OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 THE RIDER /31 What’s On Tapp - The Gordie Tapp Story As told to John Farrington


Review by Aidan W. Finn CD Recently, I received a personally autographed copy of “The Gordie Tapp Story”. This book is about the life and times of Gordie Tapp, showman, fine stand-up comic on stage and screen, entertainer for the Royal Canadian Army, Harley Davidson rider and horse owner.


I have known Gordie Tapp since about 1965. We met right after I found- ed the Burlington Post. Gordie hosted a radio show on CBC so I got to know him when he was surfing around for a more rewarding career in entertain- ment. Gordie lived in Burlington on a farm near the Queen Elizabeth High- way with his lovely wife Helen and


their four children. I owned the local newspaper so our paths would eventu- ally cross. He mentions in his book how a Burlington newspaper helped his career, it must have been our publi- cation as we knocked off the competi- tion within a few years after I started The Post on September 15,1965. In order to get to know Gordie, you have to understand that he is a showman and will always be one. I have enjoyed the company of Gordie every year at Christmas for a help yourself lunch at Pooles Motor Cycles, in Hamilton, Ontario. With us, at Gordie’s reserved table, you might find Ron Patterson of Ultramatic Beds... and a few other local celebrities. Meeting up with Gordie is always a grand time of fun and jokes galore. There are several things we both enjoy such as horses, Harley Davidson Motorcycles and attracting as much publicity as possible, even though we really don’t need it anymore. Gordie has always had a keen sense of humour and even though he may have been heart broken on many an occasion, the show went on. He is always the man of a million one liner jokes and a dam fine singer as well. We’ve ridden our Harley Davidson Motorcycles together when Gordie was the Grand Parade marshal for the police Cappy Motorcy- cle Rides. Enough of the chit chat, already. This review is about “WHAT’S ON TAPP?


The book starts out with Gordie Tapp being introduced to the world on June 4th. 1922 in London, Ontario. He claims that when he was born, he “jumped out of his crib at the hospital


Gordie got his first break in show business at the age of 20 when he served in the Royal Canadian Army in 1942. He was stationed at Debert, Nova Scotia when he was encouraged to enter an amateur contest . He won the contest with George Formby songs and immediately became the Master of Ceremonies for the entertainment of troops, and as they say, the rest is his- tory.


and took after the nurses”. Having known Gordie all these years, it seems nothing has changed.


From the beginning, Gordie was a showman and took up the guitar at a very early age. This also helped him with his alter ego, Cousin Clem. Gordie claims that he can trace his ancestry back to the Last Supper. He insists that his relatives were not in the picture because they were not at head table; they sat at table number four and won the centre piece. He has also said on more than one occasion, that a fami- ly member can be found in the Renais- sance period who worked with Michael Angelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. His father was very strict and was pushing him into becoming a Baptist Minister, can you imagine Cousin Clem in the pulpit on Sunday morning.


Along the way Gordie was accepted into the Lorne Greene Acade- my of Radio Arts in Toronto. Lorne was a W.W.II CBC Newscaster and was referred to as the Voice of Doom. Later, Lorne would appear on the western TV show “Bonanza”. His career kept moving forward from the Country and Western radio station CFGM to the CBC to CHML on and on his star kept rising. He appeared on the Tommy Hunter show with the Hames sisters and the Don Messer show. He shared the stage with such notable Country and Western recording stars as Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Grandpa Jones and a very long list of entertainers including Minnie Pearl. His proudest and fondest memo- ries were touring all over Canada and overseas entertaining Canadian Troops. When he was working on the TV show Hee Haw, Grandpa Jones invited Gordie to his home. There hung a beautiful plaque embossed in gold and signed by President Eisenhower. “What was that for?”, he inquired. Grandpa Jones replied that he had entertained the troops in Korea. “How often?” “Once”, came the reply. Gordie completed 27 tours for the


Canadian Troops and never got so much as a thank you card from the Prime Minister of Canada.


This book is a fun read and very


enlightening. From the highs and lows, it is about a man, a soldier, an entertainer, a family man, and friend who helped many an aspiring enter- tainer on their way. He had great Quarter Horses including his stallion, “Shoops E Bar”. He advertised his sta- ble in The Rider and when it came time for him to retire from horses, he gave his favourite to the T.E.A.D. Riding for the Disabled program in Mount Hope, Ontario. Get this book. It will make a very nice Christmas gift. Order your copy direct from, Gordie Tapp, email: whatsontapp@live.ca


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