Keith Walker (June 29, 1935 — December 30, 1996) was an American writer, producer, and actor. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film Free Willy, and wrote for television series including The Fall Guy, Emergency!, Quincy, M.E. and M*A*S*H." He wrote 26 episodes of the Rod Serling hosted radio show The Zero Hour, all of them coming in the second, and final, season of the show. He appeared as an actor on television shows Mannix, The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, and Fantasy Island. Walker had a memorable role as Irving Walsh in the film The Goonies. He was married to actress Peggy Walton-Walker. Following brief treatment for cancer, Keith Walker died in Franklin, Tennessee at the age of 61 in late 1996. The third Free Willy film, Free Willy 3: The Rescue, was dedicated to his memory.
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Biography from TMDB.
- June 29, 1935
- December 30, 1996 (aged 61)
- Highland Springs, Virginia, USA
- Actor and writer
- 14 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
Known for
What are Keith Walker's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Power.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 4 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy5
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Keith Walker's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Keith Walker's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page.
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Free Willy 3: The Rescue(1997)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Free Willy(1994)
Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all shows
Free Willy(1993)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
The Goonies(1985)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Malice in Wonderland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
The A-Team(1983)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all showsTill Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
S.W.A.T.(1975)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all shows
The Missing Are Deadly(1975)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Earthquake(1974)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
The Affair(1973)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Time to Run(1973)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
M*A*S*H(1972)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 52nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 12 titles from 1972 to 1997.
Film career
- 1985Screen debut· The Goonies
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Keith Walker's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 36th percentile, the median of all 9; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 30th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th6
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 14 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved3
- Cult Classic2
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed2
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the acting 62/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 46. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Keith Walker work with?
People who share at least 2 of Keith Walker's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Arnon Milchan shares the most, 4.
Writers
- John MattsonShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995)See all 2 shared titles with John Mattson
- Corey BlechmanShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Corey Blechman
Actors
- August SchellenbergShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with August Schellenberg
- Jason James RichterShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Jason James Richter
- Jayne AtkinsonShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Jayne Atkinson
- Michael MadsenShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Madsen
Composers
- Basil PoledourisShared titles: Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 2 shared titles with Basil Poledouris
Producers
- Arnon MilchanShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1994), Free Willy (1993)See all 4 shared titles with Arnon Milchan
- Jennie Lew TugendShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1994), Free Willy (1993)See all 4 shared titles with Jennie Lew Tugend
- Lauren Shuler DonnerShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1994), Free Willy (1993)See all 4 shared titles with Lauren Shuler Donner
- Douglas C. MerrifieldShared titles: Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Free Willy (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Douglas C. Merrifield
