WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — With his spiked blond hair, raspy voice and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" mannerisms, George Orr is accustomed to paying tribute to someone he admires.
In fact, Mr. Orr spends most nights, in different venues across Florida, paying tribute to singer Rod Stewart, in tandem with his wife Kelly, as part of the George Orr and the Hot Rod Band show. The adult-oriented performance features plenty of Rod Stewart tunes, as well as comedic banter between the pair.
He has droves of fans — check out www.notrodstewart.com — and his exploits are featured in a story in this month's Spirit magazine for Southwest Airlines entitled, "The Life and Wild Times of Rod Stewart Impersonator."
Still, Mr. Orr can't pay enough tribute to one of his biggest fans: Ron Katz, the recipient of the 2021 Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian Medal.
"I can't speak more highly of the man," Mr. Orr said. "His heart is really into it."
It was a year ago when Mr. Katz called Mr. Orr, basically out of the blue, and asked if he could organize a benefit for Mr. Orr's wife, who was battling esophageal cancer. The medical bills were piling up — and the Orrs did not have health care coverage.
While Mr. Katz had attended several of the Orrs' shows — "I work hard; I play harder," Mr. Katz says — the Orrs did not know who Mr. Katz was before he called to make his offer.
Mr. Orr's reaction?
"To use a British phrase, I was gobsmacked that anyone would do that for us," said Mr. Orr, who was born in Falkirk, Scotland, and moved to the U.S. in the 1980s, seeking fame and fortune. "There were TV stations, radio stations there. ... I had never considered something like that. It was a major deal, astonished anyone would do that."