Gordon Robert "Gordie" Tapp, CM

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

, O.Ont

Order of Ontario

The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...

 (born June 4, 1923 in London, Ontario

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

) is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 entertainer.

Tapp studied at the Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene

Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...

 Academy of Radio Arts. He was the host for Main Street Jamboree, a radio program broadcast from Hamilton

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

 during the 1950s. Tapp later hosted the CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 television show Country Hoedown. He went on to perform and write for the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 television show, Hee Haw

Hee Haw

Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...

. His famous roles were Cousin Clem, Samuel B. Sternwheeler

Paddle steamer

A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...

, Mr. Gordon the storekeeper, and Lavern Nagger, the forever put-upon husband of Ida Lee Nagger (Roni Stoneman

Roni Stoneman

Veronica Loretta "Roni" Stoneman is a noted bluegrass banjo player and former member of the Hee Haw gang having played the role of Ida Lee Nagger, the ironing, nagging wife of Laverne Nagger ....

).

Tapp was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame

The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, located in Merritt, British Columbia, was established in 1984 to honour Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased...

 in 1990. He was awarded the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 in 1998 for his work in helping raise funds for organizations such as the Canadian Muscular Dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy

Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...

 campaign and Easter Seals

Easter Seals (Canada)

In Canada, Easter Seals is a group of charitable organizations which provide opportunities for children with physical and/or mental disabilities. Founded in 1922 by a group of ten Rotary Clubs, it sought to emulate the success of the American Easter Seals program. In 1945, the first Canadian Easter...

.

In 1999, he was awarded the Order of Ontario

Order of Ontario

The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...

 — the highest honour in the province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

In recent years, Tapp is probably most famous for being the commercial spokesperson for the Ultramatic adjustable bed.

Singles

Year	Single	CAN Country
1971	"Nobody's Singing Them Cowboy Songs No More"	10
1972	"Many Others"	44

External links