Scott Walker was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, into a family with a diverse musical and entertainment background, tracing back to his great-grandfather Harry Walker, who played with John Philip Sousa, and was the first Bandmaster of the North West Mounted Police. His maternal grandparents were both musicians. His mother, Marilyn Whittet Walker, was a dancer. And his father, Bill Walker, was a pioneer of television in Canada.
Scott’s involvement with the entertainment industry began at the age of seven, when he appeared with his father in a series of live commercials for Ford of Canada on the The Ed Sullivan Show. His career was interrupted by his parents’ desire that he enjoy a normal childhood. It resumed upon his graduation from the University of Toronto in 1971 (where he majored in Economics), and has involved him in many areas of the entertainment world.
His career really began in radio. He served his apprenticeship at a small station in Ontario. He then worked at CKRC, a Top-Forty station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Later, he became Music Director and Afternoon Drive host at Toronto Classic Pop station CJCL. During that time, he twice sang the national anthems at Toronto Blue Jays games. Then he became a familiar voice on CBC radio where he hosted The Radio One Business Network, and anchored the National Radio News. For twelve years, he shared his interest in the history of popular music with his Musical Almanac. In addition, he adapted and starred in the musical Colette – the Colours of Love for CBC’s Music Around us, and was featured in I Concentrate on You, a CBC Radio special commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Cole Porter. Later, he created, produced, wrote, and hosted Eye on the Arts, a weekly show on CFAX 1070 Victoria where Scott interviewed local and international stars, including Nikki Yanovsky, Paul Gross, and Tom Cochrane. He made national headlines after an interview with BC’s Minister of Culture, during which the minister said that BC artists weren’t concerned that the government was cutting arts funding by more than 90%. He now hosts a weekly show on Cashbox Radio.
Scott was a co-founder of Reprise Concerts, a Toronto company that introduced the concept of great musicals in a concert setting to Canada. He appeared in two Reprise productions: Company and Anything Goes. He has also performed across Canada in productions such as Urinetown, Anything That Moves, The Music Man, Guys & Dolls, Of Mice & Men, and As You Like It. He has appeared in television and film, as reporter Steve Tate in the series Forever Knight, the Disney/Touchstone film The Ref, and the Hallmark TV movie, Freshman Father.
In partnership with his wife, Anne Wootten, Scott produced and wrote [and Anne directed] 150 Years in Golden Mountain, a multi-media pageant celebrating the history of the Chinese in Canada. It was presented at in Victoria in August of 2008.
Scott’s self-titled CD features a forty-piece orchestra – including a Who’s Who of Canadian jazz – accompanying Scott in a selection of standards from the Great American Songbook. He has also created two solo stage shows: What Exactly IS The Great American Songbook? and Too Marvelous for Words: the Johnny Mercer Story.
Scott is the narrator of Spiders on Drugs, a two-minute parody of the Canadian Hinterland Who’s Who series that has become one of the biggest hits on YouTube. An expanded version — Down to the Sea on Drugs – premiered at the Victoria International Film Festival in February 2011.
Scott is also an accomplished dancer. Well, not really. But once – just once – he did dance with Karen Kain.
Scott is married to Anne Wootten, a Director, Choreographer, and International Protocol and Etiquette consultant. They live in Toronto. Scott’s latest recording, Someone I Don’t Even Know, is a song Scott wrote after meeting Anne.
In 2015, Scott became the first full-time Executive Director of The Canadian Artists Network [formerly CSARN] – the voice of Canada’s experience d professional artists.