Imposter’s itsy bitsy teenie weenie lie

THE man who co-wrote the song Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini had the unsettling experience this week of reading his own obituary — thanks to an impostor who went through life claiming to be the author of the 1960s smash hit.

On Wednesday, The Associated Press reported the death of a 68-year-old Paul Van Valkenburgh of Ormond Beach, Florida, who claimed to have written the song under the name Paul Vance. The story cited the man’s wife as the source for that claim.

But the real Paul Vance, aged 76, is alive and well and living in Coral Springs, Florida and says the other Paul Vance appears to have made the whole thing up.

The Paul Vance who wrote the songs — and provided proof with royalty payments he is still receiving for the hit — said he has been inundated with calls from people who think he has died.

Racehorse owner Vance said two of his horses were scratched from races on Wednesday because people thought he had died.

“Do you know what it’s like to have grandchildren calling you and say, ‘Grandpa, you’re still alive’?

“This is not a game. I am who I am and I’m proud of who I am. But these phones don’t stop with people calling thinking I’m dead.”

Rose Leroux, the widow of the man who died, said she was surprised by the disclosure, and “kind of devastated”. She said she had no reason to doubt that her husband — who apparently had some sort of music career when he was younger — was the song’s writer.

She said her husband told her he never got any royalties because he sold the rights when he was about 19. By the time they met almost 40 years ago, he had become a salesman.