Walker Edmiston

[the_newfie_haystack]

Oh no. That's really sad. However, there's one ray of light in this dark time. If Walker was a christian, then he'd get to see his best friend Hal Smith in heaven. He left behind a legacy. I'll keep his family in my prayers.

Haystack

[Catspaw]

When I first read the news I was in a university computer lab and was sitting there dabbing away the tears in my eyes. It's amazing how much the death of somebody you never met can affect you. I was at FOTF's 25th anniversary celebration in Colorado Springs about 5 years ago and Walker Edmiston was there. I saw him during the live AIO taping and also during the day, when we saw him walking with some people, which we thought was cool. He was incredibly talented, and I'm sure that his fans, as well as his family and friends, will all miss him a great deal. No matter how this is dealt with on AIO, he will be missed.

[Ruthie]

This is really sad. I'm hoping that there is an episode with Tom or Bart this season- more Tom than Bart- as sort of a 'fare-well'.

[Agent3xq]

I leave for about 3 days and this happens! I'm very saddened to hear this

[Gandalf]

This is very sad for his family and for his AIO family. I shall truly miss him.

[Jimmy Barclay Fan]

http://www.odysseyscoop.com/images/actors/willryan5.jpg

(2nd from left)

Alan Young, Walker, Will Ryan, Katie Leigh, Dave Madden

[Thursday Next]

You know a thought just occurred to me. Can you imagine the fun times we're going to have in Heaven with Walker Edmiston and Hal Smith up there

[Macnut]

You know a thought just occurred to me. Can you imagine the fun times we're going to have in Heaven with Walker Edmiston and Hal Smith up there

Yeah, now that will be cool. Imagine the fun time they're having now.

[snowflake]

when I first saw this I wasn't very sad...after reading everyones posts I'm feeling very sad. I really hope that when the recorded "Prequels of Love" with Bart they recorded some Tom episodes. While Bart will be missed (where's the funny stripedy one?) I think I will miss Tom more. He was sort of an "alternative Whit." He had advice just as good, and his quit, country manner made me love him. His humerous sides were great, too. It made me smile every time he said "Uwgeeene" I hope with his passing they will honor him by doing Tom justice. I honestly hope that they don't replace either of the charcters...Tom or Bart. Bart's voice is irreplaceable and I just feel it would be disrespectful to Tom to give him another character. I hope they use this oppurtunity to deal with death...a series of episodes in memory of Walker Edmiston (and Chris would say that at the beginning and end) Honestly, I know he could have been unsaved--but I just don't see how. Anyone who gave that godly guidance, even as an actor, would be influenced himself by his words. Heaven will be fun with Walker Edmiston and Hal Smith, I know! I will be in prayer for his family and friends...I feel as if he has touched my life in a special way, even as a fictional character. He will be greatly missed.

[LizzieG]

I was very sad to hear this. I was too young to remember when Hal Smith died, but now losing Tom and Bart is a huge blow. Tom's been here since the beginning!

I don't think either of them should be replaced, but I don't want them to drop off the face of Odyssey, though. Some kind of goodbye episodes would be fitting...

[Eugene Blackgaard]

How sad this is. It's strange, we feel connected to these actors because of what they've done through their voices. I'll greatly miss this actor's talents, as well as the characters he played.

[Jimmy Barclay Fan]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O2n5oSUOQ-A

Here is a clip I uploaded of Walker on Little House on the Prairie in 1981. Sorry it isnt the best quality. You can actually him acting.

ETA: I redid the clip.

[Macnut]

Cool. Thanks Jimmy.

[Jimmy Barclay Fan]

Your welcome.

I remember when Hal Smith died. THe world was a lot different back then. Some people did not know for months or a year. People wrote in to Focus, and asked why Whit moved away, and not knowing Hal Smith had died. For some reason, Focus waited til the episdode was on an albumn before releasing the news.

Now, the internet is big. A lot bigger.

It does feel very sad. He was the only actor and one of 2 characters from Family Potraits. (even though Katie Leigh appeared in one episode.)

I hope the 20th anniversiary book pays a nice tributre to him and puts many good things. And the radio show does not replace him with different actors.

[amberluvspiano]

He was a wonderful actor!! Great at both characters!

[darcie]

His obituary was just published today in the LA Times. It has some quotes from Will Ryan also.

[Agent3xq]

His obituary was just published today in the LA Times. It has some quotes from Will Ryan also.

I'm glad that they briefly talked about Adventures in Odyssey and the two main characters of Tom Riley and Bart Rathbone that he played. I was saddened to also realize that his one daughter and wife had already died. Especially his wife who died at only 48

[darcie]

Especially his wife who died at only 48

Actually, it said "wife of 48 years," meaning that's how long they were married.

[Jonathan]

The LA Times requires a log in, so I'll provide the article here:

Walker Edmiston, 81; voice artist, puppeteer was host of early L.A. children's TV show
By Dennis McLellan, Times Staff Writer
February 27, 2007

Walker Edmiston, an early Los Angeles television kiddie-show host and puppeteer who had a long career as a versatile voice-over artist whose credits include several of Sid and Marty Krofft's live-action children's TV series in the 1960s and '70s, has died. He was 81.

Edmiston, who voiced Ernie the Keebler Elf in recent years, died of complications from cancer Feb. 15 at his Woodland Hills home, said his daughter, Erin Edmiston.

Early during his nearly six-decade acting career, Edmiston became the replacement voice for Walter Lantz's animated character Wally Walrus, and for a time he did incidental voices and puppetry on the award-winning "Time for Beany" children's show in the early 1950s.

Edmiston also hosted his own children's program — "The Walker Edmiston Show" — on local channels in the 1950s and early '60s. The afternoon show featured puppets that Edmiston designed and made, Kingsley the Lion, Calli the Cat and Ravenswood the Buzzard.

For the Kroffts in the late 1960s and 1970s, Edmiston did numerous voices, including Dr. Blinkey and Orson the Vulture on "H.R. Pufnstuf," Sparky the Firefly on "Bugaloos," Enik on "Land of the Lost" and Sigmund Ooze — and Sigmund's brothers Blurp and Slurp — on "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters."

"Walker was one of the most talented voice people in town," producer Marty Krofft said. "He had such a tremendous voice range and, especially for the Krofft shows, he could do everything."

During the 1950s, Edmiston played the character of Fester on a record spoof of the hit TV western "Gunsmoke" called "Mr. Grillon."

He reprised his spoof of Dennis Weaver's Chester character in a "Gunsmoke" parody on TV's "Maverick" called "Gun-Shy."

After Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's 1959 visit to the United States, Edmiston recorded the novelty tune "I Dreamt I Saw Khrushchev (In a Pink Cadillac)." (He did half the record in the voice of Barky the Dog and half as Khrushchev.)

Edmiston, who began imitating actor Lionel Barrymore and other movie figures to entertain his family while growing up in the 1930s, could do impressions of a variety of celebrities, including Red Skelton and Lawrence Welk.

Actor Will Ryan said Edmiston's versatility was exemplified on "Adventures in Odyssey," a radio series set in a small town produced by the nonprofit Focus on the Family.

He had been with the show, which is in its 19th year, since the first episode.

"He played the nicest guy in town named Tom Riley," said Ryan, a fellow cast member, adding that when "a really sleazy character" was added to the show several years after the start, "Walker did that character as well.

"It was fun because sometimes there'd be a page or two of dialogue between the two of them."

As an actor, Edmiston also appeared frequently in episodes of shows such as "Gunsmoke," "The Big Valley," "Mission: Impossible," "Batman," "The Dukes of Hazzard" and "Knots Landing."

Edmiston was born Feb. 6, 1926, in St. Louis, Mo., where he was involved in community theater groups in high school.

He moved to Los Angeles in 1947 and took acting classes at the Pasadena Playhouse.

While appearing in a play in Hollywood, someone overheard one of his celebrity impressions. That led to an introduction to Lantz.

Edmiston's daughter, his only survivor, said he continued working until he became very ill in January.

Evelyn, Edmiston's wife of 48 years, died in 1998. His other daughter, Andria, died in 1987.

A memorial service is pending.

[darcie]

Thanks Jonathan. I didn't think it would do that when I checked it, but maybe it just already knows me.