He was a graduate from The Maryland School FOR THE Blind where I worked for  22 years but before my 
days.On Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:56:31 -0500, Harvey Heagy wrote:



>Subject: Article on Ed Walker
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>Ed Walker Retires
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>This article comes from www.wtop.com. To read the full article, 
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>which includes two audio links of Walker and friends, go to 
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>http://wtop.com/entertainment/2015/10/after-cancer-diagnosis-
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>radio-pioneer-Ed-walker-reluctantly-signs-off/.
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>After cancer diagnosis, radio pioneer Ed Walker reluctantly signs-
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>off
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>WASHINGTON - Ed Walker wasn't ready to hit the off button.
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>The 83-year-old Radio Hall of Fame host - who dominated 
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>Washington's airwaves in the 1960s as one half of The Joy Boys, 
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>with Willard Scott - has recorded his final episode of The Big 
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>Broadcast, after recently being diagnosed with cancer.
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>The last show was a real tearjerker for me, Walker told WTOPs 
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>Bruce Alan, who had co-hosted a WWRC talk show with Walker 
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>from 1987 to 1990. It wasn't easy.
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>Walker invited Alan to visit and conduct an informal interview last 
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>Friday, after making his cancer diagnosis public.
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>Walker has been the host of WAMUs longest-running program 
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>since 1990, which features vintage radio programs including 
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>Gunsmoke, Our Miss Brooks, and Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
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>He confided he wasn't ready to hang up the headphones.
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>Im sorry it had to end like this, but you never have any control 
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>over that, Walker says. It was a very unhappy moment.
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>Born blind, Walker says radio has been his companion since he 
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>was a boy. It was everything to me, not being able to seeit took the 
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>place of comic books and newspapers.
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>Growing up, I wanted to be in broadcasting, but I never thought it 
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>would come to pass.
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>In 1951, Walker met Willard Scott, when both were students at 
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>American University.
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>He changed my life the day I met him, Scott told WTOPs Dick 
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>Uliano. Hes the best friend Ive had in my life.
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>From 1955 to 1972 Walker and Scott were nightly co-hosts of The 
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>Joy Boys, on WRC Radio, owned by NBC.
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>At the height of their popularity, the Washington Post said Scott 
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>and Walker dominated Washington, providing entertainment, 
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>companionship, and community to a city on the verge of powerful 
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>change.
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>We never worked a day in our life, recalls Scott. We loved what 
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>we did and we loved each other - we never had a fight in our lives.
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>The Joy Boys show was a raucous, largely improvised comedy 
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>show.
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>An hour before the show, we would go in the office and have a 
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>sandwich and a cup of coffee, and write down some ideas, says 
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>Scott.
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>Scott says Walker coordinated closely with the shows audio 
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>engineer, cued the comedy bits, and created the live sound effects 
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>for the show.
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>Eddie ran the show, Scott says. I was his sidekick.
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>Engineer Mike Berry says while doing comic bits Walker was a 
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>master at getting the best sound out of the studio microphone.
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>Sometimes it was desirable to make it seem like the voiced person 
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>was moving in and out of the studio - Eddie had a small door that 
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>he could slam for a sound effect, says Berry. It was amazing to 
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>watch Eddie work the microphone while doing this.
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>At the time, Berry says microphones were susceptible to loud 
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>noises. He moved back before doing anything loud, he could 
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>simulate distance in two ways, by moving away from the 
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>microphone or moving off of its primary axis.
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>The Joy Boys left the air in October 1974. Walkers career includes 
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>stints at WWDC-AM, WMAL, and WOL.
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>Longtime fan Bob Bybee, who started a  tribute website in 2001, 
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>says visitors continue to recount the happiness the show brought.
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>They stayed on the air for 20 years, and for good reason, says 
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>Bybee.
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>It was good, clean, enjoyable entertainment, says Bybee.  Listeners 
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>could tell that the boys really had fun doing their show, and that 
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>fun came across the airwaves.
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>After NBC sold WRC, Greater Media changed added a W, and 
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>WWRC became a nostalgic music format.
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>In 1987, WWRC went back to talk - Walker was hired as its first 
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>morning host, by program director Ken Mellgren.
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>Without exception, Ed Walker is the most talented radio and TV 
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>personality I have known, Mellgren tells WTOP.
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>Mellgren teamed Walker with Bruce Alan, who at the time was a 
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>traffic reporter.
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>Alan had moved from New York to D.C. after The Joy Boys left 
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>the air, but he obviously had heard of Walkers talents.
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>He was quick, and funny, and great, Alan says. We laughed at the 
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>same dumb jokes, and made the same dumb jokes.
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>We did have fun, and that was the secret of what I liked about 
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>radio, says Walker. Its ceasing to be fun now, I think.
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>In the mid-80s, Walker and Alans morning show was competing 
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>against raunchier hosts including Doug Greaseman Tracht, and 
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>Howard Stern in syndication.
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>We did stuff that was wacky, never in bad taste, says Walker, 
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>before a comic pause. I think.
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>Walker recorded his final show last week, which will air Sunday 
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>evening, Oct.. 25, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
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>I made the choice I thought was best by stepping aside from The 
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>Big Broadcast, and letting somebody younger do it, says Walker. 
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>The person who takes over probably will have as much love for it 
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>as I did, and I hope they do.
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>They probably will, Alan told Walker, but the show wont be the 
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>same without you.
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>Walkers Big Broadcast engineer for 24 years, Tobey 
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>Schreiner,  will miss the conversations he had with Walker while 
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>driving him to the studio for their weekly tapings.
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>The time spent on those rides, talking about radio, past and present, 
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>as well as what was happening in our lives personally, are 
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>moments I will treasure for a lifetime, says Schreiner.
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>Schreiner says countless visitors to the station approached Walker 
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>to say they were lifelong fans.
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>He always took the time to shake hands and chat with them in the 
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>hall for as long as they liked, says Schreiner.
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>Willard Scott says Walker taught me the meaning of the word 
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>humility, in the truest sense of the word.
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>He went out like a prince, says Scott. Its the real Ed Walker - heart, 
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>soul, and everything.
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>Now, for the first time in 60 years, Walker will no longer have a 
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>regular audience to entertain and communicate with.
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>The memories keep rushing back, says Walker, wistfully. Ill 
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>remember them as long as I live.