Bree Walker
Encyclopedia
Bree Walker is a radio talk show host, actress, and disability-rights
activist, who gained fame as the first on-air American television network news anchor with ectrodactyly
. Walker worked as a news anchor and/or reporter in San Diego
, New York City
, and Los Angeles
.
Walker was born in Oakland, California
and raised in the state of Minnesota
near the Iowa
border. She inherited ectrodactyly, a rare genetic condition, resulting in her fingers and toes being fused together.
Channel 10 in San Diego
, Walker decided to go public with her ectrodactyly after previously keeping her deformed hands hidden inside a pair of glove-like prosthetic hands. With her hands now clearly visible, she continued her newscasting career at KGTV, moving up to the larger rock station KPRI
FM. She started her television career in 1980 at KGTV
as a consumer advocacy reporter.
. Walker also guest-starred on an episode of the PBS children's series, Reading Rainbow
, to talk about her disability.
While watching the 2003 season of Carnivàle
, an HBO television series about a Depression-era carnival traveling through the Dust Bowl
, Walker noticed that no cast member had ectrodactyly
. She requested, created, auditioned and won the role of Sabina, The Scorpion Lady. Walker's portrayal of Sabina appeared in three episodes during the 2005 season. She showcases her webbed hands as the series probes public attitudes toward persons with highly visible disabilities. Walker based Sabina on characters she knew existed in the 1920s and 1930s carnival sideshow
s with names like Lobster Girl or Lobster Boy. These were typically the best jobs people with ectrodactyly could have, with most others being hidden away.
Walker furthered her acting career in 2006 by appearing as an inspirational woman with ectrodactyly
on the fourth season premiere of Nip/Tuck
.
's 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) "Camp Casey
" site in Crawford, Texas for $87,000, in response to Sheehan's May 26, 2007 announcement that she would be selling the property and ending her antiwar activities. Sheehan handed the deed to Walker during her June 9, 2007 broadcast of "The Bree Walker show.". Walker has preserved the property as a peace memorial and garden and keeps it open to antiwar protesters. It is featured prominently on Walker's website.
. She and her children were also featured on an episode of TLC
's My Unique Family; she refuses to answer questions about her silicone lip implants, which have begun to slip in recent years. Her son and daughter both have ectrodactyly; Walker reacted very strongly on her blog to Oprah Winfrey's implication that a "normal" child would have all their fingers and their toes.
Her surname is taken from her second husband.
Disability rights movement
The disability rights movement is the movement to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities. The specific goals and demands of the movement are: accessibility and safety in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment, equal opportunities in independent...
activist, who gained fame as the first on-air American television network news anchor with ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly, sometimes referred to as the “Lobster-Claw Syndrome” involves the deficiency or absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation...
. Walker worked as a news anchor and/or reporter in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Walker was born in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and raised in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
near the Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
border. She inherited ectrodactyly, a rare genetic condition, resulting in her fingers and toes being fused together.
TV & Radio
Established and well into her career at the ABC affiliate KGTVKGTV
KGTV, digital channel 10, is the ABC television affiliate in San Diego, California. The station can be seen on Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T U-verse on cable channel 10 in standard definition. Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable carry its high definition signal on cable...
Channel 10 in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, Walker decided to go public with her ectrodactyly after previously keeping her deformed hands hidden inside a pair of glove-like prosthetic hands. With her hands now clearly visible, she continued her newscasting career at KGTV, moving up to the larger rock station KPRI
KPRI
KPRI is an AAA Station in San Diego, California, that plays blues, reggae, folk, pop, and rock music from the mid-1960s through the present....
FM. She started her television career in 1980 at KGTV
KGTV
KGTV, digital channel 10, is the ABC television affiliate in San Diego, California. The station can be seen on Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and AT&T U-verse on cable channel 10 in standard definition. Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable carry its high definition signal on cable...
as a consumer advocacy reporter.
Acting
Walker has also dabbled in acting, appearing as herself in the end-of-the-world science-fiction thriller Without Warning (credited as Bree Walker-Lampley but referred to on screen as Bree Walker) and as television reporter Wendy Sorenson in The ChaseThe Chase (1994 film)
The Chase is a 1994 action comedy film starring Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson. Released a few months before the real-life O. J. Simpson chase that also took place in California, the film includes Henry Rollins as a police officer and features cameos from Ron Jeremy and both Anthony Kiedis and...
. Walker also guest-starred on an episode of the PBS children's series, Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow is an American children's television series aired by PBS from June 6, 1983 until November 10, 2006 that encouraged reading among children. The award-winning public television series garnered over 200 broadcast awards, including scores of Emmy Awards, many for "Outstanding Children's...
, to talk about her disability.
While watching the 2003 season of Carnivàle
Carnivàle
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes...
, an HBO television series about a Depression-era carnival traveling through the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
, Walker noticed that no cast member had ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly, sometimes referred to as the “Lobster-Claw Syndrome” involves the deficiency or absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation...
. She requested, created, auditioned and won the role of Sabina, The Scorpion Lady. Walker's portrayal of Sabina appeared in three episodes during the 2005 season. She showcases her webbed hands as the series probes public attitudes toward persons with highly visible disabilities. Walker based Sabina on characters she knew existed in the 1920s and 1930s carnival sideshow
Sideshow
In America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair or other such attraction.- Types of attractions :There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:...
s with names like Lobster Girl or Lobster Boy. These were typically the best jobs people with ectrodactyly could have, with most others being hidden away.
Walker furthered her acting career in 2006 by appearing as an inspirational woman with ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly
Ectrodactyly, sometimes referred to as the “Lobster-Claw Syndrome” involves the deficiency or absence of one or more central digits of the hand or foot and is also known as split hand/split foot malformation...
on the fourth season premiere of Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
.
Purchase of Camp Casey
In June 2007, it was announced that Walker had purchased Cindy SheehanCindy Sheehan
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended anti-war protest at a makeshift camp outside President...
's 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) "Camp Casey
Camp Casey, Crawford, Texas
Camp Casey was the name given to the encampment of anti-war protesters outside the Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas during US President George W...
" site in Crawford, Texas for $87,000, in response to Sheehan's May 26, 2007 announcement that she would be selling the property and ending her antiwar activities. Sheehan handed the deed to Walker during her June 9, 2007 broadcast of "The Bree Walker show.". Walker has preserved the property as a peace memorial and garden and keeps it open to antiwar protesters. It is featured prominently on Walker's website.
Personal life
She has been married and divorced three times. She has a daughter with her second husband, and a son with her third ex-husband, Jim LampleyJim Lampley
James "Jim" Lampley is an American sportscaster, news anchor, movie producer, and restaurant owner. Lampley has anchored a record 14 Olympic Games U.S. television broadcasts, most recently the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China....
. She and her children were also featured on an episode of TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
's My Unique Family; she refuses to answer questions about her silicone lip implants, which have begun to slip in recent years. Her son and daughter both have ectrodactyly; Walker reacted very strongly on her blog to Oprah Winfrey's implication that a "normal" child would have all their fingers and their toes.
Her surname is taken from her second husband.
External links
- Bree Walker official site
- Larry King Live transcript
- Diane Bell, "Of Bree, HBO and ectrodactyly", San Diego Union Tribune newspaper, January 25, 2005
- Ability Magazine interview and biography