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.

FMI: http://www.icasfoundation.org/hall_fame/2004/bordeleau.htm, http://www.aviationhalloffamewisconsin.com/inductees/bordeleau.htm