Doug Walker

Background

Douglas Darien Walker was born on November 17, 1981, in Naples, Italy. His father, Barney Walker, was a navy commander, and his mother, Sandra Polkow Walker, was a therapist and a former opera singer. Walker majored in communications and studied film at Northern Illinois University. After graduating college, he worked as a janitor and then an illustrator to make ends meet. Rob Walker, his brother, is an executive producer and creator of the online series “Nostalgia Critic.” He has also appeared in and co-written several of Walker’s critic videos.

Walker went on to establish the online comic series “Nostalgia Critic” on YouTube in July 2007. In this series, he released films in which he jokingly evaluated movies as a ‘Nostalgia Critic.’ In 2008, he and his friends looked for a ‘female’ face to evaluate mushy, romantic films and television shows aimed at women; this concept, dubbed “The Nostalgic Chick,” was a follow-up to Walker’s previous endeavor, and Ellis, also known as ‘The Dudette,’ won it. His reviews were successful, but he had to delete the video series from YouTube in April 2008 owing to copyright difficulties and infringement charges from 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate. He had to migrate to his independent website named ‘ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com.’ Walker and his pals featured on YouTube later in 2009 because of a deal between Blip and the corporation. Later that year, Walker and his brother declared that they were ending the “Nostalgia Critic” series because they felt they had stretched the character too far. Moreover, on January 22, 2013, Walker released a short video titled “The Review Must Go On” and announced his decision to bring back “Nostalgia Critic.” On February 5, the series resumed with a review of the film “The Odd Life of Timothy Green;” he stated that a new episode would get posted every other Tuesday.

Walker posts “Nostalgia Critic Editorials” and discusses film-related topics when he does not have much to review. “Nostalgia Critic” had 100,000 to 300,000 viewers per week and more than one million page views per month. By July 2009, the website had received more than $11,000 in online donations and more than $10,000 in monthly advertising revenue, earning him around $53,000, including $32,000 from “Nostalgia Critic.” Walker quit his previous job when he became financially from his website videos. Walker directed 496 episodes of the “Nostalgia Critic” video series. Many like-minded reviewers were drawn to him as his popularity grew; they teamed up to form the online media production company “Channel Awesome,” with Mike Michaud as C.E.O., Walker as actor and presenter, and his brother Rob as a screenwriter and C.C.O. “Was the Killing Joke That Bad,” “Alvin and the Chipmunk,” and “The WEIRDEST Jack and the Beanstalk” are among his most popular videos on “Channel Awesome.”