Georgie Tapps

Georgie Tapps (born Mortimer Alphonse Becker; 1911–1997) was an American tap dancer. He appeared in a number of films and Broadway productions. He was known for his repertoire of ballet-tap and toured the vaudeville circuit during the 1930s and 1940s, performing in many cabarets and nightclubs.

Early life Mortimer Alphonse Becker was born on November 6, 1911, in Washington Heights, New York. At the age of seven, his dancing at a church benefit was noticed by a theatrical producer who offered him a scholarship to study ballet.

When he was 16, he performed at a club in New York City. The club's owner called him "Georgie Tapps". Tapps travelled the vaudeville circuit and performed in cabarets and nightclubs throughout the 1930s and 1940s. He was also part of a USO tour in 1945, performing for military personnel in Oahu, Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.

In 1945 Tapps performed for the dinner show of the Persian Room nightclub in the Plaza Hotel. His opening night performance included five encores. Paul Ross, writing for The Billboard, described Tapps routine in a review as including soft-shoe, a ballet-taps routine, a version of Ritual Fire Dance by Manuel de Falla, and a piece incorporating flamenco.

In September 1951 Tapps appeared as a guest on the variety television show This Is Show Business. During the show, guests perform their acts and receive advice from a three-judge panel for show business-related problems. During the show, Tapps' "problem" was that he hadn't been considered for the remake of Pal Joey. After performing his act, the panel informed him that the show's producers had been viewing the telecast and thought that he would be ideal for a role in the remake.

On March 9, 1952, Tapps was a guest on The Colgate Comedy Hour. That year he also participated in a demonstration of the Eidophore, a new cinema video projector.

After the Soviet Union sent a ballet troupe to West Africa in 1959, Tapps was sent there by the United States Dance Panel in 1961. From December 1961 to April 1962 he performed tap routines in Ghana and other countries.

Later career Audience interest in tap dancing had begun to decline by the 1950s, He also performed at the Smithsonian Institution in May 1981 as part of a Museum of American History festival.

In 1992 Tapps put on the one-man show Whatever Happened to Georgie Tapps? at the Westwood Playhouse.

Fellow tap dancer Bill Robinson called Tapps "tops in the field of straight tap."