Jimmy Walker


James John Walker, known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced to resign during a corruption scandal.

Early life and political career

Walker was the son of Irish-born William H. Walker, a carpenter and lumberyard owner who was very active in local politics as a Democratic assemblyman and alderman from Greenwich Village, belying certain accounts of Walker's childhood that stated he grew up in poverty. Walker was not the best of students and dropped out of college before eventually graduating from New York Law School in 1904. Walker's father wanted him to become a lawyer and politician. Walker at first decided that he would rather write songs and be involved in the music industry but he eventually entered politics in 1909 and subsequently passed the bar exam in 1912.
Walker was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1915 to 1925, sitting in the 138th, 139th, 140th, 141st, 142nd, 143rd, 144th, 145th, 146th, 147th and 148th New York State Legislatures ; and was Minority Leader from 1920 to 1922; Temporary President of the State Senate from 1923 to 1924; and Minority Leader again in 1925. In the Senate he strongly opposed Prohibition.

Running for mayor, 1925

After his years in the Senate, Walker set his sights on the 1925 election for Mayor of New York. Beginning with the 1925 Democratic primary for mayor, Walker knew that to ultimately win the mayoral election he had to defeat the mayor, John Francis Hylan. Walker's reputation as a flamboyant man-about-town made him a hero to many working-class voters; he was often seen at legitimate theaters and illegitimate speakeasies. Walker was a clothes horse: his valet packed 43 suits for his trip to Europe in August 1927. On the other hand, his reputation for tolerating corruption made him suspect to middle-class and moralistic voters. Governor Alfred E. Smith was his mentor. Smith was a staunch supporter since Walker backed many social and cultural issues that were considered politically important such as social welfare legislation, legalization of boxing, repeal of blue laws against Sunday baseball games, condemning the Ku Klux Klan and especially their mutual opposition to Prohibition.
Smith knew the secret to how Walker won the election, and overcoming his tarnished reputation was for Smith to guide Walker's every move. Smith used his base in the strong political machine of Tammany Hall to secure this victory. Finally, Walker himself had to be willing to change some of his more unscrupulous ways or at least provide a cover for his indiscretions. As with many of the things in Walker's life, he chose the latter. Instead of ending his visits to the speakeasies and his friendships with chorus girls, he took those activities behind the closed doors of a penthouse funded by Tammany Hall.
Walker defeated Hylan in the Democratic primary, and, after defeating Republican mayoral candidate Frank D. Waterman in the general election, he became mayor of New York.

Mayor, 1926–1932

In his initial years as mayor, Walker saw the city prosper and many public works projects gain traction. In his first year, Walker created the Department of Sanitation, unified New York's public hospitals, improved many parks and playgrounds, and guided the Board of Transportation to enter into contract for the construction of an expanded subway system. Under Walker's administration, new highways and a dock for superliners were also built. He even managed to maintain the five-cent subway fare despite a threatened strike by the workers.
Walker's term was also known for the proliferation of speakeasies during Prohibition. It is a noted aspect of his career as mayor and as a member of the State Senate that Walker was strongly opposed to Prohibition. As mayor, Walker led his administration in challenging the Eighteenth Amendment by replacing the police commissioner with an inexperienced former state banking commissioner. The new police commissioner immediately dissolved the Special Service Squad. Since Walker did not feel that drinking was a crime, he discouraged the police from enforcing Prohibition law or taking an active role unless it was to curb excessive violations or would prove to be newsworthy. His affairs with "chorus girls" were widely known, and he left his wife, Janet, for showgirl Betty Compton. The first U.S. arrival in New York City of best known Anastasia Romanov impostor, Anna Anderson, in 1928 and the eventual public denial of her by the exiled Romanovs and return to Germany in 1931 also occurred during Walker's mayoralty.
Walker was re-elected by an overwhelming margin in 1929, defeating Socialist Norman Thomas. Walker's fortunes turned downward with the economy after the stock-market crash of 1929. Patrick Joseph Hayes, the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, denounced him, implying that the immorality of the mayor, both personal and political in tolerating "girlie magazines" and casinos was a cause of the economic downturn. It was one of the causes that led to Tammany Hall's pulling its support for Walker.

Scandal and resignation

Increasing social unrest led to investigations into corruption within his administration, and he was eventually forced to testify before the investigative committee of Judge Samuel Seabury, the Seabury Commission. Walker caused his own downfall by accepting large sums of money from businessmen looking for municipal contracts.
One surprise witness in the Seabury investigation was Vivian Gordon. She informed the investigators that women were falsely arrested and accused of prostitution by the New York City Police Department. Police officers were given more money in their paychecks. After her testimony, Gordon was suspiciously found strangled in a park in the Bronx. That demonstrated to New Yorkers that corruption could lead to terrible consequences and that Walker might ultimately, in some way, be responsible for her death.
With New York City appearing as a symbol of corruption under Mayor Walker, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt knew he had to do something about Walker and his administration. Knowing that the state constitution could allow an elected mayor to be removed from office, Roosevelt felt compelled to do so but risked losing Tammany Hall's support for the Democratic nomination. On the other hand, if Roosevelt did nothing or let Walker off, the national newspapers would consider him weak.
Facing pressure from Roosevelt, Walker eluded questions about his personal bank accounts, stating instead that the amounts he received were "beneficences" and not bribes. He delayed any personal appearances until after Roosevelt's nomination was secured. It was then that the embattled mayor could fight no longer. Months from his national election, Roosevelt decided that he must remove Walker from office. Walker agreed and resigned on September 1, 1932. He went on a grand tour of Europe with Compton, his Ziegfeld girl. He announced on November 12, 1932, while aboard the SS Conte Grande, that he had "no desire or intention of ever holding public office again." Walker stayed in Europe until the danger of criminal prosecution appeared remote. There, he married Compton.

Later life and legacy

After his return to the United States, Walker acted as head of Majestic Records, which included such popular performing artists as Louis Prima and Bud Freeman. He died at the age of 65 of a brain hemorrhage. He was interred in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.
When Walker was a member of the New York State Senate, he sponsored the "Walker Law" to legalize boxing in New York. He was honored a number of times over the years by the boxing community. Walker is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and was given the Edward J. Neil Trophy in 1945 for his service to the sport.
He also spent many summers in Atlantic Beach, NY, sometimes during his term as mayor, and after, as he was friends with the founder, William Austin

In popular culture

A romanticized version of Walker's tenure as mayor was presented in the 1957 film Beau James, starring Bob Hope. This was a somewhat accurate depiction of Walker, who during his time as mayor had become a symbol of the jazz age romanticism. The film was based on a biography of Walker, also titled Beau James, written by Gene Fowler. A song by Dean Martin, similarly titled "Beau James", presented a highly idealized and romantic interpretation of his tenure as mayor. A book was also the basis of Jimmy, a stage musical about Walker that had a brief Broadway run from October 1969 to January 1970. The show starred Frank Gorshin as Walker and Anita Gillette as Betty Compton. There is also a song about Walker in the stage musical Fiorello!, "Gentleman Jimmy".
Footage of Walker is used in the 1983 Woody Allen film Zelig, with Walker being one of the guests during Zelig's visit to William Randolph Hearst's mansion in San Simeon, California.
The 1935 novel It Can't Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis, lists the exiles in Paris as "Jimmy Walker, and a few ex-presidents from South America and Cuba".
Walker was referenced in "Last Call", the December 6, 2010, episode of the ABC television series Castle.
The political and criminal activity surrounding Walker's 1929 campaign features heavily in Tom Bradby's 2009 novel Blood Money.