# Tracey Walter
**Tracey Walter** (born 1947, [Jersey City, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jersey-city-new-jersey)) is a retired American character actor with more than 170 film and television credits since 1971, best known for playing the junkman Miller in *Repo Man* (1984), Bob the Goon in [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton)'s *Batman* (1989), and the cook Cookie in *City Slickers* (1991).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/12751/tracey-walter) He built his career almost entirely in supporting parts: henchmen, sidekicks, hired hands, and oddball eccentrics whose few lines of dialogue often drew more attention than the scenes around them.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/12751/tracey-walter) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947, Jersey City, New Jersey[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) |
| Career span | Debut in 1971 as Ginger's brother in the film *Ginger*; more than 170 film and television credits; now retired[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/12751/tracey-walter) |
| Signature roles | Miller in *Repo Man* (1984); Bob the Goon in *Batman* (1989); Cookie in *City Slickers* (1991)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) |
| Award | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Miller, the philosopher-mechanic of *Repo Man* (1984)[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Tracey_Walter) |
| Recurring collaborators | Jack Nicholson (three pictures: *Goin' South* (1978), *Batman* (1989), and *The Two Jakes* (1990), but not *City Slickers*); Jonathan Demme (*Something Wild*, *Married to the Mob*, *Philadelphia*)[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/) • [6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) • [13](https://watch.afi.com/movie/city-slickers) |
| Physical description | 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m); described in trade notices for his beady, bulging eyes and delivery of whimsical, spaced-out types[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter) |
## Background and training
Walter was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and grew up there.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) According to a Rotten Tomatoes biography, he discovered acting while watching the off-Broadway play *Scuba Duba*, then spent a stint with [Jean Stapleton](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-stapleton)'s Totem Pole Playhouse and took acting lessons, which prepared him for off-Broadway work and spots on soap operas.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter) His first screen credits came in 1971 in the crime drama *Ginger*, playing the title character's brother, followed by uncredited appearances in *The Hospital* (1971) and small parts in the 1973 features *Badge 373* and *Serpico*.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/12751/tracey-walter) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter) In *Serpico* he played a street urchin, uncredited; the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog also lists him as the young man selling puppies in that film.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/170102)
## Screen persona and signature roles
Walter's feature career picked up in 1977 with a bit in *Annie Hall*, as an actor on Rob's (Tony Roberts) television show.[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) The trade description that followed him through the 1980s was a compact, mangy-looking but amiable player of whimsical and spaced-out types, weathered Western types included.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter) In Alex Cox's *Repo Man* (1984) he played Miller, the junkyard philosopher who embraces the paranormal, a performance that won him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) • [4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Tracey_Walter)
In Tim Burton's *Batman* (1989), filmed at [Pinewood Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/pinewood-studios) in London, Walter played Bob the Goon, the Joker's chief henchman, receiving a co-starring credit alongside [Jack Nicholson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-nicholson)'s Joker and [Michael Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-keaton)'s Batman.[8](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57898-BATMAN) In a 2011 interview he rated the experience about a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 and recalled that the production even made an action figure of his character.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/) In *City Slickers* (1991), a Castle Rock comedy-western that grossed $100 million by August of its release year, he played Cookie, the camp cook opposite Jack Palance's Curly.[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58801-CITY-SLICKERS)
**Henches and oddballs.** Directors repeatedly cast him as sidekicks, advisors, and trusted underlings of main characters; the Polish-language encyclopedia entry on Walter describes his recognizability as built on exactly these "helper" and "henchman" roles, from Malak in *Conan the Destroyer* (1984) to Bob the Goon and Cookie.[4](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Tracey_Walter) The Malak part came about through a last-minute substitution: his agent called and asked whether he could be on a plane to Mexico that night, because Walter was replacing another actor in the role.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/)
## Work with Jonathan Demme and other directors
*Something Wild* (1986) was Walter's first film for director [Jonathan Demme](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-demme), whose taste for the outlandish led to further casting: Mr. Chicken Lickin' in *Married to the Mob* (1988) and an offbeat cameo as the librarian who hassles the HIV-positive protagonist of *[Philadelphia](https://www.edgepedia.org/philadelphia-film)* (1993).[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) Other notable screen appearances from the Fandango filmography include Arnold in *Raggedy Man* (1981), Uncle Patch Whitewood in *At Close Range* (1986), the diner counter man in *Midnight Run* (1988), Tyrone Otley in *[The Two Jakes](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-two-jakes)* (1990), Charles Embry in *Erin Brockovich* (2000), and Nicky in *One Last Ride* (2003).[10](https://www.fandango.com/people/tracey-walter-708499/film-credits) He also played Lamar in *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991).[11](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/tracey-walter)
## Jack Nicholson and repeated collaborators
Walter met Jack Nicholson in the summer of 1977, when Nicholson directed and starred in *Goin' South*; Walter played Coogan, part of the ex-Moon gang.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/) Walter and Nicholson appeared together in *Goin' South*, *Batman*, and *The Two Jakes*, the latter directed by Nicholson; in *City Slickers*, Walter played the cook opposite [Jack Palance](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-palance)'s Curly, not Nicholson.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/) • [9](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58801-CITY-SLICKERS) • [13](https://watch.afi.com/movie/city-slickers) Walter also appeared with [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger) in *Conan the Destroyer* and remained friends with him afterward, and with [Steve McQueen](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-mcqueen) in *The Hunter* (1980), McQueen's final film.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/)
## Television work
Walter was especially prolific on television, where his eccentric manner could produce laughs quickly on any sitcom.[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) His attempt at a regular series, *Best of the West* (1981 to 1982, as Frog Rothchild Jr.), did not last long, but he worked steadily in television movies including *Mad Bull* (1977) and *Not of This World* (1991), in many guest spots, and in recurring roles on *The Bronx Zoo* (1988) and *The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.* (1993).[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) Guest appearances listed by Apple TV include two episodes of *Star Trek: The Next Generation*, *Designing Women*, *Reno 911!*, and *Criminal Minds*.[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) Action-oriented guest credits include *Airwolf*, *Hunter*, and *The Fall Guy*.[12](https://www.bulletproofaction.com/2015/05/05/know-your-role-tracey-walter/)
## Later career and recognition
Walter continued working into the 2010s, with credits including *I Spit on Your Grave* (2010), *Alyce Kills* (2011), *Swelter* (2014), and *31* (2016).[10](https://www.fandango.com/people/tracey-walter-708499/film-credits) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/) In the 2011 MediaMikes interview he described how he was hired for *I Spit on Your Grave* by an offer through his agent rather than an audition, and he was filming *Savannah* with [Jim Caviezel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-caviezel) at the time of the interview.[5](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/) Reviewers grouped him with reliable American character actors; an Apple TV profile noted that with his beady but bulging eyes he often embodied an inscrutable but usually benign weirdness, and that he played villainous parts as well.[6](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu) IMDb notes that he is sometimes confused with fellow character actor [William Sanderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-sanderson), who has played similar greasy, eccentric Southern lowlifes; because they have pursued the same roles, the two actors became friends.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/)
## References
1. [Tracey Walter, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0910145/)
2. [Tracey Walter, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/12751/tracey-walter)
3. [Tracey Walter, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tracy_walter)
4. [Tracey Walter, Internetowa Encyklopedia Wiki (in Polish)](https://xn--meb.pisz.pl/Tracey_Walter)
5. [Interview with Tracey Walter, MediaMikes (2011)](https://mediamikes.com/2011/05/interview-with-tracey-walter/)
6. [Tracey Walter Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/tracey-walter/umc.cpc.m8s4uoi8mwcr3o7whlnh7enu)
7. [Tracey Walter, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/170102)
8. [Batman (1989), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57898-BATMAN)
9. [City Slickers (1991), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/58801-CITY-SLICKERS)
10. [Tracey Walter Filmography, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/tracey-walter-708499/film-credits)
11. [Tracey Walter, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/person/tracey-walter)
12. [Know Your Role: Tracey Walter, Bulletproof Action (2015)](https://www.bulletproofaction.com/2015/05/05/know-your-role-tracey-walter/)
13. [City Slickers - American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/city-slickers)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Character actors, B-movie and genre-circuit performers › American performers, mid era › Surnames K to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license