Tommy Walton, a fashion designer and fashion department teacher, wants to add "full-time host" to his resume.
A lifelong Chicago resident who now lives in the South Loop, Walton is one of 17 finalists—from more than 1,000 who applied—to become the new host of WTTW's hit TV show "Check, Please!"
Online voting ends April 17.
"I am so honored and so excited to be a candidate for the host position," Walton said. "Fashion, food and entertainment are part of my soul and in my DNA. I am always thrilled to discover and share new places, things and ideas.
"I don't mean to be as bold, stunningly ruthless and Joan Crawford-conniving as some of my competitors, because there are some contenders, but I should be the new 'face' and 'voice' of the Check, Please! brand, period."
Walton is the lone finalist who also appeared on "Check, Please!" All Stars!—and Walton is the lone openly gay finalist.
"I am thrilled to represent and serve the LGBT community, and will inspire and entertain my sisters and brothers, ladies and gentle-gays with super pride," Walton said. "As your host, I will be bubbling with effervescence, a piping-hot volcano of information on a silver platter, the highlight of your week. If I say so myself, I'm quite a dish, and not so bad to look at.
"I'm the only finalist who was on the show twice. Years ago, I was a guest on the show, to rave reviews, and I was voted on again for the 10th-anniversary season Check, Please! All Stars." (He was voted number three then.)
Walton added, "The show itself is amazing. The creators are a joy to work with. And, I may be just the 'media-genic' cog to fit into their well-oiled machine. I am ready and lubricated to perform."
Fashion is his secret weapon, he said.
"Fashion is a language, and I speak it fluently, in multiple dialects, to a wide variety of people," he said. "I will not be challenged or beat in the wardrobe department. Watch me serve it."
After all, Walton, who claims to be "ageless," is a fashion designer at Price Walton Couture Lab in The Loop and a fashion department teacher at The School of The Art Institute. Walton is married to Roger Price.
Walton asked, "I try not to gloat, but how many people do you know [who] landed a spot to be a contestant on CBS' first fashion reality TV show, The Cut; flew on Tommy Hilfiger's private jet to The People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles; and interviewed the stars on the red carpet for Entertainment Tonight? I had a blast with Debra Messing and the cast of Desperate Housewives. Jesse Metcalfe is hotness in the flesh."
Before landing as a fashion designer, Walton was a sous chef in a French Macrobiotic restaurant, a line cook in a Nouvelle Italiano restaurant in River North, and he also worked for a film caterer, cooking on location for stars.
"I don't like to namedrop, but I cooked and served food to Richard Pryor, Della Reese, Stockard Channing, Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken, and legendary jazz diva Carmen McRae," Walton said. "I'm proud of my Creole heritage, and I'm a simply devastating home cook. My stove is always hot to the touch."
To vote for Walton, go to: http://checkplease.wttw.com/checkpleasehost/vote.
Tommy Walton's favorite Chicago restaurants:
—La Sirena Clandestina (Brazilian/Argentinian)
—EL Ideas (Molecular cuisine)
—Ahjoomah's Apron (Korean)
"[Each restaurant has] excellent menu choices, concept, atmosphere, and service, and [the] overall vibe is what makes it great," Walton said.
