Born in Brooklyn, New York City, and educated at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, he was a dancer, choreographer, and director of Hollywood musicals, MGM film studio (Easter Parade).

He is notable for directing Esther Williams' musicals involving underwater swimming and diving sequences, such as Dangerous When Wet, as well as several musicals starring Leslie Caron, such as Gigi (for which he is uncredited) and Lili.

He has also directed musical remakes, including High Society, a remake of The Philadelphia Story (1940), and The Tender Trap, a remake of Bachelor Mother (1939). Walters also directed the last pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, The Barkleys of Broadway, as well as Cary Grant in the actor's last film Walk, Don't Run.

He died in Malibu, California, of lung cancer at the age of 71.