early February 2007
- Elvis Presley Enterprises wins copyright case
(Memphis Business Journal, February 15, 2007)
The U.S. District Court in Los Angeles has awarded $2.8 million to plaintiffs who alleged that copyrights on works by Elvis Presley were infringed. Memphis-based Elvis Presley Enterprises, SOFA Entertainment, and songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were awarded the $2.8 million in damages and attorney's fees to be paid by Passport International Productions and its owner, Dante Pugliese.
The case originated with Passport's manufacture and distribution of a set of eight DVDs entitled "25th Anniversary Elvis: The Definitive Collection August 16, 1977 - August 16, 2002." The 16-hour set included copyrighted works and the rights of publicity owned by the plaintiffs.
The copyrighted materials included Presley's home movies owned by EPE, material from "The Ed Sullivan Show," and portions of "Ed Sullivan Rock & Roll Classics - Elvis Presley," owned by SOFA Entertainment, a producer of movies, videos and television programs. Other unauthorized material was from the EPE-owned "The Elvis 1968 Comeback Special, 'Aloha From Hawaii,'" and "Elvis In Concert," which also include songs written by Leiber and Stoller.
- Elvis Presley statue going up in Hawaii
By TARA GODVIN
(Yahoo! News / Associated Press, February 14, 2007)
Elvis Presley fans will soon have a place in the islands to fondly remember why they couldn't help falling in love with the star of "Blue Hawaii." Wearing his signature flare-legged, big-collared, bejeweled and strategically snug ensemble, the King will reappear in the islands in the form of a life-sized bronze statue marking the site of his historic 1973 concert "Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii."
The statue, commissioned by TV Land, a division of MTV Networks, will be unveiled in July in front of the Neal Blaisdell Center. The tribute by the network and the city and county of Honolulu is meant to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Presley's death at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977. "Elvis remains an idol and a hero to so many of us. And because of his time spent here, Hawaii considers him an adopted son," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, himself a crooner who sang an Hawaii-themed medley at his inauguration. "Elvis will forever remain a part of Hawaii's identity - from his film `Blue Hawaii' to his 1961 benefit performance to raise money for the USS Arizona Memorial to the historic concert which the sculpture commemorates."
The `73 concert was the first musical event ever sent around the world by satellite. The resulting live album has since gone platinum five times over.
- Touring stars find burning love for show
By Michael Grossberg
(COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 13, 2007)
Take two dozen Elvis Presley songs, from Blue Suede Shoes and Burning Love to Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock. Add romantic-comedy plots and mistaken identity twists borrowed from Shakespeare's As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night. Surefire ingredients for a Broadway hit? Not quite.
All Shook Up, opening tonight in the Palace Theatre, ran for only a few months during the 2005-06 Broadway season. On the road, though, audiences are laughing, applauding and swaying to the beats. "The show sneaks up on you in a delicious way," said veteran actress and singer Susan Anton. She stars as Miss Sandra, a sexy older woman who perks up when an attractive stranger rides into town on his motorcycle. "What keeps this show going is that it's a blast," said Joe Mandragona, who plays Chad, the rebellious, romantic lead character. "It's rare we get an audience that isn't standing and clapping by the end of the show."
While certainly helped by the Presley hits, the jukebox-musical approach didn't win the show any friends among New York critics. "All generations relate to Elvis Presley's music, . . . but it's more than that," Anton said. "When you leave the theater, you feel better. If you stop to think about it, it's because your heart has been opened up and your judgment has been left behind. . . . The show asks people not to have prejudice, but it does so with a wink and a giggle."
Joe DiPietro, a playwright, wrote the book. "It's a Shakespearean-style comedy that reflects the Elvis legend of taking the country and shaking it up," DiPietro told The Dispatch in 2005. As a comedy with a heart, he said, All Shook Up is similar to his previous works I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and Over the River and Through the Woods.
Set in the early 1950s in a small American town, the story develops a theme of tolerance through its depiction of a May-December romance (with Anton, 56, as the December), an interracial couple and a same-sex pairing - at first glance, anyway. "The show makes us question the assumptions that we make about love," Anton said. "It takes awhile to really be in love, but, until we know more about it, we can't know whether it's love or a frivolous attraction." Mandragona, 25, navigates such confusion as Chad, the guitarist who shakes up Miss Sandra and the town with his music and energy. Though not Presley, the character incorporates his hip-swiveling charm and defiant personality. "Chad is not the most intelligent guy in the world," Mandragona said, "but he really believes in following your dream and your heart."
CAROL ROSEGG
A scene from All Shook Up: Jenny Fellner and Joe Mandragona with the rest of the touring company
- Fresh hedonism and sound artifacts: Bill Owens and Christian Patterson shoot for skin, sin, and salvation
By STEVEN JENKINS
(San Francisco Bay Guardian, February 13, 2007)
America's holy trinity - beer, barbecue, and the Bible - forms a belief system of carnivorous consumption and garish glitz in recent photographs by Bill Owens and Christian Patterson, well paired in concurrent exhibitions at Robert Koch Gallery.
Owens's "Flesh," with its uncomfortable close-ups of pork parts and gnashing teeth, picks through gristly ribs, charred bacon strips, and headless mannequins, revealing an eat-or-be-eaten society starved for gustatory and spiritual succor. Patterson's "Sound Affects" searches for musical solace in Memphis, Tenn., finding fundamentalist sass and the sick glow of neon lights where Elvis Presley used to reign. Both photographers - old-guard Owens, whose seminal Suburbia study put him and his Livermore neighbors on the map 35 years ago, and up-and-comer Patterson, seen here in his first West Coast show - saturate their semisurreal documentary images with alarmingly bright hues, recalling William Eggleston's aesthetic approach. ...
- Say cheese: With '50s icon as her inspiration, Jenny Langer revives pinup chic
By Joseph P. Kahn
(Boston Globe, February 13, 2007)
Fifty years ago, before fetish clothing became high fashion, Bettie Page could scarcely have imagined her influence on women of Jenny Langer's generation. Page, dubbed the Pinup Queen of the Universe for her photogenic charms and playful sexiness, was a devout Christian from small-town Tennessee who modeled leather and leopard skin -- and little else -- in dozens of '50s-era cheesecake magazines. It was Page's naughty bondage photos, however, even more than her revealing 1955 Playboy centerfold, that cemented her place in pinup history and made her a target of a Congressional smut-peddling investigation. Now in her 80s, Page has been rediscovered by Hollywood filmmakers and biographers in recent years, after decades away from the limelight. Even so, few Americans under age 50 know her from Satchel Paige.
So it's surprising to hear Langer, a 23-year-old Bostonian who models and performs under the name Black Betty, cite Page as a lodestar and role model. "For my generation, figures like Elvis [Presley] and Bettie Page have become cultural icons," Langer explains during an interview in a Back Bay coffee shop. "It's not a backlash, exactly. But as the rest of society becomes more overtly sexual, people want something classier." ...
- Must-read books
By TERESA K. WEAVER
(Philadelphia Daily News / Cox News Service
, February 12, 2007)
Black history, like all history, is a work in progress. And moving forward requires a lot of looking back. Every February, Black History Month, publishers release dozens of new books about African-American heroes, defining cultural moments and the most pressing issues for the future. These are some of the best of this year's bounty: ...
* "SHOUT, SISTER, SHOUT! THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROCK-AND-ROLL TRAILBLAZER SISTER ROSETTA THARPE." By Gayle F. Wald. Beacon Press. $25.95. 252 pages. Born in Cotton Plant, Ark., in 1915, this big-wigged guitar virtuoso became a superstar in the golden age of gospel, influencing future stars from Elvis Presley to Etta James. "In hindsight," Wald writes, "nearly everything Rosetta accomplished as a musician seems ahead of its time - sometimes not by years, but by decades." ...
- Fun-filled Office Collections Reflect Personality, Invite Smile
By Crystalee Webb
(Byu Newsnet, February 11, 2007)
Kristine Abbott, who works in BYU's Teacher Education Department, displays her many collections of Elvis, Disney and Chevron paraphanelia in her office. Kristine Abbott's office is all about fun. M&M candies welcome visitors who admire exclusive photos of Elvis, rows of Chevron toy cars and Disney characters, and hear a "gazooga" phone ring tone. An avid collector, Abbott, executive secretary in the Teacher Education Department, brings her personality to work by decorating her office with her colorful collections.
"We like to personalize our offices. She has created an office space which brings her genuine joy," said Winston Egan, chair of the Teacher Education Department who has worked with Abbott for 10 years. "I collect anything that's fun," Abbott said, gazing about her office, filled with mementos that voice her preferences. The official "Elvis Presley Blvd" sign, stack of Elvis CDs, books, pictures, mug and magnet declare Abbott's long love for "the King" of rock 'n; roll. Rows of toy cars and Disney figures assert that this 65-year-old grandmother is still a kid at heart. ...
- L.A. THEN AND NOW: Star of Mexico's golden age of film still shines
By Cecilia Rasmussen
(Los Angeles Times, February 11, 2007)
With cowboy hat and kerchief, Pedro Infante rode his dreams and a homemade guitar to the top of Mexico's film and music worlds in the 1940s and '50s. Often referred to as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart rolled into one, Infante was best known as "the king of rancheras." He revolutionized the way mariachi tunes were sung, substituting softer, more natural vocals for the traditional strident style. His repertoire included waltzes, cha-chas, tangos and romantic ballads. In all, he recorded about 350 Spanish-language songs, including his favorite, "Amorcito Corazón" (Little Love of My Heart). ...
- Is it wrong to long for Elvis' vigil?
By Mark Hinson
(tallahassee.com, February 11, 2007)
Hurry up, August. If my Jackson County public education is paying off, and I've ciphered the math correctly, there are only 186 days until Aug. 16, 2007. That date marks the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's alleged death at Graceland.
Call me a twisted biscuit, but I can't wait. I attended the 10th- and 20th-anniversary vigils held during Elvis Death Week in Memphis, Tenn., and I'm not about to miss this summer's. It's my personal little pilgrimage into the bizarro heart of America. Elvis was a hero to most, but he didn't mean spit to me at the time of his demise. As a kid, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. What was up with this flabby Vegas crooner in a cape who couldn't karate kick his way out of wet crepe paper?
It took several years for me to discover the young, smokin' hot, hillbilly Elvis. He's the hip-gyrating hellcat who detonated a cultural H-bomb in the mid-'50s. So, that's what all the rumpus was about, eh? But how do you reconcile the early signifying Elvis with the latter-day self-parody? The contradictory nature of Elvis is exactly what drives me to Memphis once every decade. For every reverent, goosebump-inducing, real moment spent inside the original Sun Records studio, something garish or grotesque is waiting just around the corner.
During my last stopover, I was hanging out on the front lawn of Graceland watching pilgrims line up for a tour of the King's tiny castle. Graceland is not very big. It was built by a dentist and named for his wife, Grace. It wouldn't look out of place in Killearn - if you subtract the fact that Elvis is buried in the backyard.
One of the Elvis-styled pilgrims in sideburns looked really sad, so I approached him."Why are you so blue?" I asked. "Has the gravity of it all gotten to you?" "No, I can't believe they're charging me," the pouty pilgrim said. "Yeah, the tour price is kinda steep considering the house isn't very large," I said. "No," he snapped, "I can't believe they're making me pay to tour my own home. I am Elvis." That's a true story.
During last decade's Death Week, I met the Finnish Elvis, a midget Elvis, El Vez the Mexican Elvis, the eco-friendly "E" Elvis, a lesbian Elvis, the Ontological Elvis and the guy who used to sell the real Elvis loud suits on Beale Street. I also heard testimony from a woman who grew up on property that bordered the backyard of Graceland. When she was a little girl in the mid-'70s, Elvis would come home from tours and patrol his property on a three-wheeler. The kids from the neighborhood built a play fort in the woods on Elvis' land and that drove the King crazy. "He'd come chase us into the woods on his three-wheeler, and we'd throw pine cones and acorns at him," she said. "He was really mean to us kids. I still can't listen to any of his songs." Who knew Elvis was Mr. Wilson from the "Dennis the Menace"? I hope that story is true.
My inaugural trip to Elvis World was made with two old pals from Jackson County and a friend who grew up near Memphis. We barely made it to Tennessee in time to take the final daily tour of Graceland on Aug. 16, 1987. After checking out the Jungle Room, we boarded a van to be ferried from the house across Elvis Presley Boulevard to a parking lot. Thousands of mourners had crowded into the street for the evening's candlelight vigil.
The gates of Graceland inched open and the van crawled as the thousands of the Elvis faithful parted like the Red Sea in slow motion. Fans stared trying to figure out if we were VIPs or rock stars or members of Elvis' family. We were none of those things. We were just four poor little pilgrims lost in a sea of sorrow at the gates of Graceland.
- NIXON: His own worst enemy: Our 37th president was most uncomfortable with himself, as a revealing new documentary makes perfectly clear
By NOEL HOLSTON
(newsday.com, February 11, 2007)
Richard M. Nixon famously told reporters once that they wouldn't have him to "kick around anymore." Like one or two other pronouncements he made over the course of his political career, that wasn't true. He came back for more. More triumph. More dishonor. More punishment. And long after his Watergate disgrace and his death, he continues to remind us it's hard to keep an odd man down.
Last season's edition of the Fox anti-terrorism potboiler "24" featured a hairline-perfect Nixon-esque president as its devious villain. The real Nixon was shown or mentioned on television during the recent funeral observances of President Gerald R. Ford, his successor, almost as often as Ford's beloved wife, Betty. "NBC Nightly News" chose to mark last month's birth date of Elvis Presley by recalling the details of the rock and roll king's bizarre Oval Office drop-in on a classically awkward Nixon in December 1970.
- Cancer patient has great support group
By Erik Sorensen
(Citizen, Auburn, NY, February 10, 2007)
Hard work, in the outdoors, was how he earned his living. Working in masonry, Cayuga County native Billy Jo Granger was always fit and strong. His wife, Elaine, said she had never seen him sick a single day in the 16 years they've been together. But, several years ago, all those hours in the sun led to a mole that had to be removed from his back. In November, after months of feeling too weak to tend to even his beloved lawn, the 44-year-old Granger learned the awful news - the skin cancer he once thought was in check had spread throughout his body. The prognosis? His doctor told him he had six months to live. Saturday at the Ukrainian National Club, Granger had one of his best days in years.
Surrounded by his family, his friends, and those that just wanted to help a little, a fundraiser was held to pay for medical expenses, and to make sure that there are plenty of enjoyable days like this to look forward to. One trip might be to Memphis for a visit to Graceland. Granger has always been a fan of Elvis Presley, another working class boy who passed away too young. ...
- Media frenzy engulfs Perper, Wecht: Anna Nicole Smith puts two former Allegheny County coroners in the news again
By Michael A. Fuoco
(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 10, 2007)
Dr. Joshua Perper -- the Broward County, Fla., medical examiner and former Allegheny County coroner -- talks to reporters yesterday about the inconclusive results of an autopsy performed on Anna Nicole Smith. Twice in five months, a former Allegheny County coroner has become a key player in the international media scrutiny of Anna Nicole Smith's celebrity. Now in the spotlight is Dr. Joshua A. Perper, the Broward County, Fla., medical examiner, who yesterday performed the autopsy on Ms. Smith.
Also involved in the media feeding frenzy is Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, who in September performed a privately commissioned autopsy on the body of Ms. Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel. The Associated Press reported yesterday that Dr. Perper said no illegal drugs were discovered in Ms. Smith's room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood after the 39-year-old pinup collapsed there Thursday. But CNN quoted a law enforcement source as saying there were large amounts of prescription drugs, including Valium and antibiotics, as well as over-the-counter cold and flu medication.
Dr. Perper said there were no pills in Ms. Smith's stomach and no other immediate signs of an overdose, but officials "do not exclude any kind of contribution of medication to the death." He reported signs of inflammation in Ms. Smith's heart, "Something which looks a little bit unusual," but added, "It may be nothing." He said it would take three to five weeks to conclude the investigation. Authorities also planned to interview a nurse and others and examine medical records before settling on a cause of death. Seminole police Chief Charlie Tiger said there was no signs of foul play.
... When Ms. Smith's son died Sept. 10, while visiting his mother and her newborn daughter at a hospital in the Bahamas, Dr. Wecht determined the young man had low levels of three drugs in his system. Because of that connection to Ms. Smith, Dr. Wecht has been in high demand for TV, newspaper and radio interviews about the former model. ... Dr. Perper may be new to the international media glare but Dr. Wecht is experienced in that arena. In one way or another, he has been involved in post-mortem examinations in such high profile cases as the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, Tammy Wynette, Jon Benet Ramsey, Laci Peterson, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Dr. Wecht said that performing autopsies on celebrities may "add a new and additional dimension" to a forensic pathologist's job, but it has no effect on procedure or analysis. For example, his medical conjecture that Ms. Smith's death may be due to drugs had nothing to do with her celebrity but with her age and apparent good health. "Everything I said medically as a forensic pathologist would be applicable to the homeless guy or anybody," he said.
- Sayson: Bitter, not sweet, 16
By Homer Sayson
(sunstar.com.ph, February 10, 2007)
Back in the 80s, I despised everything about Boston basketball. I hated the Celtics, hated the clover leaf, too. And for ripping my heart many times, I harbored criminal thoughts on Larry Bird, one of the greatest players to ever walk this planet. My disdain toward the Celtics was exceeded only by my deepest devotion to the purple-and-gold. Gosh, I loved those Showtime Lakers. Magic Johnson was poetry with a blind pass. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was efficiency in goggles, excellence with a sky hook. And James Worthy, another goggled wonder, was the ultimate finisher; faster than a tornado, tougher than cheap leather. I was never a gifted dancer. I'm stiff as a statue and I shimmy shake like a drunk seal. But when the Celtics lost to the Lakers in the 1985 and 1987 NBA Finals, I recall gyrating my hips with the electricity of an Elvis Presley. When Bird retired last August 18, 1992, my dislike for the Celtics also retired. ...
- Las Vegas marriage, divorce records are posted online
By Bob Mims
(Salt Lake Tribune, February 7, 2007)
Not everything done in Vegas stays in Vegas. Thanks to the Utah-based online genealogy service Ancestry.com, marriage and divorce records for Las Vegas from 1956 through 2005 have hit the Internet. That's more than 9 million people who said their "I do's" - and "I don'ts" - and it's happening just in time for Valentine's Day.
The collection went online Wednesday. The collection is highlighted by a bevy of celebrity unions and disunions. For example, actress Elizabeth Taylor shows up on May 12, 1959, marrying the fourth of eight husbands, Eddie Fisher. And of course, Elvis Presley wed Priscilla there in 1967. ...
- Super Bowl MVP Manning insists he's one of the guys
By Jim Corbett
(USA Today, February 8, 2007)
Ever since his Tuesday arrival at the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning has done his best Elvis Presley impersonation, saying, "Thank you very much," to all those offering congratulations. Noticing Manning's slight embarrassment by all the extra attention, Minnesota Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson had some fun tweaking his longtime buddy by the poolside lounge. "The thing that killed me was Hutchinson said, 'You've changed,' " Manning said. "I said, 'There's nothing more you could say to me to make me madder. Have I brought it up one time?' "I've been giving them my best Elvis. I'm embarrassed by this. Steve was kidding with me, saying 'I see the change.' My goal all week is to prove to him that I'm very much the same guy." ...
- Singer Frankie Laine dead at 93
By Claudia Luther
(Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2007)
Frankie Laine, the singer with the booming voice who hit it big with such songs as "That Lucky Old Sun," "Mule Train," "Cool Water," "I Believe," "Granada" and "Moonlight Gambler," died today at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He was 93. ... In all, Laine sold well over 100 million records and was hugely popular not only in the United States but in Britain and Australia.
Even after his popularity crested after the rise of rock 'n' roll, Laine was heard for many years singing the theme to the TV series "Rawhide," which featured a young Clint Eastwood and ran until 1966. Most of those who remember Laine for his biggest hits would hardly know that his body of work included "Baby That Ain't Right," "Rosetta" and many other songs that were more in the style of what Laine considered his roots -- jazz and blues. "Years before Elvis Presley, Laine brought a potent blend of blues, jazz and country to popular music," jazz critic Don Heckman said. "Rarely acknowledged in Laine's work, he sang with the easy, loose phrasing and imaginative articulation of jazz performers." ...
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