Jimmie Walker's 'Dyn-o-mite!' almost didn't happen

Jimmie Walker's famous "Dyn-o-mite" catchphrase has taken on a life of its own, but the Good Times star said it nearly didn't happen.

“When it came up, John Rich was our director. John Rich loved it,” Walker said at a panel at the Television Critics Association events this week. “But our executive producer was Norman Lear. And Norman Lear’s one of these guys who really likes to do story and cares about the whole thing, characters. Norman Lear detested it. He hated it. It literally made him throw up.”

The phrase became a staple for Walker's J.J., and later took on a life of its own beyond the show, which ran from 1974 to 1979. It's a success he says he never anticipated.

"I said, ‘John, you cannot just stand in front of people with no storyline and say dyn-o-mite in the middle of a room,” Walker recalled. “People will never buy it. They’re not that stupid.’ And John Rich says, ‘Yes, they are.’”

Walker said he does invoke it when he does standup, but he can't rest on his past roles.

"I never really did it in my act, but now I’ve incorporated it in a very nice, tasty way in the act and it works great,” he said. “You just can’t come on as a character and say, ‘Hi. I was on a show. Thank you. I’ll take my money now.’ They want to see you do something.”

[The Wrap]