Walsh was set to direct and star in the Western In Old Arizona in 1929, but had to abandon the project when a jackrabbit jumped through the windshield of a jeep he was driving and cost Walsh an eye. Walsh's replacement Warner Baxter won an Academy Award for playing the Cisco Kid in the film, and Irving Cummings was nominated for his direction.
After losing his eye, his doctor reportedly asked if he'd like an artificial (glass) one. "Hell, no," Walsh snapped. "Everytime I'd get in a fight, I'd have to put it in my pocket." He wore an eyepatch for the rest of his life.