What is Jimmie Walker's Net Worth?
Jimmie Walker is an American actor and comedian who has a net worth of $800 thousand. Walker is most famous for playing James Evans Jr. ("J.J.") on the CBS sitcom "Good Times" (1974–1979), where he originated the popular catchphrase "Dyn-O-Mite!" Jimmie began performing stand-up comedy in the late '60s, and he has more than 50 acting credits to his name, including the films "Let's Do It Again" (1975) and "Airplane!" (1980), the TV movie "The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened" (1977), and the television shows "At Ease" (1983) and "Bustin' Loose" (1987–1988). In 2012, Walker published the book "Dynomite!: Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times–A Memoir."
Early Life
Jimmie Walker was born James Carter Walker Jr. on June 25, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in The Bronx with mother Lorena, father James Sr., and sister Beverly. James Sr. worked as a Pullman porter, and Lorena was the head of the nursing department at a hospital. Jimmie attended Theodore Roosevelt High School, and he took part in the SEEK (Search for Education, Evaluation, and Knowledge) program, which was funded by New York State. Through SEEK, Walker learned about radio engineering, and he was hired by the NYC radio station WRVR. Beginning with the 1964 World Series, Jimmie worked as a vendor at Yankee Stadium as a teenager, and Mickey Mantle once gave him a silver dollar.
Career
Walker began his stand-up comedy career in 1969, and after appearing on the "Jack Paar Show" and "Rowan & Martin's Laugh In," the casting director for "Good Times" spotted Jimmie and cast him as James "J.J." Evans Jr. The series aired 133 episodes over six seasons and earned Walker two Golden Globe nominations. The catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!," which is credited to John Rich, one of the show's directors, was featured in the TV Land special "The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catch Phrases." While starring on "Good Times," Jimmie released the stand-up comedy album "Dyn-o-mite" (1975). Walker's co-stars John Amos and Esther Rolle became frustrated with the direction the show went in due to J.J.'s popularity, with Rolle stating, "He's 18 and he doesn't work. He can't read or write. He doesn't think. The show didn't start out to be that…Little by little—with the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn't do that to me—they have made J.J. more stupid and enlarged the role." Amos also voiced his displeasure, saying, "The writers would prefer to put a chicken hat on J.J. and have him prance around saying 'DY-NO-MITE,' and that way they could waste a few minutes and not have to write meaningful dialogue."
(Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for TV Land)
In 1975, Walker appeared in the Sidney Poitier-directed film "Let's Do It Again," followed by 1978s "Rabbit Test" and 1979's "The Concorde … Airport '79." Walker co-starred with James Earl Jones and Debbie Allen in the 1977 television film "The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened," and that year, he guest-starred on "The Love Boat" for the first time; he would go on to appear in five more episodes of the series. In 1980, Jimmie appeared in the parody film "Airplane!," which grossed $171 million at the box office, and the TV movie "Murder Can Hurt You," then he guest-starred on "Fantasy Island" (1982) and "Cagney & Lacey" (1983). He starred as Sgt. Val Valentine on the ABC sitcom "At Ease" in 1983, and from 1987 to 1988, he played Sonny Barnes on the syndicated series "Bustin' Loose." Walker starred in the 1987 film "Going Bananas" alongside Dom DeLuise, and he appeared in the 1991 science-fiction movie "The Guyver." He guest-starred on "The Larry Sanders Show" (1994), "In the House" (1995), "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" (1996), "Scrubs" (2001; 2002), and "Everybody Hates Chris" (2006; 2008), and in the '90s, he hosted radio shows on WOAI, WHIO, KKAR, and WLS.
Jimmie had a cameo in the 2010 film "Big Money Rustlas," then he appeared in the Syfy movie "Super Shark" (2011) and the comedy "What Goes Around Comes Around" (2012). In 2015, he appeared in the film "Sweet Lorraine," and in 2016, he co-starred with Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann, Harvey Keitel, Edie Falco, and Danny DeVito in "The Comedian." In 2019, Walker appeared as himself on "Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Good Times," which recreated the 1975 episode "The Politicians" with Jay Pharoah playing the role of J.J. The special, which also starred Andre Braugher, Viola Davis, and Tiffany Haddish, won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). In 2020, Walker appeared in the film "A Wrestling Christmas Miracle." Jimmie has also appeared on "The $10,000 Pyramid," "American Bandstand," "The Midnight Special," "Match Game," "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," and "Late Show with David Letterman" as well as several "Dean Martin Celebrity Roast" specials.
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Personal Life
On a 2012 episode of "The Wendy Williams Show," Jimmie stated that he has had numerous girlfriends but has never married or had children. In 2017, it was rumored that Walker was dating conservative pundit Ann Coulter, but Coulter addressed the rumors by tweeting "Best of friends, love him, no romance." Politically, Jimmie has described himself as a "realist independent" and has said that he opposes affirmative action. In a 2012 interview with CNN, he stated that he is morally opposed to gay marriage but that it "should be passed because the battle is not worth the war." In 2017, Walker appeared on "Fox News" and voiced his support for Donald Trump, saying "I'm for probably 90 percent of the things he does"
Awards and Nominations
In 2006, Jimmie and his "Good Times" co-stars John Amos, Ralph Carter, Ja'net DuBois, and BernNadette Stanis received an Impact Award at the TV Land Awards. The series also earned Walker Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor – Television in 1975 and 1976.
