Jimmie Walker | |
---|---|
![]() Walker in 2015 | |
Born | James Carter Walker Jr. June 25, 1947 New York City, U.S. |
Education | Theodore Roosevelt High School |
Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian |
Years active | 1969–present |
Known for | J.J. Evans – Good Times |
Website | jimmiejjwalkerdynomite |
James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and comedian. He portrayed James Evans Jr. ("J.J."), the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series Good Times , which ran from 1974 to 1979, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1975 and 1976 for his role. While on the show, Walker's character used the catchphrase "Dyn-o-mite!" which he also used in his mid–1970s TV commercial for a Panasonic line of cassette and 8-track tape players and a 2021-2023 Medicare commercial. He also starred in Let's Do It Again with John Amos, and The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened with James Earl Jones. Walker continues to tour the country with his stand-up comedy routine. [1] [2]
Walker was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Bronx. [3] He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in New York City. Through a New York State funded program known as SEEK (Search for Education, Evaluation, and Knowledge), he continued his studies and entered into the field of radio engineering with WRVR. As a young man, Walker was a vendor at Yankee Stadium, starting with the 1964 World Series.
In 1967, Walker began working full-time with WRVR, the radio station of the Riverside Church. In 1969, Walker began performing as a stand-up comedian and was eventually discovered by the casting director for Good Times , after making appearances on Rowan & Martin's Laugh In and on the Jack Paar Show . He eventually released one stand-up comedy album during the height of his Good Times popularity: Dyn-o-mite on Buddah Records (5635). During Good Times' 1974–75 season, Walker was 26 years old, though his character was much younger. John Amos, the actor who portrayed Walker's father on Good Times, was actually just eight years older than Walker.
Walker credits producer/director John Rich for inventing "Dyn-o-mite!" which Rich insisted Walker say on every episode. Both Walker and executive producer Norman Lear were skeptical of the idea, but the phrase and Walker's character caught on with the audience. [4]
Off- and on-camera, Walker did not get along with the series' lead, Esther Rolle, because she and Amos disapproved of Walker's increasingly buffoonish character and his popularity, and Walker felt hurt by their disdain. Dissatisfaction led Amos (before Rolle), to leave the show, making Walker the star of the show. [5] Walker was the only Good Times star to not attend Rolle's funeral. [6]
During 1975 Walker was also a weekend personality on contemporary R&B music station KAGB 103.9 FM licensed to Inglewood in the Los Angeles market.
Walker appeared on The Tonight Show and Match Game during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was a five-time panelist on the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour from 1983 to 1984. He also appeared on the 1990 revival of Match Game and various game shows during that era.
Walker has made guest appearances on Badge 373 , The Love Boat , Fantasy Island , The Larry Sanders Show , Son of the Beach , The Drew Carey Show , The John Larroquette Show , In the House , Cagney & Lacey , The Fall Guy , Scrubs , Star Dates , Everybody Hates Chris , George Lopez , Chelsea Lately and Lincoln Heights . He also appeared in the films Rabbit Test (1978), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), Airplane! (1980), Water (1985), Doin' Time (1985), The Guyver (1991), Monster Mash (1995) and Plump Fiction (1997).
Aside from guest appearances, he starred in the short-lived television series At Ease in 1983 and Bustin' Loose [7] in 1987.
In the 1990s, Walker returned to his radio roots hosting shows on WHIO, WOAI, WLS, and KKAR. In 1996, he appeared on split release with Powerviolence band Spazz distributed by Spazz owned label Slap-a-ham records.
In 2010, Walker made a cameo appearance in the movie Big Money Rustlas . In 2011, he appeared in a Syfy channel movie Super Shark. May 4, 2023 made a guest appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful.
In 2012, Walker's autobiography, Dyn-o-mite! Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times – A Memoir, was published. In 2012, Walker announced the release of his official app developed by Monty Goulet for iOS.
According to an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show on June 27, 2012, Walker stated he has never been married nor fathered children, but has had many girlfriends. Walker appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on July 11, 2012. He stated that he did not vote for Barack Obama in 2008 and that he would not vote for him in the 2012 election either. [8] In an interview with CNN, Walker described himself politically as a "realist independent" and stated that he opposed affirmative action, saying that it had outlived its usefulness. He also said that he was against gay marriage on moral grounds, but believed its legalization should be passed, stating it was not worth fighting against. [4]
Walker described his political beliefs at length in his autobiography, Dyn-O-Mite: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times: A Memoir. In it, he called himself a "logicist," who believes in "logic and common sense", holding conservative positions on many issues. [9]
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975 | Let's Do It Again | "Bootney" Farnsworth | Action/crime film directed by Sidney Poitier. [10] |
1978 | Rabbit Test | Umbuto | Comedy film directed and written by Joan Rivers. [11] |
1979 | The Concorde ... Airport '79 | Boisie | Air disaster film directed by David Lowell Rich. [12] |
1980 | Airplane! | Windshield Wiper Man | Parody film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. [13] |
1988 | Going Bananas | Mozambo | Comedy directed by Boaz Davidson about a talking chimpanzee. The film was shot on location in Zimbabwe. |
1991 | The Guyver | M.C. Striker | Science fiction film directed by Screaming Mad George and co-directed by Steve Wang. |
1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Celeb #3 | Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. |
2010 | Big Money Rustlas | Townsperson | Parody film written by Joe Bruce and Paul Andresen and directed by Andresen. Follow up film of, Big Money Hustlas. |
2011 | Super Shark | "Dynamite" Stevens | Sci-fi horror film written and directed by Fred Olen Ray. |
2012 | David E. Talbert's What Goes Around Comes Around | Preacher | Direct-to-video |
2016 | The Comedian | Comedy club host | Comedy drama film directed by Taylor Hackford and written by Lewis Friedman, Richard LaGravenese, Art Linson, and Jeff Ross. |
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | Tattletales | Himself | Appeared with "fiancé" Samantha Stone (Episode #2.65, aired December 26, 1974) |
1974–1979 | Good Times | James "J.J." Evans Jr. | 133 episodes |
1974 | Tony Orlando and Dawn | Himself | Episode: "Episode #1.2" (S1:E2) |
1977 | Bob Hope television specials | Himself | Episode: "Bob Hope's All-Star Comedy Tribute to Vaudeville" (S27:E4) |
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened | Morris Bird III | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Gilbert Moses. [14] | |
1977-1985 | The Love Boat | Ronald | Episode: "The Captain And The Lady/One If By Land/Centerfold" (S1:E1) (1977) |
The Late Mickey Garner | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part-Maybe/Locked Away/Chubs" (S2:E9) (1978) | ||
Wally | Episode: "The Brotherhood of the Sea/Daddy's Pride/Letter to Babycakes" (S3:E10) (1979) | ||
Marvin Jones | Episode: "The Mallory Quest/Julie, the Vamp/The Offer": Parts 1 (S4:E5) and 2 (S4:E6) (1980) | ||
Marty Kilmer | Episode: "Charmed, I'm Sure/Ashes to Ashes/No Dad of Mine" (S8:E25) (1985) | ||
1980 | B.A.D. Cats | Rodney Washington | Episode: "Pilot" (S1:E1) |
Murder Can Hurt You | Parks, The Pusher | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Roger Duchowny. [15] | |
1980 | The White Shadow | Himself | Episode: "If Your Number's Up, Get It Down" (S3:E3) |
1982 | Today's FBI | Reggie | Episode: "Bank Job" (S1:E16) |
Fantasy Island | Jay | Episode: "The Beautiful Skeptic/The Lost Platoon" (S6:E6) | |
1983 | Cagney & Lacey | Tony Brown | Episode: "Chop Shop" (S2:E18) |
At Ease | Sergeant Val Valentine | 14 episodes | |
1983-1984 | Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour | Himself (celebrity panelist) | Five weeks' worth of episodes |
1987–1988 | Bustin' Loose | Sonny Barnes | 26 episodes |
1994 | The Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Episode: The Gift Episode |
1994 | Blossom | Himself | Episode: Season 4 Episode 20 The Flip Side |
1995 | In the House | Darryl | Episode: "Nanna Don't Play" |
1996 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | Episode: "Surprise" |
2001-2002 | Scrubs | Himself | Episodes: "My Bad" (S 1:Ep 6), and "My Blind Date" (S1:E12) |
2003 | George Lopez | Lionel | Episode: Dubya, Dad, and Dating (Part 1) (S3: E1) |
2006-2008 | Everybody Hates Chris | Gene | Episodes: "Everybody Hates Funerals" (S1:E14), "Everybody Hates Gambling" (S2:E19), and "Everybody Hates the Port Authority" (S3:E11) |
2006 | Minoriteam | Fasto's Grandfather | Episode: "Balactus: Part II" |
2018-2020 | Funny You Should Ask | Himself | 6 episodes |
2019 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Good Times | Himself | |
2023 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Count Boucie | |
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Ripper | Soap Beatty | Interactive movie |
Robert Francis Vaughn was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theatre spanned nearly six decades. He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, and was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award and four times for the Golden Globe Award.
Doris May Roberts was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades of television and film. She received five Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild award during her acting career, which began in 1951.
Good Times is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African American two-parent family sitcom. Good Times was a spin-off of Maude, which itself was a spin-off of All in the Family.
Esther Elizabeth Rolle was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Florida Evans, on the CBS television sitcom Maude, for two seasons (1972–1974), and its spin-off series Good Times, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy in 1976. In 1979, Rolle won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Special for the television film Summer of My German Soldier.
John Allen Amos Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times. Amos' other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of Washington, DC Mayor Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos has appeared on Broadway and in numerous films in his five-decade career.
George Harris Kennedy Jr. was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970).
Nancy Jane Kulp was an American character actor, writer and comedian best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS television series The Beverly Hillbillies.
Ibson Dana Elcar was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as in the 1960s television series Dark Shadows as Sheriff George Patterson and the 1980s and 1990s television series MacGyver as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate supervisor at the Phoenix Foundation. Elcar had appeared in the pilot episode of MacGyver as Andy Colson before assuming the role of Thornton.
James Edward Burrows, sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. Burrows has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and NBC special Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows in 2016.
The Concorde... Airport '79 is a 1979 American air disaster film and the fourth and final installment of the Airport franchise. Although critically panned and earning poorly in North America, the film was a commercial success internationally, grossing a total of $65 million on a $14 million budget.
Mario Cantone is an American comedian, writer, actor, and singer best known for his numerous stage shows. He also played Anthony Marentino in Sex and the City and Terri in Men In Trees (2006–2008). His style is fast-paced and energetic, with much of his humor coming from his impersonations of characters ranging from family members to celebrities to stereotypes.
Barry Francis Jenner was an American actor.
Robert Jolin Osborne was an American film historian, author, actor and the primary television host for the premium cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for over twenty years. Prior to hosting at TCM, Osborne had been a host on The Movie Channel and American Movie Classics (AMC). He had also worked as a news columnist for The Hollywood Reporter. Osborne wrote the official history of the Academy Awards, with the first edition published in 1988.
Benjamin Frederick Mankiewicz is an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies. He is a progressive political commentator for The Young Turks. He has served as a film critic for the 2008–2009 season for the TV program At the Movies and the web series What the Flick?!.
Spazz was an American powerviolence band active between 1992 and 2000. The trio released numerous records within this time, many of which are now highly collectible due to their relative rarity. The band's releases often showcased their unusual sense of humour: absurdly long and nonsensical song titles, audio samples from B movies and kung fu films between songs and the occasional use of hip hop beats as well as saxophones, banjos and other instruments rarely associated with hardcore punk. All three of the members shared vocal duties, usually changing in sequence from line to line. The group would typically play at all ages venues. 2015 saw the release of a tribute LP to Spazz by Scottish record label Mind Ripper Collective titled "Spazzin' To The Oldies - A Tribute To Spazz". In 2016, it was announced that Tankcrimes will reissue the out-of-print Spazz albums Sweatin' To The Oldies and Sweatin' 3: Skatin', Satan & Katon.
Dynamite is a high explosive.
Roscoe Mitchell Jr. or Scoey Mitchell, usually credited as Scoey Mitchell, was an American actor, producer, writer and television director known for frequent appearances on 1970s game shows, including Match Game and Tattletales. He starred in the short-lived series Barefoot in the Park and had a recurring role on Rhoda.
Rosanna Rolle Carter was a Bahamian American television, stage and film actress, who was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to two Bahamian parents, and the sister of Esther Rolle and Estelle Evans, one of 18 children. During the Harlem Renaissance, she acted at New Lafayette Theater as one of the Lafayette Players. She acted in The Brother from Another Planet, a well-reviewed 1984 film described by its director as a science fiction allegory of immigration.
Lafayette Escadrille, also known as C'est la Guerre, Hell Bent for Glory (UK) and With You in My Arms, is a 1958 American war film produced by Warner Bros. It stars Tab Hunter and Etchika Choureau and features David Janssen and Will Hutchins, as well as Clint Eastwood, in an early supporting role. It was the final film in the career of director William A. Wellman and is based on his original story.
Bob Altman was an American comedian and free-associating thinker more popularly known as Uncle Dirty. He wrote for Richard Pryor. Altman is also known for playing Karen's Dad in the 1990 movie Goodfellas. At the height of his career, Altman put out comedy albums in the early 1970s as much of his act was too risque for television.
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)O'REILLY: Did you vote for him first time around? / WALKER: I never voted for him.