S. David Walker, the legendary Svengali pitchman, has died.

A truly sad day! RIP David!

RIP Mr. Walker

I just got the phone call.I'll miss him that's for sure.

Don

R.I.P. Sir David Walker

./sam

David is gone.

He will no longer take a pack of cards and make them walk, talk, jump through a hoop or do a tap dance on the table.

He will live forever in the hearts of anyone that ever pitched. One of his favorite shows was "One for the Angels" from the Twilight Zone, Season 1, episode 2. In that show a pitchman takes on death.

That is probably what David is doing right now...though David has crossed over and the tip has death and filled with angels I am sure he is turning them right now.

I never met anyone like him...part pitchman, part hustler, with a twinkle in the eye that reminded me of the Wizard of Oz. He was the best talker I ever met.

He will be greatly missed.

S. David Walker at the second Senior Pitchmen Reunion, 2010:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUuORXKS21k&feature=colike

See you back on the lot, David.

David, thanks for all the time you spent with me and the other young magicians that showed up every Wednesday night at Gary Darwin's Club. Seeing this today made a flood of memories flash through my mind of the people that walked through those doors in the back room of that Chinese restarurante that are no longer with us; Jimmy Grippo, Johnny Paul, Don Alan just to mention a few. Even though you were known for your Svengali Pitch, I still us to this day the set up you should me for the invisible deck...one of the best tips I ever got. RIP David

I never talked to this amazing character who I saw at the Dallas State Fair many years ago... but without his life long work... many of us would never have been able to do what we have done pitching live or on TV. I had to join the Café, just to say good bye to the Godfather of the Pitch. Don... your up now!

I never met a man I admired more, in this business, than Davit Walker. He epitimizes the saying, "He forgot more than I'll ever know about the Svengali deck."

Jon

Found this on YouTube and about lost it at 4:37

I remember growing up in Kansas City, Mo. Every year my mother would take me the American Royal horse show in the stockyards of K.C. For me, the one thing I remember is David pitching Svengali Decks. I was a young magic enthusiast of 9 or 10 years old. I would literally stand on the stairs for hours by his table, watching every minute of his pitch. I would always buy a few decks from him every year. Ofcourse I had no idea I was watching a legend. He was always kind and very helpful to this young magician. He even showed me a beautiful version of the Top Palm which I use to this day. I'm sure he touched millions of people. RIP David.

If you have my book, LORAYNE: THE CLASSIC COLLECTION, Vol. 1 (sold out long ago) look at page 72 - to see a photo of S. David Walker and me pitching Svengalis -- 1949. Both in our early twenties. We used to make our own Svengali decks out of regular decks. I've written about this --- when we wanted a spot in an area where we wanted to pitch, but didn't have the money to pay for it - one of us would keep the manager busy while the other would do a quick set up (tripes & keester) and a quick pitch - to "get" that money. David and I spent a long time together --- even slept together in a mens bathroom in one small town when we had no money for a motel.

We put the pitch together ourselves - never saw a better one!!

I love hearing these stories of the original pitchmen grafting their way, thanks Harry

The pitch to which tyou refer: has it ever been published?

I enjoyed that anecdote, too, Harry! I remember a carny magician teaching me how to pitch the Buddha Papers, as we walked to the grab joint, when he had sloughed his joint for the evening. I was breaking in, with magic and fire eating, in a ten in one. Ah! those "good old days"!