Johnny Walker (DJ)

:"This article is about the American radio DJ. You may also be looking for the BBC Radio 2 DJ whose name is Johnnie Walker."

Johnny Walker (born as James Embrey in Louisville, Kentucky) (1948 - March 1, 2004) was best known as a disc jockey on WFBR, a Baltimore, Maryland AM radio station from 1974 to 1987. His radio name was taken from Johnnie Walker, a brand of whiskey, which supported his persona which has been described as "madcap" or "shock jock", which on occasion drew the ire of the Federal Communications Commission. For most of those years, his show was the top rated in the morning drive-time. For a time he owned a self-named club that was promoted on the radio station. He had previously worked on WPTR as a DJ under the pseudonym "Wild Child".

He helped Ira Glass, host of "This American Life", get his radio start as his joke-writer while Glass was in high school.

He died in 2004 due to complications associated with lung cancer.

References

* [http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/2004/WIR20040306.html Obituary]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010916/ai_n13924138 A Glass half full A Glass half full. Chicago Sun-Times, Sep 16, 2001 by MIKE THOMAS]
* [http://www.fifteenforty.com/board/0000005c.htm Obituary originally printed in Baltimore Sun]