ARTISTS AMONG US
/THE MULTI-TALENTED JUDY GINN WALCHUK
An Artist in Song, Dance, and Shattered Glass!
(click images to enlarge)
West Ender and Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) resident Judy Ginn Walchuk is a quadruple threat — at the very least!
She sings, dances, acts, writes and creates amazing mosaics and decorative lamp shades. Her latest mosaic exhibition, twenty 12” x 12” hearts, will be the lobby exhibition at PAL through February.
Judy Ginn Walchuk.
And that only scratches the surface of this amazing woman’s career and contributions to the cultural life of our community.
One might think of PAL, in the West End’s Coal Harbour community, as a “retirement” home for performing artists. But we put “retirement” in quotation marks, because in reality artists aren’t the retiring types. Many PAL residents are still enjoying busy careers, and most of the others are usually up to some “project” or another. PAL may be seen by some as a retirement residence, but who’s got time for that?
Certainly not Judy Ginn Walchuk, an entertainer well-known for hosting the “Judy & Jim Show,” a music/comedy variety show on CBC radio in the 70s.
An earlier career promotional photo.
As a result of the vibrant and supportive atmosphere of PAL, Judy continues to perform, produce CDs, write plays (her collaboration, Comfort Cottages ran in 2017 at PAL Studio Theatre to tremendous applause) and somehow finds the time to create beautiful mosaics and colourful lampshades.
Born in 1945 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Judy started travelling at the early age of four. She moved to Vancouver in 1949. By the age of seven, Judy had developed a commanding presence that even adults many years her senior could not match.
Judy made one of her first appearances on the Glenburn Dairy talent show on CKNW and captivated audiences at the renowned Kitsilano Showboat through the early 50s. Still in her teens, the early 60s found Judy hitting the airwaves on CBC Radio and Television in Vancouver and Toronto.
Venturing out on her own in the late 60s Judy started touring across Canada, performing at many of the grand hotels and supper clubs for a decade under the stage name of Judy Ginn.
In 1969, Judy recorded her first album “Introducing Judy Ginn” for RCA and later formed a duo with her brother Jim, writing their own material and touring with a five-piece band. They performed in hotel lounges throughout Canada.
Judy and Jim on the Tommy Hunter Show.
Always the consummate performers, Judy and Jim starred in their first CBC television series in 1971, a musical variety show titled…you guessed it… “Judy and Jim.”
The end of 1971 saw the talented duo as guests on the Merv Griffin show and charming audiences nightly in the playboy clubs of Los Angeles.
Judy’s second album, released in 1972 and titled Jude, showcased all original material and was produced by Quality Records Canada.
Catching the travel bug again, the duo moved to London, England and worked the Playboy Club, performed at Quaglino’s, the world famous Coventry theatre, appeared on BBC Television and Radio, did stops in Bristol and Liverpool, and were invited by David Frost to sing at Noel Coward’s birthday party.
In 1976, the brother and sister team returned to Canada. This would be their year for television. They balanced a hectic schedule of playing the Cave Theatre Restaurant, guest appearances on The Tommy Hunter Show in Toronto, the Paul Horn show in Vancouver, and 13 episodes of their own nationally broadcast CBC series The Judy and Jim Show.
Tropical waves beckoned in 1977 when the pair went on a journey to Hawaii to join the Don Ho Show at the International Marketplace, with Jim in the band and Judy singing to a packed house. Performances that year at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas were also met with rave reviews.
Heart Breaker (Heart Photos by Julie Prescott)
The bright lights of Hollywood lured them back to Los Angeles in 1978 to do five performances on the Merv Griffin Show and entertain at the Playboy Club — all the while working as writers. Judy has fond memories of star-studded Hollywood parties, playing charades with Lucille Ball and Milton Berle, and rubbing shoulders with Edward G. Robinson and the Gabor sisters.
After 30 years of singing and performing, Judy stepped out of the spotlight in 1982 to open Shady Business in Venice Beach. She created custom-made lampshades for clients — many of those celebrities, including Pam Dawber, Goldie Hawn, Bernadette Peters, Henry Mancini, and Ashley Judd, to name a few.
In 1988, after 16 years in the LA fast-lane, Judy came home to Vancouver to open Wally’s Folly on Dunbar and 41st — continuing to create illuminating shades and filling her schedule by writing jingles and show tunes, poetry, along with studio and voice-over work.
In 2011, The Flying Walchuks …Without a Net was released, with one cut, titled “Sing,” featuring back-up vocals from another creative force of nature, Vancouver’s Sing City Show Choir.
Heart of Rock’N’ RolL.
Last year Judy created an original, partly autobiographical, musical comedy titled “Pass Me That Hat”. Set in the 70s and 80s, the story follows a young woman trying to make it as a singer while dealing with social pressures and a negative body image. Capilano College workshopped the show last spring, with students and staff working under the direction of Gillian Barber. The first show, given to an invited audience of 82 people, got a standing ovation. Judy, Jim, and sister Marlee are now reworking the project. Judy and Jim are working on a collection of new songs and poems, mostly humorous, for a to-be-determined 2024 concert.
Last October Judy started working on her latest mosaic project “Twenty 12” x 12” Hearts”.
“This combines two of my passions, music and art,” said Judy. “After singing so many heart songs for so many years, I thought it would be fun to give each piece the name of a song title which includes the word ‘heart’. I love working on mosaics. I work mostly with pieces of china and glass and it thrills me to find something weathered, broken or discarded and turn it into something beautiful! I consider this to also be a Walchuk family project, because brother Jim cuts all my wooden shapes in the PAL woodworking room and sister Marlee (who will be exhibiting her new paintings for the month of March at Off the Rails brew pub gallery) helps with promotion.
Heart of My Heart.
“Seemed like a good theme when we can all use a little more Heart in our lives!”
The exhibition in the PAL lobby opens February 1 and runs through the month. The hearts are priced from $75 to $200. Anyone attending events at PAL can view the pieces, or to view by appointment email Judy at judywalchuk@hotmail.com. To learn more about Judy and her endeavours visit judyginnwalchukandjimwalchuk.com.
Judy’s many fans in Vancouver, across Canada, and around the world are always thrilled to hear of her latest project, be it a live performance, a new play, a display of mosaics for the PAL lobby, or … whatever she turns her talents to next.
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