Syd Walker

Syd Walker (born Sydney Kirkman; 22 March 1886 – 13 January 1945) was a British actor and comedian.

Syd Walker
Born	Sydney Kirkman (1886-03-22)22 March 1886 Salford, Lancashire, England
Died	13 January 1945(1945-01-13) (aged 58) Hove, Sussex, England
Occupation(s)	Comedian, actor
Spouse	Lily (Lydia) Louie Margaret Kirkman
Children	Pete Walker

Born in Salford, Lancashire, he started his career in music halls, both as a solo performer and in double acts. He was also a member of Fred Karno's comedy troupe.^[1] After some years performing with Karno, and after losing his Lancashire accent, he became a regular on BBC radio's Band Waggon (1938–1939) as Mr. Walker, a philosophical rag-and-bone man with the popular catch phrase: "What would you do, chums?"^[2][3] He later had his own show, Mr Walker Wants to Know.^[1]

He fell ill with appendicitis while playing in pantomime in Croydon, and died in Hove, Sussex, in 1945 at the age of 58.^[1]

His son is the film director Pete Walker.^[4]

Filmography

• Old Bill Through the Ages (1924)
• Royal Cavalcade (1935)
• Let's Make a Night of It (1937)
• Over She Goes (1938)
• Hold My Hand (1938)
• Sweet Devil (1938)
• Oh Boy! (1938)
• What Would You Do, Chums? (1939)^[5]
• I Killed the Count (1939)
• The Gang's All Here (1939)