Christopher Walken imitator tricks reporter

A guy who imitated actor Christopher WalkenChristopher Walken was so good that it fooled an Associated Press reporter. As a result, the fake interview regarding Natalie WoodNatalie Wood’s death got international coverage and Walken was criticized for his derogatory remarks.

An Associated Press reporter was fooled by an impersonator of actor Christopher Walken on a sports talk-show on Friday. The news correspondent included the fake remarks in his coverage of the Natalie Wood death investigation. It was an hour later that AP realized their blunder and told its reporters not to use the incorrect information.

"It was a mistake," AP spokesman Jack Stokes said in a statement.

Reportedly, it was the radio station Washington, D.C.-based ESPN 980 that informed the AP that the Christopher Walken impersonator was not the actor himself but a talk show host Mark Sterne that appears every Friday to discuss sports-related topics for a comic segment.

Chuck Sapienza, ESPN 980's program director, told the AP on Friday: "It's not set up as real. It's not like we're trying to fool anybody. We say it's the person on the air but we never believe that someone actually thinks the person's actually there."

Meanwhile, Sterne was flattered that his imitation skills were so brilliant that it tricked a reporter.

"I'm amazed and horrified at the same time, if that's possible. We're doing a weekly comedy routine that someone thinks is real. That's the amazing part. But it's a horrifying commentary on the news system that we live in," said Sterne.

The Washington Post reported that Sterne impersonated Christopher Walken after news broke that Natalie Wood’s death case has been reopened by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. Sterne broke into Walken's character and spoke about the night of her mysterious death in November, 1981 Friday afternoon on a talk show hosted by Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro.

"We had a lot to drink that night. There as Sambuca. There was shouting. And then there was tragedy. And that's all I can remember. And quite frankly, all my attorney right now would want me to say," said Sterne, as Walken, as quoted in the Washington Post.

Christopher Walken was present on the yacht with Robert Wagner and his wife on the night of the actress’s premature death, but he has remained tight-lipped about the incident. However, he gave a revealing interview in 1997 in which the actor said he went to bed and awoke to learn that Natalie Wood had died.