Jimmie Walker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jimmie Walker | |
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| Born | June 25, 1947 The Bronx, New York |
| Occupation | Actor, Standup Comic |
James Carter Walker (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and stand-up comedian known for portraying J. J. Evans on the television series Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979. While on the show, his character was known for the catch phrase "Dy-no-mite".
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[edit] Early life
Walker was born in The Bronx, New York. He is a graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School in New York City. Through a federal program known as SEEK, or "Search for Education, Evaluation, and Knowledge", he continued his studies and entered into the field of radio engineering with local station, WRBR. As a young man, Walker was a vendor at Yankee Stadium, starting with the 1964 World Series. He was given a Silver dollar by Mickey Mantle that he still owns. Walker was very friendly with Gary Cohen, who went on to be operations manager at Yankee Stadium. In 1967, he began working full-time with WRBR. Walker has been married to Jere Fields since 1980.
[edit] Show business career
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 and Martin's Laugh In and the Jack Paar Show.
[edit] Good Times
During Good Times' 1973-74 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 in reality, just eight years older than Walker.) Walker was 32 years old when the show ended its run after the 1978-79 season.
[edit] Later career
Walker appeared on The Tonight Show and Match Game (during the 1970s and early 1980s and he appeared on the 1990 revival and other various game shows during that era as well) during his Good Times run.
Walker has made guest appearances on The Love Boat, Fantasy Island , Son of the Beach, The Drew Carey Show, The John Larroquette Show, In the House, Cagney & Lacey, The Fall Guy, Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, The George Lopez Show, Chelsea Lately, and Lincoln Heights. He also appeared in films such as Airplane! and Pulp Fiction.
Aside from guest appearances, he also starred in the short lived television series Bustin' Loose in 1987.
Walker continues to tour the country with his stand-up comedy routine (http://www.dynomitejj.com/gigs.asp)[citation needed]
