On February 14, 1964, five days after the Beatles made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis sat at a press conference with the Colonel on the pier at Long Beach, California. ArtAnd Lots of It, The actor, who plays a Bob Rossesque character in the new comedy, David Alan Grier Always Knew He Could Do It All. Aside from arguably being the father of American popular culture through the marketing and merchandising of his client, the Colonel negotiated one of the first $1 million-a-picture deals for a Hollywood actor, landed Elvis the highest-paying Vegas contract for the time, and protected the exploitation rights for dead celebrities through his swift actions for the Presley estate in 1977. Colonel Parker did not technically steal from him, as it was all written in the contracts they signed, but he did exploit him and threatened to bankrupt him if he altered Luhrmann hasnt really given him his due by a long shot. There may be no one better to go to who can provide the truth on both Presley and the Colonel, in tandem, than the latters biographer, Alanna Nash. Parker Im going to get up from whatever happened to me. Elvis Presley: Why He Never Fired His Manager Tom Parker - Outsider Privately, Parker referred to Elviss family as shit and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. Parker soon realized that Elvis' personal charisma and stage dominance propelled him to a new mass media and television. Elviss first manager, Bob Neal, told me that he had a heck of a time getting stations to play Elviss first single. In fact, as Smithsonian Magazine writes, Parker was born in Breda, in the Netherlands, in 1909, and his birth name was Andreas van Kuijk. Presley recorded the song "Heartbreak Hotel" in January 1956, transitioning from being a promising singer to a true rock star. The movie dramatizes the artists rise and fall from a lesser-known perspectivethat of his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Elvis began to lose weight quickly and developed an addiction to tranquilizing drugs, to the point that they hindered his live performances, where he was sometimes unable to sing or mumbled the lyrics of his songs until he was allowed to return to his Graceland home. Elvis' fourth single, titled "Love Me Tender," was released in October 1956, in conjunction with Paramount's other films; even though, Parker still questioned if Elvis's fame would last long, seeing as, over the years, many artists blossom to stardom and then fade away. Jeremy Renner Broke Out Some High Kicks on. I think initially, Elvis loved this idea. It was supposed to be a Christmas show in the sense that it would air in December, and Parker wanted it to be a family show with Elvis as a 60s-era Bing Crosby or Perry Como. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Did Parker really do everything in his power to make sure Elvis didnt fulfill his wish of touring internationally? Colonel Tom Parker - Elvis, House & Death - Biography His military service was No, all that stuff was rehearsed and rehearsed. Illegally immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 17 and adopting the name Thomas Andrew Parker (he thereafter claimed to be from West Virginia), he made his living as a carnival worker, aside from a nearly four-year stint in the Army. I always say to people who werent alive in 1956, when Elvis hit the national scene, you cannot imagine the before and after [of] American culture, says Nash. Harbinson in 1975. Flamboyant and flashy, sexy and self-mocking, he works with the instincts of a genius to give poetry to the basic rock performance. Whether he made fans swoon with Love Me Tender, rocked their worlds with Jailhouse Rock or set their hearts aflame with Burning Love, Elvis proved again and again that he was made for the stage. But it isnt Elvis did this, Elvis did that. Its actually about America in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Elsewhere in this section of the film, Parkerwho in real life had sold the network on the idea of a Christmas special so he could turn Elvis into a late-60s Bing Crosbyappears as a bumbling rube in his insistence that Elvis sing Here Comes Santa Claus. Its funny, but renders Parker ridiculous. He took really great care of us. Parker was ticked that there was initially no Christmas music, though, and (TV producer) Steve Binder and Elvis threw him Blue Christmas as a bone. Wed stop and go in there, and it would be very dark, very eerie, and the Thing would be this poor pathetic Black person on his hands and knees in a low cage. Defying his detractors, who expected his fame to putter out during his military service, Elvis resumed his career right where it left off upon returning to the U.S. in 1960. That year, the small, struggling label sold Presleys contract to RCA Victor for $35,000. As for the Presley Are the liberties worth it for creating an artistic picture? Elvis had given a concert in Canada in 1957 (his only appearance abroad), but this was possible because Parker did not need to bring an American passport there. During the conference, a reporter barked a question at Elvis, prompting a revealing exchange. But he worked closely with the Pentagon, planning Elvis army career and post-army concert to raise money for the U.S.S. Still, the odds were heavily in favor that hed be a country singer and his stint on the Louisiana Hayride seemed to point him in that direction. Everybody loves Tom Hanks but they may not love Tom Parker, the predatory music manager he plays in Elvis. The Colonel had a highly developed sense of humor that enthralled members of Elviss entourage as well as actor Hugh OBrian, whose Wyatt Earp tour Parker promoted in 1957. But once Elvis was onstage, controlling the music, he did what he wanted. But then Colonel cheated Hank out of half of Elvis and that was that. He started out as a carnival promoter and many felt that he handled Elvis career the way one would manage a circus attraction. Little Richard: The Riveting Showmanship and Tortured Sexuality That Built Rock and Roll. Get your picture back.. While managing Elvis and traveling the country in the late 50s, the Colonel was accompanied by William Morris agent-in-training Byron Raphael, who remembered, He often took me to these little carnivals that were so small they didnt even have a big tent. We should care about Elvisthe man and the mythbecause he was Elvis Presley, a true American original. In this article, well tell you if he actually stole money from the King. No one is probably expecting that; any practiced watcher of biopics knows virtually any example will take deep liberties with the facts for dramatic purposes. The Presley estate sued Parker for fraud in 1981, specifically over the deals he had with RCA in In his frenetic, dazzling, exhilarating mess of a movie, Elvis, Baz Luhrmann has done much the same when it comes to Colonel Parker, showing us only one side of a highly complex and intensely fascinating and mysterious character. Whether it was his legendary 1954 appearance on Louisiana Hayride, his 68 Comeback Special or his 1973 Aloha From Hawaii broadcast, the star always brought the thunder. Did Colonel Tom Parker Really Kill Elvis Presley? The Colonels Scandalous Treatment Of Elvis. That Danger!: Ann-Margret Is Still Riding Her Harley at 81, Im just gonna get up on that bike again. Eddy Arnold, whom Parker had built into a household name, had fired him as his manager over failing to honor their exclusive contract, though Parker continued to book him. Nobody got more money in the history of Las Vegas!. Elvis The hotel would bring a roulette wheel to his room. | Ben Vaughn There are probably a number of reasons for this. But things started to fall apart as the pressures of fame caught up to him. My guess is that, if Elvis had been Black, he wouldnt have been as interested, because it would have been harder to take him to a larger audience, especially in the segregated South, which was Parkers stronghold from his days on the carnival circuit. Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, granted him an honorary colonelcy in 1948, sold Presleys contract to RCA Victor for $35,000, restricted Presley from touring internationally. He might have gone to Black churches with his friend, Sam Bell, in Tupelo, as a kid. It was all to make him into a beloved pop idol, not a dangerous, lugubrious rock n roller. People forget that! In 1955, Parker persuaded the much-larger record label RCA Victor to buy out Elvis contract with Sun Records for the staggering sum of $35,000; he became Elvis manager and exclusive representative for the rest of the stars career. Above all, he was terrified of being poor again. Did Parker really install Elvis dad, Vernon, as business manager to make sure he, the Colonel, could really run all things? But Parker insisted that Presley be paid for his appearance, and when Murrow refused, the show was canceled. I mean, music, movies, stylehe was a sponge. Marty Lacker told me that Elvis and B.B. Presley is quite a homemaker, Priscilla is, and Im sure she would love to have one of the machines so she could knit Elvis [a sweater].. and The Great Gatsby, Elvis explores the relationship between Elvis the man and Elvis the myth from the viewpoint of the man who sold both. The protagonist of the Back to the Future film series accidentally travelled to Red Dead Redemption 2's world. Whats his name?. Alex Shoofey, the executive VP of the International, testified that Parker was good for $1 million a year in gambling, but others think that number is low. He sat there so engrossed that he never moved, though God knows how many times hed seen it. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. I know that.. I will stick with you through thick and thin. Stowing away on a cruise liner to the States in 1929, the Colonel lived for decades in fear of being discovered as an illegal alien. But big Elvis fans know Parker the man who managed the musicians career from 1955 until the iconic singer died prematurely in 1977 all too well. Colonel Tom Parker was best known for being the manager of Elvis Presley. I played along. Hes always Tom Hanks, cladded up in a fat suit, prosthetic jowls, and an exaggerated nose drooping from a boiled egg of a face and pate, sometimes resembling his pal LBJ. Elvis accepted the idea and married Priscilla Beaulieu in the spring of 1967. That kind of dedication can go a long way with people. Potomac, was going to be salvaged. Speaking to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show last year, Hanks described Parker as both a genius and a scoundrel He was a very disciplined man, but also a guy who you might want to check your wallet to make sure you still have all those fives and 10s. Most surprisingly, Hanks described asking Elvis Presleys ex-wife Priscilla about Parker, and getting a surprising answer. Parker then worked hard to secure Elvis appearances on Milton Berle's television program and later The Ed Sullivan Show, while simultaneously negotiating with merchandising companies to use the Elvis name identical to a trademark. He cut together an entire album that had no music on it. Whether he truly wanted to fire Parker or not, death was the only thing that could split the two apart. The only song I suggested was Are You Lonesome Tonight? I got Elvis the most money ever for an entertainer in Las Vegas. So, in some ways, the problem goes beyond Elvis., Elvis was hailed by his fans as the white king of a Black musical style whose originators received far less recognition than he did. And while Colonel Parker didnt technically steal anything from Elvis, the deals he had with him was so unfair that they were certainly exploitable in nature. No, Elvis didnt steal Black music, but he certainly appropriated and profited from it within an unjust, discriminatory system. But in Luhrmanns treatment, hes Satan in a snowman sweater. Get the latest History stories in your inbox? A lot of people seem to think I started this business, he told Jet magazine in 1957. But rock n roll was here a long time before I came along. But he was never inept, and he was fiercely loyal in his business dealings and determined to honor his contracts to the letter. Parker agreed to a contract with the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas for Elvis to perform full moon concerts for US$ 125,000 per week, a very high sum for a single artist for a time. Just a few hours earlier, the Times added, Elvis had held a press conference in a hotel ballroom jammed with freaks, little skinny girls, fat men in hippie clothes, lots of leather jackets and inane questions. Clad in a blue satin jumpsuit, the singer, with his mane of black hair and showbiz smile, received his audience with patience and grace. Contact | No, Luhrmann has really framed this through a present-day lens. Elvis wasnt ready for hear all that yet. [He] was not a warm and fuzzy guy, says Nash. Alanna Nash has written four books about Elvis, including The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. While this borrowingand whether it constitutes cultural appropriationis heavily contested, its perhaps most useful to think about it in terms of cultural exchange: neutral, with the potential to be positive or negative. A televised concert that revisited the entirety of Elvis career, it revived him as an artist. Is the portrayal of the 68 comeback special accurate, with Parker trying desperately to keep it a Christmas special, and resisting the rock n roll throwback elements that everyone loved, because he was kowtowing to a deeply upset TV network? But there was never a Christmas sweater or a fairy-tale Christmas set. Elvis Presley died unexpectedly on August 16, 1977 at Graceland, and Parker attempted to keep managing his estate, although he failed due to legal difficulties with the administrators of the artist's estate and against Priscilla Presley, the ex-wife of the singer and mother of Elvis' only daughter and heiress. Did Colonel Parker Steal from Elvis? (& How Much Did He Earn from In reality, Parker lacked that document because he had never resolved his illegal immigrant status; this prompted the manager to fear of traveling outside the United States and being deported. Parker had no passport and couldnt go and didnt trust any other promoter to take him. So while he was gone (remember, Parker never went to Germany when Elvis was there), Parker set up all these appearances and movies for him, and the idea was to make him appeal to families the all-American boy that would have longevity, and could grow into that role as he aged. In 1963, Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presleys audacious manager who had gotten his start selling candy apples in carnivals, read in the paper that Franklin Delano
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