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Fairy
Tales host, John Walsh |
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John "Chon"
Walsh
Host of "America's Most Wanted:
America Fights Back"
A tireless advocate for victim's rights and
missing children, John Walsh has turned his
passion for justice into the nation's number-one
crime-fighting show, America's Most Wanted:
America Fights Back. Walsh is no stranger
to violent crime; in fact, his incredibly
successful career as a host of a nationally
televised program, and as an advocate for
victim's rights, was a career Walsh never
anticipated.
In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner
in a hotel management company in Hollywood,
Florida. He was living the American dream.
He and his wife, Reve, had a beautiful six-year-old
son, Adam, the joy of their lives. They never
thought crime could touch them. But that joy
was shattered on July 27th, 1981, when Adam
was abducted and later found murdered. The
Walshs' have never received the closure that
America's Most Wanted has brought the
lives of so many crime victims. The prime
suspect in Adam's murder, Ottis Toole, was
never charged in the Adam Walsh case; he died
in prison while serving life for other crimes
taking the truth to the grave with him.
The story of the Walsh family's tragedy has
been dramatized in the 1983 NBC television
movie, Adam, and a 1986 sequel, Adam:
His Song Continues. Following the airing
of the broadcasts, a roll of missing children
was featured, leading to the recovery of 65
youngsters.
It wasn't long after Adam's death that the
Walshes turned their grief into positive energy
to help missing and exploited children. Battling
bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares,
John and Reve's work led to the passage of
the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing
Children's Assistance Act of 1984. The latter
Bill founded the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, which maintains
a toll-free hotline number (1-800-THE-LOST)
to report a missing child or the sighting
of one.
In their son's memory, they also founded the
Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a
non-profit organization dedicated to legislative
reform. Recently, the centers, originally
located in West Palm Beach, Florida, Columbia,
South Carolina, Orange County, California,
and Rochester, New York, merged with the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Walsh serves on the board of directors of
the National Center.
Back in 1984, Esquire Magazine voted
John Walsh "one of the best of the new
generation"; since then, Walsh's endless
quest for justice has been trumpeted across
the pages of newspapers and magazines around
the nation including The Washington Post,
the Los Angeles Times, and, recently,
People Magazine, where Walsh was named
one of the 50 Most Beautiful People for
1996. And CBS portraits named him one
of the 100 Americans Who Changed History.
Law Enforcement officials around the nation
have also honored Walsh for his efforts. In
1988 he was named the U.S. Marshals Man
Of The Year, and two years later received
the same honor from the FBI " the Bureau's
highest civilian award. Walsh has received
hundreds of other honors, including the 1984
Father of the Year Award from the National
Father's Day Committee. Walsh is the only
private citizen to receive a Special Recognition
Award by a U.S. Attorney General, and he's
been honored in the Rose Garden four times
by three presidents: Clinton, Bush, and Reagan
(twice).
Today, Walsh continues his lobbying efforts,
testifying before Congress and state legislatures
on crime, missing children and victims' issues.
His latest efforts include lobbying for a
Constitutional Amendment for victims' rights.
He has also started a production company,
Straight Shooter Productions, in partnership
with America's Most Wanted Executive
Producer, Lance Heflin. In its first year,
the company syndicated the wildly popular
Manhunter in 45 countries and created
the syndicated America's Most Wanted: Final
Justice here in the United States. In
1995, Walsh executive produced the highly
rated made-for-TV movie If Looks Could
Kill (in which he made his acting debut
" portraying himself); and received his
first prime-time Emmy nomination for Street
Smart Kids, a labor of love he created
and produced for the FOX network.
John Walsh is also the author of a best-selling
book, TEARS OF RAGE: From Grieving
Father to Crusader For Justice " The
Untold Story of the Adam Walsh Case. The
book was released in September of 1997.
Mr. Walsh's second book, NO MERCY,
Walsh discusses hunt for the worst criminals
of our time in shattering true crime stories.
This book was released in October of 1998.
Walsh, born December 26, 1945, maintains his
Washington, D.C. residence with his wife Reve,
and their three children.
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| * All text
from this bio is © America's
Most Wanted |
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