Nardwuar vs Jimmie "Dyn-o-mite" Walker!  
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I wanted to show you this record (Nardwuar shows Jimmie "There's a Mouse in my Pants" by The Baroness Bobo) JJ because there is a whole tradition of cool black comedians etcetera, and this guy, the Baroness Bobo-
Ho ho ho! (laughs) Oh goodness gracious! No, I don't know this guy, and I don't think I want to know this guy!(laughs)

But you remember Laff Records, don't you?
Yes, I do remember Laff Records. I almost had a deal with Laff Records but they were a little too dirty for me.

Mouse in my Pants!

But this is your whole thing, isn't it? These people are not household names but they should be!
No, they are not household names. Even roaches don't know who these guys are. My goodness, these guys are really underground. I have no idea who this guy is.

The Baroness Bobo... How about this gentleman over here there, JJ, Jimmie Walker? I've got to ask you about the old school standards there, Jimmie Walker, JJ. (Nardwuar shows Jimmie a Sammy Davis Jr record)
Yeah, Sammy my man. I did the Sammy Davis Jr. Show, he's one of the best guys in the world. Loved him, great entertainer, he could do anything. Impressions, singing, dancing: Sammy Davis! Boy oh boy, you don't mess with my man! He's got every album in the world!

Please tell me a little bit about him though. Sammy! A little Sammy story! Come on, JJ!
Sammy had a thing about women. He loved women and he was always, he loved, sometimes people would say, having more than one, you know what I'm saying? He was notorious for that.

And you also worked with, JJ. This is your life there, JJ, Jimmie Walker! Little Richard! (Nardwuar shows Jimmie a Little Richard record)
Little Richard, yeah! (laughs) Shut up! (laughs) Little Richard I worked with on a show called Bustin' Loose and we did-

Bustin' Loose! Let's go back a second here, JJ!
(laughs) Bustin' Loose, Little Richard came on three or four times, he was a semi-regular. Could not remember a line, and whenever he would screw up a line, he'd go, "Shut up!" That's all he'd say. "Shut up!" (laughs) Enough said. So he's very good. I love Little Richard. He used to live in the Hyatt House, which we called the Riot House, in Los Angeles on Sunset Boulevard. So I love Little Richard, he's all right.

JJ, Jimmie Walker, autographs and stuff! Do you get a lot of requests for autographs?
Yes, I do, constantly. Especially after my shows, I get a lot of requests, I always sign every one. I do not miss a trick, I sign everthing, as I will sign your album when you leave, and you'll be leaving soon (laughs).

Baboom!
(laughs) I sign everything so when people come to see me in a club or when they see me on the street, most of the time I do sign.

 
 

I love it! Jimmie Walker. J Walker. You ever been caught jaywalking, Jimmie Walker?
Yes, almost right here actually. We were leaving and the only black cop in Burnaby pulled me over, so that was good: he let me slide.

Pam Grier. Do you remember Pam Grier?
I actually know Pam Grier because I know her boyfriend. Her boyfriend was in a group called Blood Sweat and Tears.

A Canadian connection!
That's right! So I don't make this stuff up, so yes I do know Pam Grier.

Now Pam Grier told me about a story of going to Wilt Chamberlain's house, or being invited to Wilt Chamberlain's house for a party-
Yikes!

Now, JJ-
Oh!

JJ, did you go to Wilt's house for a party?
Yikes! We went over a couple of times just to play volleyball, that's all. We didn't always use a net, but that's another story.

Baboom!
(laughs)

Come on, tell me about the orgies! You love sex! You love sex, don't you?
No, no no! I had nothing to do with it. I'm an innocent camper. Little Richard, "Shut up!" (laughs)

Come on, there, JJ, a bit of story, a bit of story!
I have nothing to say about Wilt Chamberlain's house.

Okay, how about wild orgies, parties, sex on the set of Good Times, Thelma!
(laughs) No, I have nothing to say. I take the Fifth Amendment, or I take the Parliamentary amendment of silencio.

Jimmie Walker, are we on the basketball court or are we on the hockey rink right now?
Sometimes we could be on the basketball court, and right now I think we're skating on thin ice. (laughs)

The Race Track - Richard and Willie

Right now, believe it or not, in Vancouver British Columbia Canada, Good Times is on every night, every night at 2am!
Ow! I have to get my foreign residuals. Where is my dough!? I can go to Subway or something and get something.

How are you doing with that? Do you get any pay from that? You didn't get ripped off?
No no no. You have to get paid. It's the law, you have to get paid, so everybody gets paid.

But some shows got ripped off didn't they?
Yes, Gilligan's Island, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver. They don't get anything, but we do.

How do you do for money? How do you do for money, there JJ? You're doing some standup!
I'm doing some standup tonight at Lafflines. That shows you how low the cash has got, ladies and gentlemen. So bring it in! Please, we're at Lafflines, big dough being made there by our good friend Mark Dennison, ladies and gentlemen.

You also do blackjack, Jimmie Walker, JJ?
Yes, I do blackjack tournaments where I am celebrity. I wave, I talk to the people, I shake their hands, we sign autographs, we play blackjack for charities. It's great. And we do craps also, and we also play baccarat, which is a Chinese game.

Was Lenny Kravitz' mom on the Jeffersons, Jimmie Walker?
Yes, Roxie Roker, and Lenny Kravitz used to always be, at that time his last name was Romeo, so he was a Romeo guy at that time, he was trying to get a deal in Los Angeles so that was his name at that time.

Who else hung out on the set of Good Times? Did anybody drop by to hang out? Did Sammy?
(laughs) Sammy was there because he did All in the Family which was not our thing. Billy Dee Williams was there. We had other people. Gabriel Kaplan was a friend of mine. Most of the people from Welcome Back Kotter would come by. We had a lot of people come by. Robert Guillaume who was on our show, he came by. We had a lot of people, so yes.

Jimmie Walker, JJ, do you think there will ever be a black president?
Not in our lifetime, ladies and gentlemen. There may be a black vice president so that that way the president won't get shot, but other than that, that's it! (laughs)

Are guns bad?
Guns in our Constitution are very good. That's right, we need guns. Everybody needs a gun to protect yourself from the other guy who's got a gun.

How about in Canada?
Canada? They don't use guns in Canada. They just kind of get a beaver tail and wack you over the head or something, or maybe a big icicle pop.

Do you pack your heat at the border when you come across?
Well, when I was in Detroit, I got pulled over in Detroit and arrested for not having a gun.

No!
Yes, you must have a gun when you go to Detroit. You must be packing at all times.

Are you a Democrat or anti-fascist, JJ?
I'm more of a fascist. I'm more of a fascist by nature and people call me Jimmie the Fascist or Jimmie the Nazi, some people call me. That's actually true!

Anything else you would like to add to the people out there at all there, Jimmie Walker, JJ, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada? How are you doing?
I want to say that this guy has done a marvelous job keeping up. He may look wacky and zany but the man knows what he's talking about. He's got some info. He's packin' a very different interview for somebody who's done over twenty thousand interviews, probably the most different interview we've ever done. (laughs)

Well, thank you very much, JJ, appreciate the props. I was curious there, JJ, finally Jimmie Walker, do you still love watermelons?
Oh, my goodness, I feel guilty about eating watermelons because I'm afraid people are going to take a picture of me and put me on the front cover of the Vancouver Sun and say, "Summer's here." You never know. You don't want that to happen.

Baboom!
(laughs) Yes, so I'm done like a Thanksgiving goose, man. I'm out of here!

Well, thanks very much, Jimmie. Doot doola doot doo....
Back to the Menu! Doot doot. Thank you. God! (laughs)

Thanks to Chris Nelson from Much Music's 'Going Coastal' for setting this interview up.

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