Air Show Announcer "I Miss The Camaraderie"
By ANN Correspondent Rose Dorcey
Chances are, if you have been a regular at AirVenture through
the years, one of the things you most remember is something you
never saw. It's a voice, and the person behind it. The voice of Air
Show Announcer Bill Bordeleau.
For 34 years, Bordeleau was the voice of aviation at Oshkosh -
the color commentator who narrated the aerial maneuvers of the
country's top air show performers. He became known as the most
familiar voice in the air show industry by taking his show on the
road to nearly every state and to Canada. He was the voice of the
Cleveland show for 14 years, El Paso for over 20, and Pensacola for
over 30.
His air show announcer debut came in 1951, when he did a comedy
routine with the Cole Brothers Air shows. It was at a small airport
in Monroe, (WI), and it was called, Bombing of the Backhouse. "The
backhouse was near a hangar," Bordeleau recalled, "Skip Flannery
buzzed it, and I came out, shaking my fists and pulling up my
coveralls. We used a stick of dynamite and literally blew the
backhouse apart. I made a whole five bucks for it." That was his
first and last air show.
Fast forward 17 years. Bordeleau is ready for a career change.
"I was selling insurance," Bordeleau said in a phone interview
earlier this month. "I had a couple of kids and I wasn't making any
money. I wanted to get into the air show business, so I talked
about it with my wife."
1969 was his "official" start. "My wife, Darlene, went back to
work just until I could get my feet on the ground. She brought home
the paycheck, and I brought home the experience," Bordeleau said of
the early days. "That was nearly 37-years ago and she's still at
work."
Business picked up by 1972. Soon, Bordeleau was traveling
throughout the country. He was one of the first to provide
Air-to-Ground Radio Communications with his traveling sound system.
He became a founding member of the International Council of Air
Shows (ICAS).
With nearly four decades in the air show industry, Bordeleau has
experienced highs and lows along the way. He made numerous friends.
He lost some, too.
"There were 14 fatalities over the years, a couple at Oshkosh."
Growing quiet, he recalled his relationship with Art Scholl. "He
was the closest thing I had to a brother. I narrated for him for 16
years. We were very close; we argued like brothers. 'You do the
narrating,' he would tell me, 'and I'll do the flying.'"
Still, Bordeleau has many fond memories. He has worked with 22
Blue Angel Air Show Bosses and just as many from the Thunderbirds.
He has good relationships with several military generals. Bordeleau
was named an honorary U.S. Army Golden Knight in 1979, an honorary
crew member of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in 1985, and an honorary
U.S. Air Force Thunderbird in 1992.
He received the ICAS Sword of Excellence in 1993, presented to
recognize outstanding service and personal contributions to the air
show industry. The award is widely recognized as the single highest
honor that an air show professional can receive. He was inducted
into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001 and the ICAS Hall
of Fame in 2004.
Bordeleau recalls a favorite story from Oshkosh, when he and
Nick Rezich were narrating for Bob Hoover, before Jim Driscoll
became Hoover's exclusive announcer.
"There was a rainstorm, and some lightning, but Hoover said that
he would fly. We were announcing from near the old Flight Line Ops
building where the old main gate was, on top of a semi-trailer.
Nick had the microphone and didn't want to get struck by lightning.
So Nick crawled underneath the trailer with his mic and I'm
hollering the maneuvers down to him. It went down in history,"
Bordeleau laughed.
Bordeleau was born in 1932 in Little Falls, (MN) the son of a
World War I and World War II Army officer. His mother contracted
tuberculosis and died in 1938. "Dad was full-time Minnesota
National Guard, so we went to stay with an aunt and uncle in
Darlington, (WI). They brought us up, my sister and I, they raised
us after mom died."
Bordeleau went to work for the State of Illinois on the Illinois
toll way project, near O'Hare. He then moved to Monroe, (WI) and
ran a little airport business with Roy True. In 1963, he moved to
Menomonee Falls, (WI) and got married. He resides there today with
Darlene. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren. When
not working, Bordeleau collects stamps, but laments, "If I could
ever just get them organized."
Now semi-retired, his last Oshkosh air show was in 2002. His
business, Continental Air Show Productions, is in high demand. It
provides PA Systems and Radio Communications to air shows
throughout the country. He still does some narrating for old
customers and will travel to about a dozen locations this year,
including air shows in El Paso, (TX); Washington DC and Terre
Haute, (IN) to name a few.
As the phone interview winds down, he pauses and looks back once
more. Bordeleau mentions the changes he has seen in air shows
through the years. "The types of airplanes are so different, and
they're doing maneuvers not even thought of in the early days. It
was a lot of fun, everyone knew everybody. I miss the people, I
miss the camaraderie."
To be sure, Bill, thousands of folks who heard your familiar
voice at Oshkosh and across the country, miss you, too.