‘Talladega Nights’ Star Houston Tumlin Dead of Apparent Suicide
Some very sad news hit the world of film today. Houston Tumlin, who played Walker, one Ricky Bobby’s two rambunctious sons in Adam McKay’s Talladega Nights, has died. He was only 28 years old. According to TMZ, the cause of death was suicide. His body was found in his home in Pelham, Alabama on Tuesday. His death was confirmed in a Facebook post by his girlfriend, who wrote “I’ll miss your big heart, caring spirit, infectious laughter, and oh man could the list go on ... I just still feel like this is a really bad dream that I can’t wake up from.”
Tumlin’s performance as Walker was one of the highlights of Talladega Nights. Along with his younger brother Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell), Ricky’s two incorrigible kids refused any sort of discipline, screamed insults at anyone who challenged them, and were generally hilarious. In their most famous scene, the Bobby family is gathered around the dinner table, and things get out of hand very quickly. Tumlin and Russell both held their own with three huge comedy co-stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Leslie Bibb.
Talladega Nights became a huge hit in theaters and on DVD, but unlike Anchorman, it never got a sequel. As it turns out, Talladega Nights was Tumlin’s only acting credit. According to TMZ, “as recently as 2015 he was reportedly serving in the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. He also worked other jobs, like repairing telephone lines.” Our thoughts go out to Tumlin’s family and friends.
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