JOHN WALSH

Living Life with a Mission

Monday, March 3 at 7:30pm · Mountainlair Ballroom

A tireless advocate for victims’ rights and missing children, John Walsh has turned his passion into the nation’s number one crime-fighting show, Fox’s America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back. Then, in the fall of last year, NBC daytime launched The John Walsh Show – a new platform for Walsh to comment on current events and issues that are of concern to him. Walsh is no stranger to violent crime; in fact, his incredibly successful career as a host of a nationally televised program and as an advocate for victims’ rights was a career Walsh never anticipated.

In the summer of 1981, Walsh was a partner in a hotel management company in Hollywood, Florida. He was living the American dream. He and his wife, Reve, had a beautiful six-year-old son, Adam, the joy of their lives. They never thought crime could touch them. But that joy was shattered on July 27, 1981, when Adam was abducted and later found murdered. The Walshes have never received the closure that America’s Most Wanted has brought the lives of so many crime victims. The prime suspect in Adam’s murder, Ottis Toole, was never charged in the Adam Walsh case; he died in prison while serving life for other crimes – taking the truth to the grave with him.

The story of the Walsh family’s tragedy has been dramatized in the 1983 NBC television movie, Adam, and a 1986 sequel, Adam: His Song Continues. Following the airing of the broadcasts, a roll of missing children was featured, leading to the recovery of 65 youngsters.

It wasn’t long after Adam’s death that the Walshes turned their grief into positive energy to help missing and exploited children. Battling bureaucratic resistance and legislative nightmares, the Walshes’ work led to the passage of the Missing Children Act of 1982 and the Missing Children’s Assistance Act of 1984. The latter founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which maintains a toll-free hotline number (1-800-THE-LOST) to report a missing child or the sighting of one.

In their son’s memory, they also founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to legislative reform. Recently, the center merged with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Walsh serves on the board of directors of the National Center.

Walsh’s endless quest for justice has been trumpeted across the pages of newspapers and magazines around the nation, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Esquire and People magazines. CBS Portraits also named him one of the “100 Americans Who Changed History.”

Law enforcement officials around the nation have also honored Walsh for his efforts. In 1988 he was named the U.S. Marshals Man of the Year and, two years later, received the same honor from the FBI – the bureau’s highest civilian award. Among Walsh’s additional honors is the 1984 Father of the Year Award from the National Father’s Day Committee. Walsh is the only private citizen to receive a Special Recognition Award by a U.S. Attorney General, and he’s been honored in the White House rose garden four times by three presidents – Clinton, Bush, and Reagan (twice).

Today, Walsh continues his lobbying efforts, testifying before Congress and state legislatures on crime, missing children, and victims’ issues. He appeared at Ground Zero following the September 11th attacks to highlight the bravery and sacrifices of New York’s police and fire departments. More recently, Walsh was asked by Colin Powell and President Bush to do special America’s Most Wanted featuring the 22 terrorists that now top the FBI’s most wanted list.

He has also started a production company – Straight Shooter Productions – in partnership with America’s Most Wanted Executive Producer Lance Heflin. In its first year, the company syndicated the wildly popular Manhunter in 45 countries and created the syndicated America’s Most Wanted: Final Justice here in the United States. In 1995, Walsh served as executive producer on the highly rated made-for-television movie If Looks Could Kill (where he portrayed himself) and received his first prime time Emmy nomination for Street Smart Kids that he created and produced for the FOX network.

Walsh has also written three books – the bestseller Tears of Rage -- From Grieving Father to Crusader for Justice: The Untold Story of the Adam Walsh Case; No Mercy; and Public Enemies: The Host of America’s Most Wanted Targets the Nation’s Most Notorious Criminals.