Mike Walker Reviews & Views:
"Mike Walker is the Hemingway of gossip." HOWARD STERN
“Has Mike Walker ever missed a beat? Nope! Not to my knowledge. That guy impresses me – he always nails it!” RYAN SEACREST
"Walker is...regularly described as a journalistic legend." THE INDEPENDENT (LONDON)
"Mike Walker - the National Enquirer Legend." LOS ANGELES TIMES
"The last remaining larger-than-life figure in American tabloid journalism." JEFFREY TOOBIN, THE NEW YORKER
"There is only one 'Guru of Gossip,' and that's Mike Walker. He's the Dean of celebrity news and a first-rate TV personality." GERALDO RIVERA
"I always assume Mike Walker has probably scooped anything I write. He surprises everybody by arriving without horns and a tail. He's amazingly rational, down-to-earth, intelligent, and 'with-it.'" LIZ SMITH
"We define what tabloid is. We're the granddaddy of all tabloids." WALKER IN THE NEW YORK POST
"It's okay to admit you've got an enquiring mind, chums. Gossip, after all, is just another word for news in a slinky red dress. And when people say, as they often do, that gossip is for ignoble minds, tell them this: ‘Gossip is the oldest indoor sport after sex.’" FT. LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL INTERVIEW WITH MIKE WALKER.
Mike Walker
Biography
Mike Walker is a "one-man media conglomerate," in the words of New Yorker magazine, and one of today's most recognized media names, whether in print, radio, TV, or books. Born in Boston, Walker left home at age 16 and joined the U.S. Air Force, where, during a four-year stint, he began freelancing features to daily newspapers – teaching himself how to be a working journalist. After the Air Force, he remained in the Far East, and became the youngest-ever foreign correspondent for International News Service (which later merged with UP to become UPI), then worked as a staff reporter for Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun, the world's largest daily newspaper. His career in Japan included writing a showbiz column for Shipping and Trade News, Asia’s equivalent of the Wall Street Journal.
While in the Far East, Walker worked as a foreign correspondent for NBC’s "Monitor," the award-winning national news radio show, and as a contributing editor to The Boston Traveler, London Evening News, Hong Kong Tiger Standard, and Bunte (Germany). Fluent in Japanese, he became a news commentator on Japanese TV and radio. He made his first foray into TV production with an award-winning prime-time network special that revealed the fate of twelve Japanese heroes -- after the headline-making discovery of the world's only intact Mitsubishi bomber in the jungles of a Pacific island long-forgotten after World War II.
After years in the Far East – followed by a brief stint working in Europe and the UK -- Walker returned to the States, joined the National Enquirer and launched his two-page gossip column. Read by millions, it quickly became what it still is today -- the paper's most popular feature.
Known as the "Guru of Gossip," Walker's story-telling ability, coupled with his charm and self-effacing humor, soon made him a television and radio favorite. For years, he hosted his own national two-hour “Mike Walker Show” on the Westwood One Network (CBS), heard on 165 stations, plus 24 BBC and independent stations in Great Britain. He was seen every Friday as co-anchor on “Geraldo” and made the record number of appearances of any guest ever on that show – 264!
Guesting on such top TV shows as “Nightline,” “Larry King Live,” “The O’Reilly Factor,” “Maury,” “Nancy Grace,” “Joan Rivers,” “A Current Affair,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Politically Incorrect,” “Sally Jesse,” “Charlie Rose,” etc. -- Walker proved to be an engaging TV personality.
He made the leap from guesting to solo-hosting two one-hour specials for MGM Television. He wrote both shows and served as Senior Producer. The first, titled “NATIONAL ENQUIRER PRESENTS: 25 YEARS OF SCANDALS,” commanded what Daily Variety called "phenomenal" ratings. The showbiz bible headlined it as "A Syndie Hit!" Mike’s second special, “NATIONAL ENQUIRER PRESENTS: LOVE, MARRIAGE & DIVORCE HOLLYWOOD STYLE,” scored the same smash ratings.
Walker then wrote the pilot for a daily show, “NATIONAL ENQUIRER TV” that premiered in 94% of US TV markets and aired for two years. Walker co-anchored and hosted his own segment on the show, “PLANET GOSSIP.” He then hosted “The Mike Walker Show” on KABC radio in Los Angeles.
He wrote the New York Times #1 Best Seller, "Nicole Brown Simpson: Private Diary of a Life Interrupted," with Faye Resnick. Just months later, his book "Private Diary of an OJ Juror," with Michael Knox, rocketed to #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List. He's the only reporter known to have written two best-selling books on the same major story. He’s written several books since, including a novel, “Malicious Intent.”
Concurrently, he launched a record-breaking16-year stint as a regular with Howard Stern, who calls Walker "the Hemingway of gossip." Stern featured him every Friday on his top-rated radio show to conduct the famed "Mike Walker Game." Millions fell in love with the hilarious once-a-week segment, which featured him delivering four gossip items – three of which were slated for his next column, and one of which was false. Stern and his Wack Pack had to guess which item was the phony – and very often, Walker stumped the panel.
In addition, the man Publishers Weekly dubbed "The King of Gossip," has lectured on journalism and gossip at such distinguished journalism schools as the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University. And he scored the prestigious invitation to become a Fellow of Ireland’s legendary Trinity College, Dublin.
"I'm an historian," Walker explains. "I could teach a course in mankind’s predilection for gossip as a Professor of Whisperology."
Walker and his wife of 40 years live in both Palm Beach, Florida, and in Los Angeles, California. They raised two children, both of whom are grown.
Where to find Mike Walker online
Website: http://www.nationalenquirer.com/mikewalker/
Amazon: Author Pages/Mike Walker
