Former TV news anchorman Jim Walker has a new name and a shocking new career. After over 20 years in the public eye working as both a reporter and an anchorman, Jim Walker decided he had enough. The reason? Apparently Walker wasn’t having “enough fun” reporting on hurricanes and traffic conditions and local high-speed chases. That was when former anchorman Jim Walker, originally from California, decided to cut his ties with the news industry and follow a new career path.
Ultimately, Jim Walker decided to lose his name and his conservative image and take a swing at the world of gay adult film. Four years after dropping the mic and walking away from his respectable career as an anchorman, he pursued a slightly less socially acceptable career as a gay adult film star.
“That didn’t necessarily have me walking from there to a porn set. There were four years in between where I basically contemplated what I was going to do next. And when a friend of mine suggested I do movies, I said, ‘I’ve got to do something.'”
Needless to say, it was quite a leap for former anchorman Jim Walker. The 44-year-old even changed his name to something more “career appropriate.” In gay adult film circles, Walker is now known by the moniker Dallas Steele.
Ultimately, it looks like the former anchorman made a solid vertical career move, even if he now spends his time earning hardcore adult film titles (yes, those are a thing, and Jim Walker has taken home 11 of them) rather than sitting behind a news desk.
According to Jim Walker, who now largely goes by his newly adopted name, over roughly 23 years he had worked as an anchorman and news reporter all across the country. He’s had jobs with CBS, Fox, and NBC affiliates, with his last stint as an anchorman being in South Florida. The kicker that prompted anchorman Jim Walker to become former anchorman Jim Walker? One measly focus group with results that were akin to a kick in the teeth.
According to Walker, his boss told him one day that the focus group indicated that his South Florida TV viewers simply didn’t like him. Maybe it was something about his face? No one really knows, but the news that he was simply disliked by locals prompted former anchorman Jim Walker to do some soul searching and begin contemplating a change in his career and his life.
At the time, however, Jim Walker had been in a committed relationship. That relationship ended roughly two years prior to the former anchorman transitioning from TV camera to adult film set. The reason? His partner passed away, leaving former anchorman Jim Walker to make some tough, life-changing career decisions.
According to former anchorman Jim Walker, Dallas Steele wasn’t born overnight. Nor did he dislike reporting the news. He was just sick and tired of the anchorman bureaucracy and figuratively jumping through hoops to make unremarkable news into ratings-boosting stories.
“You know, I loved telling news, I loved breaking news and I loved telling good stories. But I didn’t like the continuous bulls––t that management put you through and the constant pressure to sensationalize and exaggerate what was really true just to boost ratings.”
Despite ultimately giving up on his career as an anchorman, Walker admits that he has greatly benefited from his former career and his previous life in front of a TV camera. During his career as an anchorman, Walker was nominated for regional Emmys twice. He also claims to have interviewed Hillary Clinton as well as every still-living U.S. president. Not bad for a former anchorman. According to Jim Walker, his previous work experience sets him apart from his fellow “porn guys.”
At six feet three inches tall and 240 pounds with a physically fit and imposing physique, former anchorman Jim Walker says that being a gay adult film star isn’t a career, but rather a bridge to something bigger and better.
[Featured Image by Nick Starichenko/Shutterstock]