Actor/comedian Jimmie Walker found fame as James Evans Jr., a.k.a. ‘J.J.’, on the classic TV sitcom, Good Times (CBS, 1974-1979). But he grew up poor in New York City. For Jimmie Walker, his early life was a challenge. His mother worked as a teacher’s aid to support their family. As Walker told author Peggy Herz in the book, TV’s Top Ten Shows and Their Stars, “There were twenty guys I hung out with on the street. Five of ’em were dead before they were old enough to vote.”