Actor J.T. Walsh Dies Of Heart Attack At Age 54

LA MESA, Calif. - J.T. Walsh, one of Hollywood's top character actors who played Jack Nicholson's suicidal lieutenant colonel in "A Few Good Men" and a mental patient in "Sling Blade," died of a heart attack yesterday. He was 54.

Walsh died at Grossmont Hospital after falling ill at a San Diego-area hotel yesterday morning, said his publicist, Cynthia Snyder.

Walsh became known for portraying ethically challenged men, such as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson in 1992's "A Few Good Men" and Sgt. Maj. Dickerson in 1987's "Good Morning, Vietnam."

Walsh recently completed work on "Pleasantville" with Jeff Daniels and Joan Allen and "The Negotiator" with Samuel L. Jackson.

In just over a decade, Walsh appeared in more than two dozen films, including "Nixon," "Hoffa," "Tequila Sunrise," "Backdraft," "Blue Chips," "Wired" and "Red Rock West."