Bree Walker (born Patricia Lynn Nelson; February 26, 1953) is an American

radio talk show Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews wi ...

host, actress, and disability-rights activist. She gained fame as the first on-air American television network

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

with

ectrodactyly Ectrodactyly, split hand, or cleft hand () involves the deficiency or absence of one or more central Digit (anatomy), digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation (SHFM). The hands and feet of people with ec ...

. Walker worked as a news anchor and reporter in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Early life

Walker was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and raised in

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in and the county seat of Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River and has ...

. She inherited

, a rare

genetic condition A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders are ...

which causes missing digits and

syndactyly Syndactyly is a condition wherein two or more digits are fused together. It occurs normally in some mammals, but is an unusual condition in humans. The term is . Classification Syndactyly can be simple or complex. * In simple syndactyly, adja ...

, which causes fused digits.

TV and radio

After graduating from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, Walker worked as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

and

, where she went by Bree Bushaw, her first husband's name. She started her television career in 1980 at

KGTV KGTV (channel 10) is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on Air Way in the Riverview-Webster section of San Diego, and its ...

in San Diego as a consumer advocacy reporter. Established and well into her career at KGTV, Walker decided to go public with her ectrodactyly after previously keeping her hands hidden inside a pair of glove-like prosthetic ones. With them now clearly visible, she continued her newscasting career at KGTV.

Acting

Walker has also dabbled in acting, appearing as herself in the end-of-the-world science-fiction thriller, ''

Without Warning Without Warning may refer to: Film and television * ''Without Warning'', alternate title selected by contest for ''The Story Without a Name'' (1924) * ''Without Warning!'', a 1952 film noir * ''Without Warning'' (1980 film), a film starring Jac ...

'' (credited as Bree Walker-Lampley but referred to on screen as Bree Walker), and as television reporter, Wendy Sorenson, in '' The Chase''. She also guest-starred on an episode of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

children's series, ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes ...

'', to talk about her disability. While watching the 2003 season of ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate gr ...

'', an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

television series about a Depression-era carnival traveling through the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of natural factors (severe drought) and hum ...

, Walker noticed that no cast member had

. She requested, created, auditioned and won the role of Sabina the Scorpion Lady. Her portrayal of Sabina appeared in three episodes during the 2005 season. She showcased her webbed hands as the series probed public attitudes toward persons with highly visible disabilities. She based Sabina on characters she knew existed in the 1920s and 1930s carnival

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, traveling carnival, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. They historically featured human oddity exhibits (so-called “Freak show, freak shows”), pr ...

s with names like "Lobster Girl" or " Lobster Boy." These were typically the best jobs people with ectrodactyly could have, with most others being hidden away. Walker furthered her acting career in 2006 by appearing as an inspirational woman with

on the fourth-season premiere of ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime, black comedy, family drama, sati ...

''. Walker shares the on-camera narrator duties with Jon Elliott for the feature-length documentary film, '' Save KLSD: Media Consolidation and Local Radio'', which was first screened in April 2012. It looks at the shrinking number of corporations that control the majority of what Americans watch and listen to on TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines. It was over four years in the making and was produced by Jon Monday and Jennifer Douglas, distributed by mondayMEDIA. She is also in the film as an expert, speaking at a media reform conference.

Purchase of Camp Casey

In June 2007, it was announced that Walker had purchased

Cindy Sheehan Cindy Lee Sheehan ( Miller; born July 10, 1957) is an American anti-war activist,Geraghty, Jim (2011-05-02)Cindy Sheehan: ‘If you believe the newest death of OBL, you’re stupid.’''National Review''. Retrieved May 2, 2011. whose son, U.S. Ar ...

's " Camp Casey" site in Crawford, Texas for $87,000, in response to Sheehan's May 26, 2007 announcement that she would be selling the property and ending her antiwar activities. Sheehan handed the deed to Walker during her June 9, 2007, broadcast of "The Bree Walker show." Walker has preserved the property as a peace memorial and garden and keeps it open to antiwar protesters. It is featured prominently on Walker's website.

Personal life

Walker has been married and divorced three times. She has a daughter named Andrea Layne Walker (born August 12, 1988) with her second husband, independent film and video producer Robert Walker, and a son named Aaron James Lampley with her third husband, news anchor and sportscaster

Jim Lampley James Lampley (born April 8, 1949) is an American sportscaster, news anchor, film producer, and restaurant owner. He is best known as a blow-by-blow announcer on ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' for 30 years. He covered a record 14 Olympic ...

. Her surname is taken from her second husband. She and her children were featured on an episode of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

's ''My Unique Family''; she refuses to answer questions about rumors that she has silicone lip implants. Her son and daughter both have ectrodactyly; she reacted very strongly on her blog to Oprah Winfrey's implication that a "normal" child would have all their fingers and their toes.

Honors and awards

Walker was nominated and inducted into the San Diego Women's Hall of Fame in 2010 a collaboration between

Women's Museum of California The Women's Museum of California (WMC) is a nonprofit museum in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park in San Diego, California, dedicated to women's history. It was founded in 1983. It was first organized under the names the Women's History Reclam ...

, Commission on the Status of Women,

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

Women's Center, and

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

Women's Studies.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Bree American radio personalities American television actresses American television reporters and correspondents American film actresses Television anchors from New York City Television anchors from Los Angeles Actresses from San Diego 1953 births Living people Television anchors from San Diego American disability rights activists American actors with disabilities American women television journalists 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers Television presenters with disabilities American activists with disabilities