Ed Walker, a radio legend whose career in broadcasting stretched back to his college days 65 years ago, has died at 83.
Walker died three hours after his last "The Big Broadcast" was played on the station Sunday evening. Walker suffered from cancer and had just announced his retirement from the show; it was recorded earlier this month.
Walker met Willard Scott when they were students together at American University. Walker helped found WAMU -- in 1951, as an AM station -- and Scott joined a year later. Within four years had teamed up with Scott to host the "Joy Boys," a comedy show that aired on WRC-AM until 1972.
The two were a force in Washington, D.C. radio in the '60s; NPR called the show in its heyday "appointment listening."
"Who could ask for more talent?" Scott said in an interview with News4. "And it rubbed off on me a little bit, which is why I am still working."
"Our personal relationship was unbelievable," Scott said. "I can't tell you what a good friend he was. You know, in our business, sometimes you get chewed out, sometimes you get depressed, or sometimes you get paranoid ... whenever I had a problem I had Eddie to turn to. And the same for him."
"I never had a brother, and he never had a brother, so we were each others' brothers," Scott said. "We were closer than some brothers.
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"We had a relationship that was so good ... so full of love and affection. Never had a fight."
"Joy Boys" moved to WWDC-AM in 1972; its last broadcast was in 1972. "If we have any legacy at all, we made people laugh. I hope that's on the tombstone -- his and mine."
Walker, who was blind since birth, had found his medium. "Radio was everything to me, not being able to see," Walker said in an interview on NPR in 2014. "The sound on radio was important. Radio took the place of comic books and newspapers and the funnies and all that stuff. So I grew up with it."
Walker took over "The Big Broadcast" in 1990, playing classics from the golden age of radio: "Dragnet," "Gunsmoke," "Fibber McGee and Molly," "Superman." It runs every Sunday from 7 until 11 p.m. and is WAMU's longest-running show. WAMU's Rob Bamberger will take over the show as interim host, WAMU has said.
We are very sad to announce our friend Ed Walker passed away this morning, after listening to his final show with his family. #BigBroadcast
— WAMU 88.5 (@wamu885) October 26, 2015
