Harry Walker, 85; Founded Celebrated Speakers Bureau in ’46
Harry Walker, 85, the founder of the speakers agency that counts former Presidents Clinton and Ford among its clients, died July 27 in Burlington, Mass., of complications from surgery.
The Harry Walker Agency represents other former heads of state, including Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto and Israel’s Ehud Barak, along with former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger. The agency also represents celebrities such as Beverly Sills and television journalist Bill Moyers.
Walker was born in Poland, and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 4. They settled in Manhattan, and he graduated from Yeshiva University. He later earned a master’s degree in social work from the Jewish Institute of Religion.
Walker founded his speakers agency in 1946. Two years later, he signed the American-Christian Palestine Committee, a Zionist group, whose speakers were widely popular at a time when Israel was becoming a nation.
After retiring as president of the agency in 1985, Walker remained as a consultant to his son Don, who took over as president, and as honorary board chairman.
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