Longtime DC Radio Broadcaster Ed Walker Dies at 83

PHOTO: Ed Walker in 2006; photo courtesy of WAMU

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Longtime radio legend Ed Walker, who was a founder of American University’s WAMU 88.5 radio station and host of the station’s The Big Broadcast, died Monday at the age of 83, WAMU reported on its Web site.

His last show — a compilation of his favorite music and programs — aired Sunday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. Walker recorded the show from Sibley Hospital while battling cancer. (Listen to the show here.)

“We were pleased to be able to record this final show with him, and grateful for the years he shared with WAMU and the entire Washington region,” a WAMU statement reads. “He was one of a kind.”

Walker, who was born blind, was the first blind student at American University and was one of the founders of the university’s radio station, WAMU in 1951.

He and fellow broadcaster Willard Scott, the well-known weatherman from NBC’s “Today Show,” created The Joy Boys, which became a popular radio show.

“We interviewed everyone,” Scott said in a recent interview with Washingtonian. “We interviewed Milton Berle, Jack Benny. These were stars of our generation. Henry Kissinger was with us one time—he was a Joy Boys fan.”

Walker returned to WAMU in 1990 to take over The Big Broadcast, which aired the weekly four-hour program of radio dramas from the past, including Gun Smoke and The Lone Ranger. The show is the longest-running for the radio station.

Walker was recognized by the Radio Hall of Fame, inducted in 2009 as a radio pioneer. In 2014, WAMU recognized Ed’s role in making the iconic program, hosting a 50th anniversary celebration of The Big Broadcast.

Walker discovered his love of radio as a young child, WAMU noted. “Radio was everything to me, not being able to see,” he said. “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.”

The station says Walker’s family plans to hold a public memorial service, Washingtonian reported, that listeners can attend.