Culture

11 of Lucille Bluth’s most savage put downs in memory of iconic shade queen Jessica Walter

Mar 26 2021
Written by Hilary Mitchell

Jessica Walter: 11 of Lucille Bluth's most savage put downs and one-liners

If, like us, you’re still reeling at the news that Emmy-award winning Archer and Arrested Development actor Jessica Walter passed away in her sleep at the age of 80, you’re not alone.

The internet has been flooded with tributes to the incredible, talented gay icon, with on-screen son Jason Bateman tweeting: “RIP Jessica Walter. What an incredible career, filled with amazing performances. I will forever remember my time with her, watching her bring Lucille Bluth to life. She was one of a kind. All my love and thoughts to her family.”

Tony Hale, who played her another one of her on-screen sons Buster, who was often on the receiving end of her razor-sharp wit, described Walter as a “force”, adding that “her talent and timing were unmatched”.

While Will Arnett, who played Gob, described her as a “deeply talented person” who instantly blew him away when they first met in 1996. “I’m fortunate to have had a front row seat to her brilliance for 25 years,” he added.

Jessica Walter was incredible in every role, but it was her star turn as Lucille Bluth, the self-absorbed, hilarious, almost viciously direct Bluth matriarch in Arrested Development, which seems to have dominated the internet in the last two decades.

From being mean to Gob to, er, being mean to Lindsay, she really did deliver some of the most delightfully venomous put-downs in TV history. So, in honour of Jessica Walter, here are our favourite Lucille Bluth put-downs that would put even the shadiest queen to shame.