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Entertainment

Walker now finds his good times on stage

The former sit-com superstar will bring his stand-up act to Jerry's Place in Spring Hill.

By Times Staff Writer
Published May 20, 2005

SPRING HILL - Almost 30 years hence, Jimmie "J.J." Walker remains tethered to the goofy catch phrase he popularized as star of the sit-com, Good Times.

At every comedy club where he appears, there's at least one person who shouts it out during his stand-up routine.

Dy-no-mite.

It doesn't seem to bother the 56-year-old entertainer. After all, the well-worn expression transformed him from a sometimes-employed joke writer to one of America's best-known comic actors.

But when Walker performs his stand-up act Thursday at Jerry's Place in Spring Hill, audiences most likely will never hear the word from him. He has moved on.

"It's nice that people remember that," Walker told dbMagazine recently. "We did it on the show back then, and that really was the last time I did it."

What Walker does do these days is something of a return to the seeds he first planted four decades ago in small comedy venues near his childhood home in the Bronx. During the day, the teenage Walker worked as a part-time engineer for a small radio station. After hours, he headed to Harlem, where he opened for the legendary political humorists, the Last Poets.

Gradually, Walker worked his way into larger venues, and in 1972 he finally landed a guest spot on the Jack Paar Show. A year later, TV producer Norman Lear cast him for a part in his new series, Good Times, where he remained for six seasons.

These days find Walker in the role of a mature comic sage. An avid reader, much of his routine revolves around political themes and social commentary, often with a slightly conservative bent to it. For a time, he even hosted an issue-oriented radio talk show.

Although TV brought him the fame he still enjoys, stand-up comedy keeps his creative juices flowing. It's something he has said he wouldn't mind finding himself still doing 25 years from now.

"Comedy has changed so much since I started in the 1960s," Walker told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "The language is a lot rougher now, but audiences expect it to be. No one wants to do stand-up because being on the road is so hard and there's more money in TV. For me, there's nothing like being in front of a live audience."

WHAT: Comic actor Jimmie "J.J." Walker

WHEN: 8 and 10 p.m. Thursday.

WHERE: Jerry's Place, 10553 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill.

ADMISSION: $15, plus a two-drink minimum. Must be 21 to attend.

INFORMATION: Call 666-9866 for information and reservations.

[Last modified May 20, 2005, 01:06:18]