Murray Walker RIP

Larbre34 · 14-03-2021 2:45am

I was at Silverstone in 1996. I was at the Jordan after party in the Paddock in the evening time and got to see Murray filming his links for the BBC highlights show. He had such a great attitude and enthusiasm and everyone from the tyre techs to the caterers had a cheery greeting for him, even after the long weekend slog.

Grand Prix racing simply wouldn't be where it is today, or at least when it was at its zenith, without the work of Murray Walker.

Captain Graeme Murray Walker (rtd) OBE, tank commander, World War 2 veteran, ad man, commentator, writer, mentor, husband. Not bad for one lifetime.

I wouldn't be one for the British honours system, but how strange is it that Jimmy Savile, Robert Mugabe and Mussolini got knighthoods and they never got around to Murray.

Scotty # · 14-03-2021 9:06am

A remarkable character. One of the first names people think of when they think of F1.

flazio wrote: »

It's a wonder he was never made "Sir Murray Walker"

He never achieved anything. He commented on those that did and they got the knighthoods. Incidentally, Ecclestone turned his knighthood down.

Cork Trucker · 14-03-2021 9:10am

Hamilton received a knighthood for his contribution to F1 after 13 years, Murray never received the same and should have been Sir Murray.

xlogo · 14-03-2021 9:30am

He was employed as an accounts director by the Masius advertising agency, with clients includingÂ British Rail,Â VauxhallÂ andÂ Mars, for whom they created the slogan "A Mars a day helps you work rest and play"; Walker has repeatedly denied the attribution of the slogan to himself, saying that he was only an administrator on the project

Faugheen · 14-03-2021 12:10pm

https://twitter.com/paulmcg92/status/1370806274934276097?s=21

I haven’t stopped laughing at this clip all day. Such a like-able character.

recyclebin · 14-03-2021 12:26pm

Another classic I had not seen before.

Killinator · 14-03-2021 1:55pm

recyclebin wrote: »

Another classic I had not seen before.

Love the fact that he takes the mick out of Damon but is happy to do so out of himself too with the mistake of pasta instead of pizza

jmayo · 14-03-2021 2:57pm

Ahh feck.
First Peter Alliss back in December and now Murray.

Murray wasn't really a great factual commentator as he had habit of getting things wrong, but by god he was great to listen to as his joy and love of the sport was infectious.
He could make the most boring of races sound exciting.

You could forgive his gaffs because you just knew he was excited and was just caught up in the heat of the moment.

Here are a few of his famous lines.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is Senna's car sounding a bit rough?"

"And now excuse me while I interrupt myself!"

Murray: "There's a firey glow coming from the back of the Ferrari!"
James Hunt: "No Murray, that's his rear safety light"

What a partnership they were.

RIP Murray.

Arthur Daley · 14-03-2021 4:11pm

I saw his autobiography 'Unless I'm very much mistaken' by chance today. Started reading it 20 years ago, must go back and finish it. I was particularly interested in the early days of F1 on the BBC, when he would commentate from London, and the early years with James Hunt.

It took Murray and Hunt quite a long time to get on with each other, they only worked together for about 10 years and because they were very different people and Hunt was a wild one coming off the back of his career, it was like cats and dogs in the commentary box together in those early days.