Gord Atkinson's Showbill

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

For 50 years, writer/broadcaster Gord Atkinson worked as a celebrity
interviewer both on radio and in print. After serving as publicist for
Decca Records in 1948, Atkinson became the host of a weekly show on CFRB
Radio. Following a stint as entertainment editor at CHUM Radio, he left
Toronto for Ottawa, where he hosted a daily variety program and a weekly
youth show The Campus Corner, on CFRA.

Ottawa-born songwriter Paul Anka and comic Rich Little made their
debuts on Atkinson’s teen show. Little became a close friend and the
perfect “agent” for Atkinson’s subsequent interviews. This book
features excerpts from Atkinson’s interviews with a host of
celebrities, including Fred Astaire, Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett, Elvis
Presley, George Burns, Harry Belafonte, Orson Welles, and Frank Sinatra.
The genuine, open responses Atkinson elicits from his subjects bespeak
his considerable talents as an interviewer. Showbill is a wonderful
addition to entertainment lore.