Jean Walkinshaw obit

Trailblazing documentarian Jean Walkinshaw dies

One of the Pacific Northwest's first female documentarians, Jean Walkinshaw created documentaries for decades shining a light on social and cultural issues. 

She was not on the list.

SEATTLE — Trailblazing documentary filmmaker Jean Walkinshaw, who got her start at KING 5, has died. A family member confirmed her death to KING 5 on Thursday.

Walkinshaw was one of the first female documentary producers in the Northwest.

One of her first big projects was producing “Face to Face” on KING 5, which was a news program that focused on key issues impacting Seattle, including race and poverty. The show launched in the 1960s when social changes were rocking Seattle.

"It was the first program in the nation to consistently cover minority peoples, and it was the first in the Seattle area certainly to have a Black moderator," Walkinshaw told KING 5 in 2018 as part of KING 5's 70th anniversary coverage.

Walkinshaw spent seven years at KING 5 before going to KCTS 9, where she worked for 31 years producing documentaries. Her films ranged from local to international topics, including documentaries on children of the homeless, Mount Rainier National Park and ones on Ghana, Russia and Japan.

A pioneer in her field, Walkinshaw was the first female producer inducted into the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle, and in 2019, she was inducted into the Gold Circle -- the organization's highest honor. She has also won numerous awards, including eight Northwest Regional Emmy Awards.

Walkinshaw grew up in Tacoma and attended Stanford University. She taught school for three years before beginning her documentary career.

She has produced content for The History Channel, KING-TV, and KCTS. In 2019 Walkinshaw was inducted into the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Gold Circle for 50 years of significant contribution to the television industry and community.

She was born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1926. A graduate of Stanford University, she taught school for three years and in 1963 started her TV career. At KING-TV she produced a weekly series, Face to Face, hosted by Roberta Byrd Barr, which in 1968 was the only local program series in the U.S. to consistently report on attitudes of minority peoples.

In 1970 Walkinshaw moved to KCTS where she produced documentaries for both national and local audiences. Much of her work features people and places in the Northwest, but she also produced documentaries in Russia, Ghana and four in Japan. Walkinshaw's production team was the first from the Northwest allowed to film in the USSR. Many of her programs have been aired nationally by PBS and such varied groups as NHK in Japan, Super Channel in Europe, British Airways, and Armed Forces Television Services. Her production of Rainier: The Mountain helped inaugurate high definition television in the Northwest.

Walkinshaw contributed production content to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) . In May 2021, the AAPB launched the Jean Walkinshaw Collection featuring national and international documentaries and raw interviews produced by Walkinshaw for the Seattle public television station KCTS and SCCtv (Seattle Colleges Cable Television)

Select documentaries

 

Shooting "Winter Brothers" in the rain with author Ivan Doig

Three Artists in the Northwest – Portrait of three prominent Northwest artists: painters George Tsutakawa and Guy Anderson, and poet Theodore Roethke.

Young Storytellers in Russia – One of the first American cultural documentaries taped in the former USSR.

In the Shadow of the Mountains – Profile of Northwest mountain-climber Jim Wickwire.

Kitaro – Japanese composer and keyboard musician Kitaro in his first tour of the U.S.

In the Spirit of Cooperation – Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and American Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana, West Africa.

Children of the Homeless – Children’s experiences from their perspective.

To Write and Keep Kind – Profile of writer Raymond Carver.

Remarkable People: Making a Difference in the Northwest – Series of half-hour profiles featuring extraordinary people.

WestWords – Vibrant portraits of six Western writer and the region that inspires their work. Featured are: Ivan Doig, Maxine Hong Kingston, Tony Hillerman, Terry Tempest Williams, William Kittredge, and Rudolfo Anaya.

The River – Follows the Columbia River and some of its inhabitants from the headwaters in Canada to the Pacific Ocean.

Tom Robbins: A Writer in the Rain – About the life and writing of this popular author.

Rainier: The Mountain – Celebrating the mountain, its legends, and the founding of Mount Rainier National Park 100 years before.