Ermal is the recipient of the 2003 IGCITA Best Male Impersonator of the Year Award in Las Vegas and is presently performing a one man show as the Duke and Gary Cooper both in "Memories with John Wayne and Gary Cooper". Utilizing all of his expertise in the John Wayne and Gary Cooper genre, he adds all of his experiences in bringing to the audiences exciting anecdotes about Duke and Coop as well as tales of the West, incorporating real Western history and folklore while keeping his readers on the edge of their seats. He also carries his one-man show on stage in other cities such as Hollywood and Las Vegas as well as in homes and for special events.
He has traveled far and wide, impersonating John Wayne. He got his start when he wrote, directed and starred in his one-man production. He is an actor, author, entertainer, corporate host, emcee and motivational speaker, as well as a look-alike and impersonator.
Ermal was raised in a “mercy home”, similar to an orphanage, in Birmingham, Alabama when his father deserted his mother and the rest of his family just after he was born. During WWII, his mother remarried and sent for him in the Motor City, old Dearborn, Michigan. Like a typical boy, he ran away from home and joined the Marine Corps. When he came out, he got his first job in the hot melt shop of a steel mill for 3-1/2 years working for wages at $1.72 per hour. He made rent payments by working double shifts as often as he could. While hoofing it through his childhood years, mostly on his own, this inspired Ermal to become an actor with visions of becoming another John Wayne. He put his writing on hold, wanting to experience first hand what he was to write later down the road. He married the former Miss Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Patterson, of Wyandotte, Michigan and then moved his wife and two children, Elizabeth Mary and Ermal “Bill” to Hollywood, California to break into motion pictures. To become the professional actor as he should, he studied and performed Chekov, Shakespeare, Wilde, Williams, and more playwrights although his heart and soul was in doing Western films. Then one day, he performed in the lead role in a one-act play at California State University at Los Angeles, The Purification, using actions established by the Duke as a cowboy. “I suppose no one knew it but me.” His third child Daniel Walden was born the year before, and he continued to work full time and attend school at night and take some classes during the day to earn his degree. It was important to him, as no one in his family of three brothers and three sisters ever earned a degree, let alone his mother or dad. This Motivational Force kept Ermal grounded as he pursued every facet of his professional life while "home on the ranch" where he and Betty worked hard on instilling the American Work Ethic into their Family of three children, Elizabeth Mary, Ermal “Bill” and Daniel.
He took up more acting classes at Paramount Studios after graduating from college with a BS Degree in drama, and found himself with Jerry Paris, an acting coach who accepted the unbridled task of teaching him and who later, would become a close and devoted friend.. “Just before his passing away, Jerry told me that I would appear in his next film, a third sequel to "Police Academy". Paris made for certain that Ermal was firmly planted on the set, constantly preparing him for his "Big Break”. However, as Fate would have it, instead, Ermal was cast in the supporting role of Randolph Hearst in "The Patty Hearst" movie, playing opposite Natasha Richardson.
As a SAG, AFTRA and AEA actor, one can find Ermal in many types of films and plays. He appeared with Tom Hanks as his butler in "Bonfires of the Vanity", and has appeared in dozens of sitcoms such as "The Twilight Zone", "General Hospital", "Superior Court", "The Judge", "Evening Shade", "Delta", "Golden Girls", as well as movies made for TV, "Woman Against the Odds", "Lies Before Kisses", and others. Also, Ermal starred in "Star Quest", a Sci-Fi movie opposite Burt Ward. He has appeared on stage with Jean Stapleton and Marion Ross. On Hollywood and Vine, Ermal starred in "Medea at the Stardust Grill" and won rave reviews.
