which would be his last role on screen. “It was his first role in almost 15 years, and he did it all from behind a bar to cover up the fact that he couldn’t stand it,” his son told the Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to his recurring roles in ‘Grace Under Fire’ and ‘Who’s the Boss’, the actor’s myriad of TV credits include guest appearances in classic series such as’ ER’, ‘The Rockford Files’,’ Taxi ‘,’ Barney Miller ‘,’ Cheers’, ‘Newhart’, ‘Falcon Crest’, ‘Family Ties’,’ Married … With Children ‘,’ Moonlighting ‘,’ LA Law ‘and’ Murder, She Wrote ‘.
He is survived by his son Zak, daughter-in-law Katrina Rennells, and grandchildren Sadie and Declan Robert.