Syd Walker Explained

Syd Walker
Birth Name:Sydney Kirkman
Birth Date:1886 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Salford, Lancashire, England
Death Place:Hove, Sussex, England
Occupation:Comedian, actor
Spouse:Lily (Lydia) Louie Margaret Kirkman
Children:Pete Walker

Syd Walker (born Sydney Kirkman; 22 March 1886 – 13 January 1945) was a British actor and comedian.

Born in Salford, Lancashire, he started his career in music halls, both as a solo performer and in double acts. He was also a member of Fred Karno's comedy troupe.[1] After some years performing with Karno, and after losing his Lancashire accent, he became a regular on BBC radio's Band Waggon (1938 - 1939) as Mr. Walker, a philosophical rag-and-bone man with the popular catch phrase: "What would you do, chums?"[2] [3] He later had his own show, Mr Walker Wants to Know.[1]

He fell ill with appendicitis while playing in pantomime in Croydon, and died in Hove, Sussex, in 1945 at the age of 58.[1]

His son is the film director Pete Walker.[4]

Filmography

References

  1. Book: Busby, Roy . 1976 . British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day . London . Paul Elek . 176-177 . 0-236-40053-3.
  2. Web site: Brighton and Hove people: W. Brighton History. 6 July 2020.
  3. Book: A Dictionary of Catch Phrases. 9781134929993. Partridge. Eric. 2 September 2003.
  4. Web site: Syd Walker . https://web.archive.org/web/20090117135219/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/12377 . dead . 2009-01-17 . .