Christopher Walken - Early Life

Early Life

Named after actor Ronald Colman, Walken was born Ronald Walken in Astoria, Queens. His mother, Rosalie Russell (May 16, 1907 – March 26, 2010), was a Scottish immigrant from Glasgow, and his father, Paul Walken (October 5, 1903 – February 23, 2001), immigrated from Germany in 1928 with his brothers. His father owned and operated Walken's Bakery in Astoria, Queens. He was raised a Methodist.

Influenced by their mother's own dreams of stardom, he and his brothers, Kenneth and Glenn, were child actors on television in the 1950s. As a teenager, he worked as a lion tamer in a circus. Walken studied at Hofstra University on Long Island, but did not graduate. Walken initially trained as a dancer in music theatre at the Washington Dance Studio, before moving on to dramatic roles in theatre and then film.