Walker Robert Edmiston (February 6, 1926 – February 15, 2007) was an American actor and puppeteer.
Early years Walker Edmiston was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 6, 1926, to William Sherman Edmiston (1894–1976) and Anna Edmiston (née Anderson, 1887–1967)."United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWH-4GPF : Tue Feb 25 14:51:18 UTC 2025), Entry for Walker R Edmiston and William S Edmiston. Edmiston participated in local theater productions during his high school years. He later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Career In the 1950s, Edmiston worked on puppet shows on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. His voice was heard on the puppet programs The Buffalo Billy Show and Time for Beany and on Dumbo's Circus, which included live action and animation. He was also a member of the cast of Lidsville and voiced characters on Pandamonium. He appeared in character roles on several TV programs during the 1950s through the '70s, including the Star Trek episode “The Corbomite Maneuver” as the voice of Balok. He also appeared in Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, Adam-12, The Bob Newhart Show and The Dukes of Hazzard. He also played a character based on "Chester" in "Gun-Shy," the Maverick parody of Gunsmoke starring James Garner. In 1966, Edmiston had a recurring role as Regan in the short-lived ABC comedy western series The Rounders with co-stars Ron Hayes, Patrick Wayne, and Chill Wills.
Edmiston also did many television commercials and animated character voices, such as Ernie the elf in hundreds of commercials for the cookie products of the Keebler Company, and voices for characters on H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos from the studios of Sid and Marty Krofft, as well as a recurring role as Enik the Altrusian in Land of the Lost. He also did many character voices on the Focus on the Family radio program, Adventures in Odyssey, in which he played Tom Riley, Bart Rathbone, and numerous other one-shot characters for more than twenty years. Following Edmiston's death, both characters were retired from the show.
Some of his voice credits were under the stage name Walter Edmiston. In 1985, he voiced the Autobot Inferno in The Transformers.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, he hosted The Walker Edmiston Show, a children's television program in Los Angeles, California. The program featured puppets of his own creation including Kingsley the Lion, Ravenswood the Buzzard, and Callie the Cat.
In 1962, Edmiston and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he began a daily puppet show on KOOL-TV. He was also a stage director at Children's Theater in Phoenix.
Personal life and death Edmiston married Evelyn in 1950, and together they had two children, daughters Andria and Erin. Evelyn died in 1998.
Edmiston died from cancer in Woodland Hills, California on February 15, 2007. He was cremated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His urn was entombed in a columbarium within the Abbey of Psalms Mausoleum afterwards.
Filmography
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1962The FlintstonesJ. Montague Gypsum (voice)Episode: "This Is Your Lifesaver"1966–1968Star Trek: The Original SeriesBalok, SS Deirdre, Provider (voice)3 episodes1967The MonkeesNewspaper PublisherEpisode: "Monkee Mayor"1967The Wild Wild WestPreacherEpisode: "The Night of the Turncoat"1969–1970H.R. PufnstufVarious voices17 episodes1970–1971The BugaloosVarious voices17 episodes1971BonanzaAuctioneerEpisode: "Cassie"1971–1973LidsvilleVarious voices17 episodes1972Mission: ImpossiblePeter WileyEpisode: "Casino"1973–1975Sigmund and the Sea MonstersSigmund (voice)Main cast1974–1976Land of the LostEnik, Jefferson Collie16 episodes1975Trilogy of TerrorZuni Warrior Doll (voice)Television film; uncredited A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.1977–1982Little House on the PrairieMr. Deerling, Dr. Moore, Mr. Stohler, Dr. Vanderan4 episodes1977The Bob Newhart ShowSergeant WebberEpisode: "Desperate Sessions"1977The WaltonsFranklin D. Roosevelt, Edward MurrowEpisode: "The Hiding Place"1981–1984The Dukes of HazzardProfessor Crandall2 episodes1981Buck Rogers in the 25th CenturyKoldar (voice)Episode: "The Dorian Secret"1981Spider-ManMagneto (voice)Episode: "When Magneto Speaks... People Listen"1981Spider-Man and His Amazing FriendsKingpin, Frankenstein's Monster (voice)2 episodes1982PandamoniumAlgeron (voice)13 episodes1985–1986Dumbo's CircusSebastian (voice)82 episodes1985–1986The TransformersInferno (voice)17 episodes1987–2006Adventures in OdysseyBart Rathbone, Tom Riley (voice)27 episodes1988ABC Weekend SpecialCatso (voice)Episode: "Runaway Ralph"1989–1991Adventures of the Gummi BearsSir Thornberry (voice)6 episodes1997Spider-Man: The Animated SeriesRobert Frank / Whizzer (voice)3 episodes2006Ben 10Marty, Ice Cream Employee (voice)Episode: "Permanent Retirement"2006Avatar: The Last AirbenderFire Lord Azulon (voice)Episode: "Zuko Alone"
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1947Smoked HamsWally Walrus (voice)Uncredited1954By Word of MouseLecturer (voice)Uncredited1961Everything's DuckyScuttlebutt (voice)1962HitlerS.S. ManUncredited1965The Beach Girls and the MonsterMark1966StagecoachCheyenne Wells Fargo AgentUncredited1968The Green BeretsLt. MooreUncredited1970PufnstufVarious voices1971Escape from the Planet of the ApesGorilla, Milo (voice)Uncredited One More Train to RobEngineerUncreditedWilly Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryMr. Slugworth, Mr. Wilkinson (voice)Uncredited1974Down and Dirty DuckOld Prospector (voice)1980Wholly Moses!God (voice)1981Scared to DeathDennis Warren1984The BearDr. Rose1986The Transformers: The MovieInferno (voice)Scenes deletedThe Great Mouse DetectiveThug (voice)1990Dick TracyRadio Announcer (voice)1995Whisper of the HeartKita (voice)English dub
References
External links
CONELRAD Appreciation (archived) Walker Edmiston at Mark Evanier's News From Me (14 articles, from 1996 through to 2007 obituary)