In the Fifties, American car buyers expected bright colors and bold ideas, and Detroit delivered. Influential stylists like Harley Earl at GM and Chrysler’s Virgil Exner nearly became household names. Ford had its own luminary designer, although his work may be more familiar than his name.
George W. Walker was born in Chicago, in 1896. His father worked as an Erie Railroad conductor, which led the Walkers from Jersey City, to Barberton, Ohio, and finally to Cleveland.
At 15, George began playing football semi-professionally. By 25, he earned $40 per week as a halfback for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s team in Akron. Later, he played for the Cleveland Panthers, coached by the great Jim Thorpe.
A number of finger fractures and nose injuries led Walker away from the gridiron, and to the Cleveland School of Art. Later, he went to the Otis Art Institute, part of Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. As a graduate of both, he said, “I wanted to keep my head and my hands in one piece and not become a bum like my teachers predicted.”
After art school and nose surgery, George stayed in Cleveland, doing fashion illustrations as an art director. Then, as the automotive world was becoming more style-conscious, George moved his family to Detroit, where he opened his own design studio.
Walker’s studio designed all sorts of parts and products for several industrial accounts. Once, George presented a few small chrome items on black velvet instead of a plain desktop. As a result, he sold the items to Henry Ford, establishing what would become a long working relationship.
In 1935, Walker and his staff prepared a portfolio of automotive designs for Ford at a cost of $3000. Upon presentation, it fell apart in Henry’s hands, spilling the drawings on the floor. Ten years passed before they met again.
Walker was invited to Dearborn in 1946, to critique Ford’s proposal for the 1949 model. He said, “I told them it looked like George Walker bending over (I was fat then), and that it would never sell.” His firm had its own proposal ready in three months, which became the smooth-sided 1949 Ford.
This team styled the 1950 Lincoln, the 1951 Mercury, and the 1952 Ford. These foreshadowed their original Thunderbird. In 1955, Walker was named vice president and director, styling office, Ford car & truck division. Walker brought longtime collaborators, Elwood Engel and Joseph Oros. America was soon introduced to innovative vehicles like the Ranchero, Edsel and retractable convertibles.
George Walker served as vice president until Jun 1, 1961. He then retired to Gulfstream, Florida, where the 80-year-old became mayor in 1976. He was the director of two banks, and the Palm Beach County Hospital District. In the early Eighties, he designed his home (and its furniture) adjacent to a golf course in Tucson, Arizona. He died there at age 96.
By Adam Icenogle
George Walker 1896-1993