Today we celebrate the late “Fast and Furious” star, Paul Walker. He joins a list of legendary celebrities too good for this world and gone much too soon. Just in the last few months, The Rolling Stones lost their tour manager, Notre Dame lost football star Terry Brennan, and the world is still mourning the loss of “Sweetheart” actor Michael. K Williams.
As Paul Walker celebrates his 48th birthday from above, we’re here to celebrate with you, Outsiders. Come with us as we take a look back at his career and lasting impact.
The Life of Paul Walker
Born in Glendale, California on September 12th, 1973, Paul Walker got a pretty early start to his acting career. Growing up with two brothers and two sisters, Walker was the son of Paul William Walker III, a sewer contractor, and Cheryl (Crabtree) Walker, a model. His family had some pretty impressive ties to the military and service, too. According to IMDb, his grandpa, William Walker, actually survived Pearl Harbor to go onto become a Navy middleweight boxing champion. One of his grandmas also previously commanded a tank battalion in Italy during World War II. It’s no surprise the actor inherited some of this thirst for action, then.
Graduating from diaper and pizza commercials to horror films and teen flicks, Walker found himself plastered to thousands of girls’ walls with his magazine cover of Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood issue in April 2000. Still, he always valued staying active and eventually started seeking out more action-based roles. Actually, this also led him to study multiple different forms of martial arts including Jujitsu, Taekwondo, Jeet Kune Do, and Eskrima.
After the success of the first few installments in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Paul Walker became a household name if it wasn’t already. Sadly, the actor died in a freak car accident while a buddy was driving back in 2013. This death came in the middle of filming a new installation of the franchise, leaving its completion up in the air for a while. Eventually, his brothers decided to step in. The two worked with visual effects artists to re-shoot certain scenes that included their brother, the late actor. CGI technology, then, brought Paul Walker back to life on the screen.
Daughter Meadow Carries on the Walker Legacy
Paul Walker is survived by his daughter, Meadow, whom he always considered his number one priority. He shares Meadow Rain with ex-partner Rebecca McBrain. Before his death, Walker actually drafted up a will and named Meadow as the main benefactor. She inherited his $25 million estate and went to live with her mother.
Since her father’s passing, Meadow created the Paul Walker Foundation in his honor. Last month, she also made news after revealing she’s now happily engaged. We send out all our best wishes to Meadow and the rest of the Walker crew today.
