Bill Tucker

 

Bill Tucker started his career in Las Vegas as a singer/dancer and worked in every major show on the strip. A show called "Dancin' Machine" came to the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. They were the hottest street dancers in the country. Two months later he was in "Dancin' Machine," and six months after that he was doing a nine week TV series called "Honey & Sis" for Hanna Barbara and did two more the following year.

After going to the Improv in L.A., he realized he was going to be a comedian. While tuning-up his new routine, Tucker started dancing with the world famous Chippendales. "This experience," he remembers, "would prove to be a real draw in the comedy clubs." Many women who'd seen him dance also flocked to catch his comedy act. It was great money but he found out immediately it was hard to be sexy and funny at the same time.

Now a working comedian, Bill Tucker got picked to do Showtime "Live" from Anchorage, Alaska and one more in Seattle. Showtime went great and his career began to fly. Budd Friedman chose him to do "An Evening at the Improv," and top comedy clubs were starting to book Tucker as a headliner.

Bill Tucker was booked in a Greg Thompson Production where he was sensational. People were coming back two and three times to see Tucker's "Wild Turkey Man" impression and story. The casino executives would try to do the turkey face and the customers would try to do it back. Bill recognized his style and started developing new characters.

The audience loved the energy his dancing brought to the stage. The dance moves were now migrating into a unique comedy movement that enhanced his characters. From this new medium comes "Rhythm Masters" where Tucker holds his two hands up like puppets and then creates unique rhythms that he can produce out of his throat and mouth giving his hands a singing and rhythm character never before heard.

"Tapcat the Comedy Cat" and El Taperio (the antagonist, a sinister gang member) are two of his major characters. El Taperio attacks Tapcat. El Taperio challenges Tap Cat to a tap dance duel instead of fighting, and Tucker dances both parts to a powerful street cartoon from edited pieces of music.