Celebrating Jessica Walter: 5 of the Emmy winner's most memorable roles

Walter began her journey to pop culture icon as drunken matriarch Lucille Bluth when Arrested Development  debuted in 2003. The groundbreaking television series found Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) in charge of the family and its business affairs after his father, George Bluth Sr. ( Jeffrey Tambor), was arrested for embezzlement. The Bluths are terribly (and hilariously) dysfunctional, with Lucille often causing trouble.
Walter was much more endearing than Lucille, especially during a March 2019 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, where she walked through the character's famous wink:

Arrested Development—also starring Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi, and more—aired its first three seasons on FOX from 2003-06 before its cancellation. The fourth (2013) and fifth (2018-19) seasons streamed on Netflix.

Vanessa in Joanie Loves Chachi (1982)

This mention may throw Walter fans for a loop, but in the above interview with Meyers, Walter explained how this role laid the foundation for her to transition from drama to comedy and, in a roundabout away, bring Lucille Bluth to life:

"I couldn't get a sitcom until I was 40 years old. This is true. Ellen Travolta played the mom on Joanie Loves Chaci. And there was a storyline—we had done in a show in summer stock, she and I—she was the mom that stayed home with the kids, and she had this friend from high school who was the career-driven businesswoman, snotty, nasty. So, naturally, she thought of me. She suggested me for the part, and I got the part, and Garry Marshall produced it. From that, I got Flamingo Kid, and a whole world opened up in that area." 

Walter's part came in the November 1982 episode "Everybody Loves Aunt Vanessa." The series, starring Scott Baio, ran for two seasons.

Evelyn in Play Misty for Me (1971)

Walter shined opposite Clint Eastwood in this dramatic thriller. Eastwood, who doubled as the movie's director, played a heartthrob DJ named Dave working at a Carmel, California, jazz radio station. Dave meets Evelyn (Walter) one night at a bar, and the two spend the night together under the guise that it wouldn't become anything serious. However, Evelyn reveals herself to be an obsessive fan who stalks Dave.
Walter was nominated for a Golden Globe in the best actress in a motion picture (drama) category, but the award went to Jane Fonda for her role in Klute.

Amy Prentiss in Amy Prentiss (1974-75)

Amy Prentiss was a spinoff of NBCs Ironside, which starred wheelchair-bound Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr) as a detective devoted to keeping San Francisco safe from crime. The series ran for eight seasons from 1967-75, and toward the tail end, Amy Prentiss debuted. 

Walter led the spinoff for NBC as the titular character. The plot (h/t IMDb): "When the chief of detectives suddenly dies, the police officer with the most seniority (who happens to be a woman) becomes the new chief, which doesn't go down well with all of the men of the department."
While Walter's work was acclaimed, winning her lone Emmy, the series was canceled after just three two-hour episodes.

Malory Archer in Archer (2009-20)

What can be said, really? Walter just had a knack for powerful matriarchs.

In Archer, Walter voiced Malory Archer, the mother to titular character Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin). The series, still running on FXX, adds side-busting flare as "covert black ops and espionage take a back seat to zany personalities and relationships between secret agents and drones" (h/t IMDb).

Malory carries on Lucille Bluth's alcoholic characteristics. She is equal parts devoted mother and sharp-tongued spy. Walter earned two Annie Awards nominations (2012, '13) for the role.