mid August, 2006
- Elvis has never left the building
By Diana Plater
(news.com.au August 13, 2006)
NINA Holcomb has been working at the birthplace of Elvis Presley at Tupelo, Mississippi for a year. The two-bedroom house hasn't changed much since 1934 when it was built by Elvis's father, Vernon, who borrowed $US180 ($A235) for materials, on land he sharecropped.
Elvis was born to Gladys on January 8, 1935; an identical twin brother, Jessie Garon, was stillborn. "Elvis was part Cherokee, wasn't he?" I ask. "Oh yeah, he was half and his mother was three-quarters," Holcomb says. I try to do the maths. "So that's maybe why he was so good-looking?" I ask. "The Presley men are all good-looking." Then she whispers: "And they're all womanisers."
Not everybody is that irreverent about The King, with the story wall in the house covered in tributes from his friends, many referring to his religious upbringing. One by Annie Presley, cousin by marriage and a dear friend of Gladys, says: "Elvis never forgot his raisin'." Another tells of Elvis sneaking away to the black Baptist church to listen to gospel music. The family had to move out of the house when Elvis was three when Vernon couldn't repay the $180 loan. The home was repossessed.
Then, in 1948, Vernon moved the family to Memphis, about 160km to the north, to look for work. What they couldn't load in their 1939 Plymouth (a replica of which is also on the site) they left behind. In 1956 and '57, Elvis returned to Tupelo to perform benefit concerts at the fairgrounds; the money was used to buy back his birthplace and build a park and later a magnificent museum, which is visited now by around 100,000 people a year. But it's Graceland, his home in Memphis, where he lived from the age of 22 until his death on August 17, 1977, at the age of 42, which is the most visited private residence in the world with nearly 700,000 sightseers a year.
Earlier this year it was made a National Historic Landmark. Elvis bought the property for $US103,000 ($A145,182) in 1957 with earnings from his first hit record, Heartbreak Hotel. His former wife, Priscilla Presley, opened Graceland's doors to the public in 1980, but it is his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who is its sole owner, and it's her voice that is heard the most on the audio tour through the house.
Graceland is much smaller than I expected, more a large colonial-style house than a mansion. At 3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard, it's about 14km south of central Memphis. It took us a few goes to find the exit to the former Bellevue Boulevard an ugly highway to Mississippi full of chain stores, gas stations and car sales yards. An adjacent shopping mall has been turned into a virtual theme park with restaurants, a theatre and two museums. ...
- ALL SHOOK UP: Are Elvis Presley impersonators an endangered species?
BY WOODY BAIRD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Memphis Flyer August 13, 2006)
Elvis impersonators can relax: No one's coming after their bespangled jumpsuits. At least not yet. "It's not even on the radar screen right now," said Robert F.X. Sillerman, head of the entertainment company that owns the legal rights to Elvis Presley's name. CKX Inc. took control of Elvis Presley Enterprises last year, and Sillerman wondered aloud in an interview with The New York Times if the company should do something about "unauthorized Elvis impersonators."
That shook up the pompadoured crowd of impersonators in Memphis, Tenn., as well as Las Vegas, London, the Jersey Shore and elsewhere around the world, and since then Sillerman has backed off a bit. "The only comment I have made about the future of Elvis impersonators was simply an answer to a reporter's hypothetical question," Sillerman said in a statement issued from his New York headquarters in May. "In truth, the issue is not something we at CKX are actively looking into." Despite those assurances, impersonators are wondering about their future. Jerry Kay of Long Branch, known professionally as "El King," said any licensing of impersonators might tread on the right to free speech. "It might not be something you can regulate," said Kay, "any more than you can regulate a comedian who does impressions of famous people. You couldn't stop a comedian from parodying a character. "I just get the feeling that Sillerman is looking for every possible way to make money," Kay continued. "Whether something like that (the licensing of impersonators) would hold up (in court), I don't know."
"Nobody seems to have any answers," said Ed "Doc" Franklin, founder of "Images of the King," one of the oldest and best-known Elvis impersonator contests. Held in Memphis for five straight days on the anniversary of Presley's death at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977, it attracts contestants of all ages, races, nationalities, even sex. "It's such a worldwide thing, you can't just jump out there and say, "Hey, wait a minute. You can't do this anymore, boys.' It would be like a big revolt," said Franklin, a retired veterinarian who took care of Presley's horses and other pets.
"Tribute artists"
Elvis Presley Enterprises, the former business arm of Presley's estate, has a long and successful history of shutting down interlopers trying to horn in on its business. But most of those battles focused on trinket or souvenir hawkers, and the impersonators, who like to call themselves "tribute artists," were largely left alone. The impersonators could be embarrassing at times, but Presley fans enjoyed having them around, and shutting them down for violating the estate's publicity rights would be tricky.
It's one thing to tell a souvenir maker to quit putting Elvis' face on coffee mugs, but it's something quite different to shut down a singer because he favors white jumpsuits, rhinestones and sideburns. "It's entertainment, which has traditionally been accorded a wide scope of protection," said Roberta Kwall, a DePaul University law professor and specialist on publicity rights. If an impersonator includes a bit of his own style in his act, it becomes an interpretation - or even a parody - rather than a mere copy of Presley's work. "It's a bit of a moving target," Kwall said.
Matt Lewis, an impersonator who has toured the world and now performs 12 times a week at the Imperial Palace casino in Las Vegas, says CKX would be hurting itself if it went after Elvis acts. "Elvis impersonators drive the popularity of Elvis," Lewis said. "We get new fans all the time, which sells merchandise, sells CDs, which promotes Elvis' name. People don't go out and buy my T-shirt after the show - they get an Elvis T-shirt somewhere."
Kay of Long Branch agreed.
"I think (licensing) would be counterproductive because it does more good than harm to have people out there promoting Elvis," he said. "I've performed for young people who would have had no exposure to Elvis if it weren't for an impersonator. They're hearing "Jailhouse Rock' for the first time because of an Elvis impersonator, and they might go out and buy the record. "We're all ambassadors for Elvis. We're helping his image more than hurting it."
But not all Elvis impersonators are created equal. Lewis works for one of the few licensed Presley acts around, the "Legends in Concert" show owned by Las Vegas-based Onstage Entertainment Inc. Onstage CEO Tim Parrott said his company signed an agreement with the Presley estate in 1995 authorizing the use of an impersonator. A crackdown on unlicensed Elvises could help the company, he said. "If they start closing other people down, we'll be the survivor," he said.
Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie, and her Elvis Presley Enterprise sold the rights to her father's name to CKX last year along with Graceland's souvenir shops and museums for about $100 million in cash and stock. She retained title to the house itself, but CKX controls it, too, through a 90-year lease. Elvis Presley Enterprises became a subsidiary of CKX, which also owns the "American Idol" TV show, a Hollywood talent-management company and most of the marketing rights to boxer Muhammad Ali's name and likeness.
Michael Hoover, a professional Elvis impersonator who took over the "Images of the King" contest two years ago, said he is a little concerned but expects the show to continue. "If it comes down to somebody saying you can't wear that wig or you can't wear that shirt or you can't sing that song, that will upset a lot of people," he said. "You would see some really serious reaction from the impersonators."
- Live Elvis and Cold Cash
(Memphis Flyer August 13, 2006)
No doubt some of the tourists now flooding Memphis for yet another commemoration of the life of the late Elvis Presley do not believe that Elvis is actually late - just detained somewhere or hiding out. Two Hollywood producers are in town to put their money where these true believers' mouths are. Dan Bliss and Warren Zide (the latter responsible for such high-gross films as American Pie and the Final Destination series) are offering $1 million to the lucky acolyte who can prove that Elvis is still alive.
They'll announce details at a 3 p.m. Monday press conference at the Kettle Restaurant on E. Brooks Rd, where they'll also discuss their forthcoming documentary, The Truth About Elvis.
- Elvis is in the bookstore: New works include biographies, fiction, essays
By Ron Berthel
(Eagle-Tribune August 13, 2006)
There has been yet another Elvis sighting! Not Elvis in the flesh, but Elvis between the covers of two new nonfiction books whose appearance coincides with the anniversary of Presley's death on Aug. 16, 1977. Among other sightings on the list of new hardcover books are novels by Mary Balogh and Eric Kraft; and nonfiction, including books about the war in Iraq and the prelude to Sept. 11; and Nora Ephron's musings on womanhood.
* Jerry Schilling describes his long, close friendship with Presley in "Me and a Guy Named Elvis" (Gotham Books). Schilling, who has worked in the entertainment industry as manager, publicist and consultant, describes the Presley he knew firsthand. It began with a chance meeting in 1954 at a pickup football game, when the author was 12 and Presley, 17, had just released his first single.
* Presley's rise and fall and his significance as a celebrity and entertainer are charted in "Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley" (Hill and Wang). Author Charles L. Ponce de Leon describes Presley's decline from a charismatic, rebellious singer to the star of mediocre, saccharine films; how Elvis myths evolved; and how Presley's great fame influenced a lifestyle that adversely affected his personal and professional life.
* There's "Simply Love" (Delacorte Press), the second in Balogh's historical fiction series about an elite academy for young women in Regency England. This installment is set in Wales, where an earl's son who was disfigured in battle during the Napoleonic Wars has taken refuge in an isolated castle. Romance arrives when the castle's owner and his family bring a guest, Anne Jewell, a teacher at the academy.
* "Taking Off" (St. Martin's Press) is the aptly titled first book in Kraft's planned "Flying" trilogy. His recurring character Peter Leroy visits his boyhood hometown in suburban New York to find that it has become a tourist magnet. Its main attraction commemorates the flight Leroy made as a 15-year-old in an "aerocycle," a homemade contraption he purportedly flew on a 4,000-mile round trip to New Mexico and which made him a local hero. Leroy, wanting to set the record straight, recalls the true story of the flight.
- TAKE 5 Love him tender
SOURCE: tv-now.com
(newkerala.com August 13, 2006)
Wednesday will be the 29th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. As always, to mark the occasion, there will be plenty of Elvis sightings on the tube this week. Here are five: This Is Elvis (Monday at 6:15 a.m., HBO Signature) - In this 1981 movie, the King is recalled in dramatizations and home movies, news clips and concert excerpts.
E! True Hollywood Story (Wednesday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Saturday at 7 a.m., E!) - "The Last Days of Elvis" recalls the events of August 1977.
Elvis' Entourage (Wednesday at 10 p.m., Thursday at 2 a.m., Biography) - Members of Elvis' "Memphis Mafia" entourage reminisce about their experiences on the road, life at Graceland and in Hollywood.
Harum Scarum (Friday at 8 p.m.,i) - In this 1965 movie, Elvis plays an action star and ladies' man who is traveling through the Middle East on a goodwill tour to promote his latest movie. Once he arrives, however, he is kidnapped by a gang of assassins who are so impressed with his on-screen adventures that they want to hire him to carry out a real-life assassination of their own.
Elvis: That's the Way It Is (Saturday at 8 p.m. and Aug. 20 at 9 p.m., i) - This 1970 backstage documentary takes viewers behind the scenes as Elvis prepares for opening night in Las Vegas.
- The Big E and Little Ol' Me
By Diana Sevanian
(Signal August 12, 2006)
R.I.P. Elvis Presley: Jan. 8, 1935 - Aug. 16, 1977
Maybe the chemicals have finally gotten to me, but I swear, while coloring my hair yesterday, I had one amazing out-of-body experience. The last thing I recall while dabbing on Beautiful Brown, was looking in the mirror and feeling ancient. I wondered: When did I go from go-go boots to graying roots? Then, BAM! It happened. In some kind of Rod Serling switcheroo, everything familiar to me vanished. My family, tastefully decorated abode, computer, underwire bra --all were gone. Pffft! I was catapulted back to one fantastic weekend in 1974.
Firm, fawn-like and living in my funky furnished single, I stood before a full-length mirror admiring bikini lines and a purple mark on my neck. Elvis Presley was to be my gentleman caller that evening. Mmm. Hmm. You read me right. We'd met the night before at The Point After, a hip, happening club near Hollywood. He and his entourage - in L.A. for a big record deal - had stopped by after visiting Dupar's all-you-can-eat Pie Fest.
Our encounter seemed right out of a fairy tale. Despite swarms of gorgeous female fans around him, Elvis' eyes found mine, capturing me with his boyish charm and manly intrigue. Sporting a lop-sided sneer and pointed index finger, he swaggered my way. Wide-eyed, heart palpitating, I looked about in disbelief. The master of the entertainment universe was about to enter my provincial orbit. Yeah, me, the same imperfect girl who'd had accidents in bed long after preschool, was a three-time reject from her high school's Rhythm Bunnies drill team and already had six crowns thanks to a serious Abba Zabba addiction.
"Hello, pretty darlin'," he said with a seductive Southern drawl. "You're sure one fine-lookin' lady." "Th-th-thank you," I said, trembling, secretly checking for intact sphincter tone. Suddenly, as if by magic, Elvis' "Surrender" played. "I do believe this is our dance," he whispered, holding out a ring-encrusted hand. Cheek-to-cheek, we swayed to the music. As he held me, I felt the presence of something "unusual," then quickly jumped backwards. "Sorry!" he declared, quickly removing a big, brownish wad of Kleenex from his jeans pocket. "Just couldn't pass up that last slab o' pecan!" We both laughed.
Dancing again, he pulled me closer. "Mmm-mmm-mmm," he murmured, gnawing on my right clavicle. "Girlie-girl, you're yummier 'n a hambone in January." Swooning, I wondered: Why it is that some men just know how to talk to women? Running my fingers through Elvis' well-oiled pompadour, I savored his unique, heady fragrance. "You sure smell good," I said. "Thanks," he replied. "It's Jade East cologne 'n pork rinds. The Colonel and I been thinkin' about marketing it." Hours passed.
"I got a feelin' about us, Di," Elvis whispered to me, late into the evening. "Me, too," I purred. Just then the lights flickered: Closing time. "Curses!" he shouted. "I'm leavin' town Sunday. Please go out with me tomorrow night. My limo'll get you at 8." "You betcha!" I exclaimed. Nervously, I scribbled my address on a napkin and gave it to him. Then, following his flamboyant kung fu curtsey, Elvis left the building. And to think I almost went bowling that night.
I could barely sleep after that. As I tossed and turned, romantic thoughts of Elvis filled me. So did fear that my Aunt Tillie's psychosis was making a genetic comeback. Next evening, wearing my slinkiest halter dress, frostiest lipstick, thickest synthetic eyelashes (and a hefty shpritz of Renuzit's Georgia Peaches) I was ready for my date with The King. When Elvis' driver pulled up, I sauntered out from the lobby, certain that the paparazzi would be upon me.
Then came a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, is that your dog that keeps pooping on the sidewalk?" asked a squinty old bitty I'd seen before in the laundry room. "Of course not," I answered, crossing fingers behind my back. The driver swiftly opened the limo door. "Ready, Miss?" he asked. "Indubitably," I replied with a new royal air. Arriving at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, I spotted Elvis by the door, his jumpsuit glimmering and sunglasses lowered just enough to check me out. "Ooh-wee, sugar! You've been sweetnin' up my mind all day," he announced. "Hey, listen. I've got champagne, peanut butter 'n nanner sammiches and one hunka burnin' love waitin' for you upstairs." "I'm in, mister," I declared.
Once within Elvis' velvety penthouse, he planted a deep kiss on me (along with a tasty reminder of his recent chili burger and Maalox chaser). "Di, I been thinkin'. This feeling we got is a forever thing," he whispered. "You, me, we're joined at the heart, the soul, the gizzards." "I'm like so on the same page, dearest," I replied. "Dumplin', from the moment E laid eyes on you, he knew you were the one Mama would've chosen," Elvis said, choked up. "In fact, what with yer purty cocker spaniel eyes and all, you even kinda look like Mama." Holding up a gold chain with a diamond band dangling from it, he asked, "Won't you wear my ring around your neck?" "Heck, yeah," I proclaimed. "I'm yours, Elvis, from now until forever." As he began to fasten the gold chain, my delight turned to disaster. Trembling from head to toe, a terrifying sense of doom enveloped me. "Honey bunch,' yer shakin' worse than a possum passin' prune pits," Elvis declared.
Gasping, I described my feelings. "It's nuthin' but jangled nerves. Happens to me a lot," he said. "Wait here and ol' E will getcha somethin' from his medicine chest to fix you up." Elvis disappeared, yet his song, "Separate Ways" blared. The room was now spinning, getting darker and colder. I collapsed onto his heart-shaped bed.
Just then my eerie pilgrimage toward a white light began. From afar, I heard sweet Elvis call out to me one last time. "Don't worry, darlin!" he yelled. "Dollars to donuts we'll be together again someday. But next time, baby, try Bodacious Black on that great mane of yours - and don't forget to tease it real big for your man." "Uh. OK." I replied weakly. When I came to, I found myself sprawled out on my present-day bathroom floor - an empty bottle of hair dye lying next to me. Hacking, confused, I wondered: What the heck happened? Was this a hallucination from inhaling noxious fumes? Or maybe a vision of how life might have been if I'd cruised The Point After more often and Van Nuys Boulevard less? Or was it perhaps a supernatural peek at what awaits me on The Other Side - when I rendezvous with a certain sexy specter from Tupelo?
Aww, like I even care. All I know is, this was one helluva way to spend a 20-minute Clairol timing cycle. Besides, at this age, I'd all but forgotten how groovy it feels to have bikini lines, love bites and that alluring sensation of Brylcreem between my fingers.
- At Little Graceland, near border, Elvis still lives
By Bud Kennedy
(Star-Telegram August 12, 2006)
A retired Rio Grande Valley schoolteacher opens his home for a music festival again today, welcoming maybe 2,000 guests for a concert starring singers named Marquez and Rodriguez. Twice a year, devoted fans gather 20 miles from the Tamaulipas border to celebrate ... Elvis?! "Sure! All Latins like Elvis," said Simon Vega, 70, of Los Fresnos, answering yet another phone call as workers outside reassembled borrowed stadium bleachers for the twice-annual Elvis Fest at Vega's family home, a Presley shrine officially designated on state road signs as "Little Graceland."
Elvis tribute artist Joe Marquez, 54, said Valley residents hear traces of favorite ballads in songs like Are You Lonesome Tonight? "He grew up poor in a hardworking family, and he also served his country proudly," said Marquez, a high school geography teacher in Brownsville. "In the Valley, we can relate." Texans and Tejanos have always shared a state and a proud history. Not to mention a love for football and Whataburgers.
But somehow, I never thought of Elvis as a cross-cultural icon. Families come from Monterrey and even Mexico City to visit Vega's home, he said: "It's amazing how the little kids know all about his films. They've all seen Fun in Acapulco and sung Guadalajara." Marquez will suit up in a black sequined jumpsuit and swivel-hip through songs such as Always on My Mind and -- of course -- Viva Las Vegas. "Elvis was from the barrio -- just a different kind of barrio," he said. "He had a lot of diversity in his music. He wasn't afraid to try new things. "Fun in Acapulco -- that was like a Southern guy giving a big shout-out to Mexico. To me, he's always been the greatest singer of all time."
This Elvis mania in the Valley began 14 years ago this weekend, when the Vega family marked the 15th anniversary of Presley's death by building front gates covered with musical notes just like those at Elvis' Graceland home in Memphis. Actually, you could say that Vega's devotion to Elvis began nearly 40 years ago. As a young Los Fresnos boy drafted into the U.S. Army, Vega met Presley as a fellow soldier serving in the 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany, from 1958 to 1960. Vega had seen Presley during basic training at Fort Hood. In Germany, Vega saw the singer in the cafeteria line one day and told him, "My name's Vega, and I want to be your friend."
"We didn't have any money," he said. Vega had grown up on a farm outside Los Fresnos and had a job pumping gas at a service station before he was drafted. "Elvis took us to the snack bar, and he would treat us to hamburgers," Vega said. "He was very generous. He was a big star, but he never acted like it." One day, Vega asked Presley how he liked the Army. The way Vega remembers it, Elvis replied: "I'm proud to serve with you guys, but I'd rather be on stage."
Vega has old black-and-white photos with Elvis, shot with a Brownie camera. When Vega came home to the Valley, he started collecting Presley memorabilia and also eventually studied for a 23-year career as a high school history teacher. After fans started driving by to see his gates, he decided to open his collection as "Little Graceland." "Everybody thought I was crazy," he said. "But I have met so many people. They come and cry and say, 'Thank you.'"
The Vega family hosts Elvis Fest every January and August, celebrating Presley's birth and remembering his death. Vega has already made plans for a long-running festival, willing the home and the collection to the children of son Rene Elvis Vega, a school counselor in New Braunfels. The senior Vega has recovered from heart surgery and a mild stroke. But he keeps the tradition "for Elvis, to keep his name going," Vega said. "Elvis always said that he was happiest when he could see that other people were happy," Vega said. "That's why I do this -- to make as many people as possible happy." The King doesn't recognize borders.
- Billings woman collects all things Elvis
By MARY PICKETT
(billingsgazette.net August 12, 2006)
Trudy Chester's two daughters have joked that they plan to sell off their mother's extensive Elvis Presley collection at a garage sale after she's gone. Just so that can't happen, Chester has stipulated in her will that the collection can't be sold by her heirs until her first great-grandchild enters college, a good 30 to 40 years down the road.
In the meantime, Chester, 62, plans to enjoy the 2,500 to 3,500 things she owns commemorating Elvis and his music. Her Elvis collection is as impressive as the King of Rock and Roll's staying power. Nearly 30 years after his death, people still listen to his music, see his movies and buy the unending supply of Elvis collectibles produced every year. ...
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