Sean Fallon Walsh; Actor Fostered Interest in Irish Performing Arts

Sean Fallon Walsh, 65, veteran Irish American actor who ran the Celtic Arts Center in North Hollywood. Born in Rocky River, Ohio, Walsh set out to become a doctor but got hooked on theater while acting in student productions at John Carroll University. After stints at small theaters in Cleveland and Hollywood, Walsh moved to New York in 1962 and got a role in “Mr. Roberts.” Other Broadway and off-Broadway productions followed. Walsh gained national status in 1969 when he was cast opposite James Earl Jones in “The Great White Hope.” Walsh relocated to Hollywood in 1973 and found some success as a guest star in such television series as “Charlie’s Angels,” “Barnaby Jones” and “MASH” and the soap opera “General Hospital.” He also appeared in the 1977 television movie “The Christmas Coal Mine Miracle” and as a detective in the 1978 feature film “Blue Collar” with Richard Pryor and Harvey Keitel. Walsh performed regularly in little theater productions in Southern California, including the play “Bad Habits” last year at Theatre Unlimited in North Hollywood and in “Sea Marks” in 1998 at the Raven Playhouse in North Hollywood. A singer as well as an actor, Walsh worked diligently to foster interest in Irish musical and performing traditions. Since 1985, he had served as executive director of the Celtic Arts Center and often performed in its weekly presentations, staged most recently at the Raven. On April 24 in Bay Village, Ohio, of prostate cancer.