Sullivan Walker fought for ‘Caribbean Women’

Walker, 65, a father of one, died on Carnival Monday in his adopted Los Angeles home and his body was flown back to his native Trinidad for cremation.

And it was little wonder, that while paying special tribute to her husband of one year, an emotional Carol Mark-Walker said in spite of his success on the world stage as an actor, he never got Government support for his production of “Caribbean Woman.”

In June last year Walker returned home to stage the play “Caribbean Woman” at Hilton Trinidad, St Ann’s but he struggled to get the production off the ground.

Mark-Walker told the gathering, “I watched while he tried very hard to get money to produce the movie that he wanted to produce “Caribbean Woman,” to get his plays done, to get it done through the Ministry of Education. It seems as though, you are always good as the last play you do. Although everybody loves him so much, people who expressed interest in working with him did not support his plays.”

He was never so alive and happy as when putting the production of “Caribbean Woman” together, Mark-Walker said. She said he single-handedly put it together and it received rave reviews.

Members of the south arts fraternity were present to say goodbye to a man who although he walked among international celebrities never lost touch with his roots in San Fernando.

Speaking on behalf of the San Fernando Theatre Workshop and San Fernando Arts Council, James Lee Wah said he was responsible for casting Sullivan in his first role. Sullivan, he said, went on to be a fixture in plays at the Naparima Bowl. It was a monologue that Sullivan performed on “Scouting For Talent” in the 1960s that earned him a third place prize of a trip to New York that changed his life forever.

Lee Wah said Sullivan strove against all odds and “I don’t think that Trinidad is aware or appreciates the magnitude of the man. I can think of no other Trinidadian actor, not even the great Edric Connor or Errol John or Rudolph Walker, who made such an impact on stage.”

Sullivan, he said, always looked for a way to give back to Trinidad.

“He wanted to open a school to teach people acting. He was looking for a building to operate from. There he was offering his services to Trinidad because he loves this country. Trinidad does not have the institutional capacity to move the arts forward.”

Sullivan’s daughter Keela Walker delivered the eulogy and recalled the words of her father when he said, “I want to take Caribbean culture mainstream. We have to take the responsibility of educating America and the world as to who we are.”

Holly Betaudier, former host of the “Scouting For Talent” series, recalled Sullivan’s appearance on the finals of the show and how upon learning that he placed third he had refused to collect his prize. Betaudier said when he told him the prize was a trip to New York, Sullivan returned and collected it. The rest is history.

Sullivan’s most recent film credit was as “Grandpa” in the movie “Get Rich or Die Trying” in which well known American rapper Curtis Jackson, known as “50 Cent”, had the lead role. He also had television appearances in “The Cosby Show”, “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”.