Less than two months before the general election that fall, his uncle, U.S. House Speaker William B. Bankhead, died.
Walter Bankhead agreed to run for the full term, but stipulated he would serve for only one month, thus allowing time for a long-term successor to his uncle to be chosen in a special election.
He also served as president of Mammoth Packing Co. and Bankhead Broadcasting Co., Inc., and as vice chairman of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Jasper.
[1] He had two daughters and one son: Blossom, Barbara, and John Hollis Bankhead III.
[1] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress