James Leland Walters Jr. (born June 13, 1969) is an American actor and singer, best known for his roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and The Heights and singing lead vocal on "How Do You Talk to an Angel".[2]
Jamie Walters | |
|---|---|
 Walters in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Leland Walters Jr. |
| Born | June 13, 1969[1] Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Origin | Marblehead, Massachusetts |
| Genres | Pop rock |
| Occupations | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1982–2003, 2019 |
| Labels | Capitol, Atlantic |
| Spouse |
Patricia Walters
(m. 2002; div. 2015) |
| Website | MySpace |
Career
editWalters was born in Boston, Massachusetts,[3] and grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts.[4] After graduating from high school, he attended New York University and studied film for two years and studied acting at The Actors Space in New York City.[5]
While attending college, he was discovered at a bank by a casting agent who placed him in three high-profile commercials for Levi's 501 Jeans. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting and musical career. He played a bit role on Everyday Heroes. His film debut came in 1991 with the movie Shout, alongside John Travolta, Heather Graham, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Walters performed the song "Rockin' the Pad" on the Shout soundtrack album.
In 1992, Aaron Spelling cast Walters as the lead on the Fox series The Heights, in which he also sang the theme song "How Do You Talk to an Angel?." The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 14, 1992.[2] It was also nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics". (The award went to Liza Minnelli.) The show was canceled by Fox, but it launched his music career when Atlantic Records took an interest in Walters and signed him to a recording contract.
In October 1994, he started playing Ray Pruit on Beverly Hills, 90210; he was the musician-boyfriend of Donna (played by Tori Spelling), a role he played for one season.[citation needed]
On September 20, 1994, Walters released his self-titled debut album Jamie Walters. The first single from the album, "Hold On", peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100,[6] and number 76 in Australia.[7] The album sold over 1 million copies and was certified platinum.[8]
In 1997, he released his second album Ride. It was certified gold.[8] A third album, Believed, followed in 2002. In 2009, he appeared in the VH1 reality show Confessions of a Teen Idol, in which former teen idols attempt to resurrect their careers.[9] He became a firefighter and paramedic in 2002.
Personal life
editIn 2002, Walters married Patricia Walters; they have three children. She filed for divorce in 2015.[10]
Filmography
editFilm
edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Everyday Heroes | Erik Linderman | TV movie |
| 1991 | Bed & Breakfast | Mitch | |
| Shout | Jesse Tucker | ||
| 1994 | Vanishing Son II | Reggie Valmont | TV movie |
| Vanishing Son IV | Reggie Valmont | ||
| 1995 | Burnzy's Last Call | Shannon | |
| 1996 | God's Lonely Man | Hustler | |
| 2000 | The Mumbo Jumbo | Thomas Doubting |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 & 1992 | Quantum Leap | Young Max Al 'Bingo' Calavicci |
Episodes: "Genesis: Part 1" & "A Leap for Lisa" |
| 1991-1992 | The Young Riders | Frank James | Episodes: "The Initiation" & "'Til Death Do Us Part: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1992 | The Heights | Alex O'Brien | |
| 1994-1996 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Ray Pruit | Main role |
| 1999 | To Serve and Protect | Jeremy | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Dead Last | Vance Harmon | Episode: "To Live and Amulet Die" |
| 2019 | BH90210 | Himself | Episode: "Picture's Up" |
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- Jamie Walters (1994)
- Ride (1997)
- Believed (2002)
Singles
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [11] |
AUT [12] |
CAN [13] |
FIN [14] |
GER [12] |
NED [12] |
NZ [12] |
NOR [12] |
SWE [12] |
US [15] | |||||
| "Hold On" | 1994 | 76 | 18 | 9 | 5 | 83 | 41 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 16 | Jamie Walters | ||
| "Why" | 1995 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 105 | |||
| "Perfect World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Reckless" | 1997 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ride | ||
| "I'd Do Anything for You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
References
edit
- ^ "Today in history". The New York Times. Associated Press. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ^ a b "Top 10 TV Theme Songs 1980-2011". Billboard. September 23, 2011.
- ^ "On The Road Again". October 27, 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27.
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Jamie Walters > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Rodolpho, Adolfo; Talboo, A.J.; Jacobs, Adam (April 27, 1995). "Music Lifted TV's Jamie Walters". Toledo Blade.
- ^ Hold On - Jamie Walters | Billboard.com
- ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 03 Sep 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved July 4, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
- ^ a b "♫ Believed - Jamie Walters. Listen @cdbaby" – via store.cdbaby.com.
- ^ "Confessions of a Teen Idol VH1 Page". Archived from the original on 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
- ^ "'90210' Star Jamie Walters -- How Do You Talk to An Angel ... About Divorce?". TMZ.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 296.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jamie Walters – Hold On". australian-charts.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ "RPM100 Top Singles – Volume 61, No. 14 May 08, 1995". RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Jamie Walters". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 278. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of April 29, 1995". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
