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Comedian Johnny Walker, 79, passed away in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Johnny Walker, whose real name was Badruddin Qazi, was born in Indore in 1925 and worked as a bus conductor before entering the movie industry.
It was his friend, philosopher, and guide, actor-filmmaker Guru Dutt, who re-christened him after the famous whisky label.
He once told a magazine that had it not been for Dutt, he would have continued entertaining passengers in his original profession as a bus conductor. It was Dutt who spotted Walker hanging around the film studios and offered him a break with Baazi.
Walker never looked back; he developed his own unique brand of humour and went on to become one of Indian cinema's most memorable comedians
Walker worked frequently with directors of the calibre of Dutt, Raj Khosla, B R Chopra, Vijay Anand and Bimal Roy amongst others and in all-time favourite films like Chori Chori, Madhumati, Pyaasa, CID, Naya Daur and Mere Mehboob.
Though known for his comedy, he could easily make people cry as he did in the climax of the unforgettable Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, Anand.
His last film was Kamal Haasan's Chachi 420, for which he returned to the screen after a long gap of 14 years.
Johnny Walker on rediff.com
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