Can you believe “America’s Most Wanted” has been on the air for nineteen years now? It’s one of the longest-running programs in television history, and – unfortunately – it will probably never be lacking for material. To promote a few significant episodes of the show that will be airing in November and will include appeararances by Bernie Kosar, Daryl Hannah, and Rev. Al Sharpton, the Fox Network set up a teleconference with the show’s host, John Walsh…and we were able to get in a pair of questions.
Bullz-Eye: Hi, John, how are you?
John Walsh: Good, William, how are you?
BE: Not bad. I know you mentioned the various celebrities you’re having on the show this month. Are you regularly contacted by celebrities who want to assist with the show?
JW: Over the years, we’ve been contacted by lots of celebrities. For example, we did a case in Nashville, Tennessee, of a wonderful guy by the name of Skull Schulman who ran a bar that was the kick-off point for many country and western stars…and many of them – in that example, Willie Nelson, Tanya Tucker, and about ten other stars – asked us to profile the senseless murder of Skull Schulman. He was beaten to death for, I think, about sixty dollars at the closing of this bar, and we caught two guys. One was in prison, the other guy was in a homeless shelter; I don’t think they ever would’ve been caught if the celebrities hadn’t brought the case to “America’s Most Wanted.” So we’ve done lots of cases over the years where different celebrities or sports figures have reached out to us and said, look, this is a friend or relative or mentor, someone who has helped me in my life, could you maybe put this on “America’s Most Wanted”? So it’s not unusual. We’ve done a lot of them over the years.
BE: And one other question. Not too long ago, you were immortalized in comic book form in the DC series, “Outsiders.” How bizarre was that for you, and how did that come about?
JW: Well, I’ll tell you, I considered it an honor. I had been the only guy ever written into the “Dick Tracy” comic strip, I’ve been characterized on “South Park” and all those things my kids think are very cool. I have a 12-year-old and a 21-year-old son, and they think that’s cool. But the “Outsiders” actually reached out to me, the guys who write and draw that very successful comic book wanted to team up with me and have some of the Outsiders who were, in the fictionalized world, victims of sexual abuse. One of the girl characters had been a sex slave to a pimp, and they wanted to create a comic book with awareness about exploitation for children and to track these guys down. And I looked at it as a real honor, actually. I mean, the storyline was very, very serious. They approached it in a very serious way; it was kind of an educational way. And I thought…it really was an honor. They’re very, very talented people; it’s a hugely successful comic book. But as my 12-year-old son said to me, “Dad, you gave a pretty good message in that comic book, and it was pretty cool.”
BE: Great, thanks very much.
JW: Thank you.
