Name
Jimmie Walker
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1947-06-25 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Biography
James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947), known professionally as Jimmie Walker, is an American actor and comedian. Walker is best known for portraying James Evans Jr. (J. J.), the oldest son of Florida and James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times which originally ran from 1974–1979. Walker was nominated for Golden Globe awards Best Supporting Actor In A Television Series in 1975 and 1976 for his role. While on the show, Walker's character was known for the catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!" which he also used in his mid–1970s TV commercial for a Panasonic line of cassette and 8-track tape players. 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.
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 "Dy-no-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. Also, off- and on-camera, Walker did not get along with series' lead, Esther Rolle, who played Florida Evans, in the series, 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. Walker was the only Good Times star to not attend Rolle's funeral.
Known For
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In this horror parody, a masked serial killer menaces the town of Bulimia Falls with vario...
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FBI agent Max Reed witnesses Dr. Tetsu Segawa - a researcher for the mysterious Chronos Co...
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- 1980 Airplane! as Windshield Wiper Man
- 1995 Monster Mash: The Movie as Hathaway
- 1978 Rabbit Test as Umbuto
- 1983 Imps* as Thomas
- 1980 The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's as Self - Village People
- 1975 Let's Do It Again as Bootney Farnsworth
- 1991 The Guyver as Striker
- 2023 Don't Suck as Dale
- 1985 Doin' Time as Shaker
- 2012 David E. Talbert's What Goes Around Comes Around as Preacher
- 2007 Chasing Robert as Himself
- 2023 Norman Lear: A Life on Television as Self
- 2022 Show Business Is My Life (But I Can't Prove It) as Self
- 1987 Going Bananas as Mozambo
- 1979 The Concorde... Airport '79 as Boisie
- 2015 Sweet Lorraine as Rudy ray
- 1980 Murder Can Hurt You! as Parks the Pusher
- 2000 Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th as Pimp
- 1988 Kidnapped as Chester
- 1985 Water as Jay Jay
- 1977 The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened as Morris Bird III
- 2016 The Comedian as Jimmie Walker
- 1997 Plump Fiction as Stingy Costumer
- 1976 Joys as Self
- 2011 Super Shark as Dynamite Stevens
- 1994 But... Seriously as Self (archive footage)
- 1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as Celeb #3
- 2018 Jimmie JJ Walker & Michael Winslow: We Are Still Here as Himself
- 2019 I Am Richard Pryor as Self - Actor and Comedian
- 2019 Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times" as Self
- 1977 Telethon as Himself
- 2020 A Wrestling Christmas Miracle as Dr. Lemon
- 1995 Open Season as Homer (as Jimmy Walker)
- 1974 Sing Sing Thanksgiving as Self
- 2010 Big Money Rustlas as The Husband
- Soon Forgotten Fortune
- 1977 The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here? as Self
- 1984 The Jerk, Too as Card Player (uncredited)
- 1976 Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular as Self
- 2001 Beat the Geeks ( 1 episode )
- 1974 Good Times ( 133 episodes ) as James "JJ" Evans
- 2000 Son of the Beach ( 1 episode )
- 2005 Everybody Hates Chris ( 3 episodes ) as Gene
- 2004 The Tony Danza Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 1 episode ) as Ronald Baker
- 2002 George Lopez ( 1 episode ) as Lionel
- 1976 Donny & Marie ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1982 Cagney & Lacey ( 1 episode ) as Tony Brown
- 1980 B.A.D. Cats ( 8 episodes )
- 1990 Blossom ( 1 episode )
- 1994 ER ( 1 episode ) as Jay Jay
- 1978 The White Shadow ( 1 episode ) as Jimmie Walker
- 2020 The Comedy Store ( 5 episodes ) as Self
- 1987 Bustin' Loose ( 26 episodes ) as Sonny Barnes
- 2007 Back to the Grind ( 1 episode )
- 1975 Cher ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1974 Tony Orlando and Dawn ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1983 At Ease ( 14 episodes )
- 1973 The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1992 The Larry Sanders Show ( 1 episode ) as Jimmie Walker
- 1987 The Bold and the Beautiful ( 2 episodes ) as Count Bouche
- 2022 Dark Side of Comedy ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2012 Gotham Comedy Live ( 1 episode ) as Self - Host
- 1998 Hollywood Squares ( 1 episode ) as Self - Panelist
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 4 episodes ) as Self - Guest
- 1994 Space Ghost Coast to Coast ( 1 episode )
- 2009 Comedy.tv ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2019 The Very Very Best of the 70s ( 1 episode ) as Self - Commentator
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Co-Host
- 2022 Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 2009 Celebrity Ghost Stories ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1995 The Drew Carey Show ( 1 episode ) as Lewis' stunt double
- 1993 The John Larroquette Show ( 1 episode ) as Slyde Wilson
- 2024 Good Times ( 2 episodes ) as Jim Bean (voice)
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 1 episode ) as Mickey Garner
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 1 episode ) as Wally
- 1977 The Love Boat ( 2 episodes ) as Marvin Jones
- 2022 Sherri ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1962 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 1962 The Merv Griffin Show ( 3 episodes ) as Self
- 2010 Worst Cooks in America ( 1 episode ) as Self - Contestant
- 2001 Scrubs ( 2 episodes ) as Jimmie Walker
- 1982 Late Night with David Letterman ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1975 Saturday Night Live ( 1 episode ) as Self (uncredited)
- 2011 Traffic Light ( 1 episode ) as Swinger Dude
