Bill Walker (1922 - 1995) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

broadcaster and actor."Bill Walker was host of CHCH's Party Game". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Ha ...

'', June 27, 1995. Originally from Rouleau,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

, he began his broadcasting career on Regina radio station CJRM before enlisting in the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

."Nice guy Bill Walker, 72 was TV announcer, host". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', June 26, 1995. Following the war he returned to the station as morning host and program director; at this time he also began acting in community theatre productions, winning the award for Best Actor at the Saskatchewan Regional Drama Festival five times and at the

Dominion Drama Festival The Dominion Drama Festival was an organisation in Canada that sought to promote amateur theatre across the country. It lasted, in one form or another, from 1932 until 1978. Founding The Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) was devised in 1932 as a wa ...

twice."Bill Walker (1922-1995)"

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) is a Canadian nonprofit organization which documents the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television. Since 1995, the organization has distributed its collection via an intern ...

, July 2003. During this era he married Marilyn Whittet, an actress and dancer he met in a production of ''

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1929 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym of ...

''. The couple moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

in 1950, where Walker became host of the program ''Walker's Wigwam'' on CKRC, and to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

in 1954, where he first worked as an advertising spokesman in

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles ...

commercials. He also appeared as an actor in

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

anthology series such as ''

General Motors Theatre ''General Motors Theatre'' (also known as ''CBC Theatre, Encounter, Ford Television Theatre,'' and ''General Motors Presents'') was a Canadian television anthology drama series of television plays, which ran on CBC Television under various title ...

'', '' Encounter'', ''Folio'', '' First Performance'' and ''On Camera'', and a panelist on '' Live a Borrowed Life''. He was later the host of music variety programs such as '' Music '60'' and ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

'', and game shows such as '' Flashback'', ''

Communicate Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

'' and ''

Party Game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; ...

''. He was twice host of the

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

ceremonies, cohosting with

Louise Marleau Louise Marleau (born August 26, 1944) is a Canadian actress. She won the 1985 Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her role in '' A Woman in Transit (La Femme de l'hôtel)'' and was nominated in the same category in ...

at the

20th Canadian Film Awards The 20th Canadian Film Awards were held on October 4, 1968 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 81-83. The ceremon ...

in 1968 and hosting on his own for the

22nd Canadian Film Awards The 22nd Canadian Film Awards were held on October 3, 1970 to honour achievements in Canadian film.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 89-91. The ceremon ...

in 1970.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''.

Stoddart Publishing Stoddart Publishing was a Canadian book publisher and distributor, owned by Jack Stoddart, which ceased operations in 2002.UncreditedBook giant Stoddart files for creditor protection CBC News, May 1, 2002. Retrieved 2016-01-15. History General P ...

, 2000. . He also had selected stage acting roles, most notably playing Henry Higgins in the Rainbow Stage production of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flowe ...

'' in 1966."BILL WALKER RAISES HOMEGROWN HIGGINS". '' The Globe and Mail'', June 20, 1966. Toward the end of his career he returned to radio, recording news commentaries for Toronto's

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a c ...

. In 1994, he was in a car accident which gave him a hairline fracture of the neck, and underwent a rapid decline in his health afterward. He died approximately a year later, at age 72. He was posthumously inducted into the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first ...

' Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Bill 1922 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors Canadian radio hosts Canadian game show hosts Canadian television variety show hosts Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Male actors from Saskatchewan People from Rouleau, Saskatchewan Canadian military personnel of World War II