July 26, 1954
Elvis–This Day in History is a post from: The Elvis Presley Blog
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FRANKFORT SPECIAL FRANKIE AND JOHNNY Love Me Tender Loving You
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Elvis–This Day in History
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Elvis–This Day in History
July 26, 1954
Elvis–This Day in History is a post from: The Elvis Presley Blog
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/myElvisPresleyBlog/~3/adwQj2QLU2I/elvisthis-day-in-history
Random Thoughts on Encore’s Elvis Collection — Part 6
Thirty-one straight nights of Elvis movies. A big thank you goes to cable channel Encore for the Elvis Collection they presented in May. This was a rare treat for Elvis fans. The last week featured repeats of three of the best Elvis movies from earlier showings, which is good if you missed any of them (or gives you a few nights to do other stuff if you don’t want to see them again so soon).
Movies Presented Last Week That I liked:
King Creole – This was a repeat from three weeks ago, so I didn’t watch. That will be the last time I’ll ever skip it when King Creole is shown commercial-free on cable. It is probably Elvis’ best movie and the cast of supporting actors is great. I like the way Elvis handled his character Danny Fisher. He would never again get to portray such a conflicted and tortured soul. King Creole was discussed in Random Thoughts Part 2.
Girl Happy – One of those silly happy Elvis movies I love so much. I really like the vibe between Elvis and Shelly Fabares in Girl Happy. Plus, lots of lovely girls in bikinis and several good songs. I can’t figure out why Encore didn’t repeat Girl Happy, instead of the lame Girls, Girls, Girls.
G.I. Blues – Another of the fun Elvis movies with pretty good music. The two dance sequences by Juliet Prowse are different and interesting. This was another repeat and has be covered in Random Thoughts Part 2.
Jailhouse Rock – I love this movie, but I skipped it because it was another repeat from the first week. It is discussed in the first Random Thoughts on Encore’s Elvis Collection. It’s a serious film that manages to have the best soundtrack of any Elvis film.
Kid Galahad – I haven’t watched this one very often, but I’m glad Encore included it in their Elvis collection. It grows on me each time. Elvis plays a modest, well-adjusted young man, who gets to sing, box and romance, while his co-stars Gig Young, Lola Albright, and Charles Bronson grapple with their serious problems.
I noticed that unlike most Elvis movies, he and love interest Joan Blackman never had a break-up before coming together at the end. A very smooth romance. I also noted that Elvis’ hair was dark brown – a distinct change from the jet black he sported the previous night in Roustabout.
The Ones I’m Tired of Watching:
Harum Scarum – Well, it was different, but I get bored watching it. The plot and action were pretty weak. The bad guys (including Red West) weren’t very believable, nor was Elvis dropping a tiger with a single Karate chop. I did like Mary Ann Mobely, though.
Change of Habit – I know other reviewers think this is pretty good movie, but I don’t. It certainly wasn’t a fun movie. Elvis was almost a bit player compared to the tribulations that Mary Tyler Moore and two other nuns encountered. There was little music, and except for “Rubberneckin,’” it was forgettable.
Roustabout – This one isn’t too bad, but it certainly would have been improved with a better love interest than Joan Freeman. The most interesting female in the cast was Sue Ann Langdon as the carny fortune teller, Madame Mijanou. She nearly duplicated this roll as Mitzi in Frankie and Johnny – both characters were busty, love-starved women on the prowl.
There is one reason I still watch Roustabout. A teenaged Raquel Welch appears in an early bar scene, and a young Teri Garr is the dancer to Elvis’ left when he sings on the outdoor stage.
Some Things I’ve Noticed Watching Twenty-four Different Elvis Movies in Four Weeks:
Lots of Elvis movie opening credits have him driving a car (motorcycle, helicopter, etc) while singing a song. Change of Habit may have been the only one that used graphics for the credits. No shots of Elvis at all.
Lots of actors show up in more than one Elvis movie. We all know about the leading ladies with rolls in multiple films: Yvonne Craig, Delores Hart, Joan Blackman, Shelly Fabares, Mary Ann Mobley, etc. But a series of consecutive viewings allows you to spot other actors. Ed Asner made his film debut in Roustabout and also played a cop in Change of Habit. Arthur O’Connell was the father figure in both Follow That Dream and Kissin’ Cousins. Jeremy Slate was a soldier buddy of Elvis’ in G.I. Blues and the nasty boat company owner in Girl, Girls, Girls. Bill Bixby competed with Elvis for the girl in Clambake, and was Elvis’ partner in Speedway. This list could go on and on, all the way down to bit players (Teri Garr actually danced in four Elvis movies).
Elvis’ Memphis Mafia buddies are in many movies. As I said before, when I know the story and dialog so well, I amuse myself studying the background characters for Joe Esposito, Red West, Charlie Hodge, Jerry Schilling and others. Try it yourself. The next time you watch an Elvis movie with a club scene, scan the audience and see who you can spot sitting at the tables.
My enjoyment of some Elvis movies is enhanced because of his fine costars in them.
Ann Margret – Viva Las Vegas
Barbara Eden — Flaming Star (not in Encore collection)
Yvonne Craig – It Happened at the World’s Fair and Kissin’ Cousins
Tuesday Weld – Wild In The Country (not in Encore Collection)
Michele Carey – Live A Little, Love A Little
Anne Helm – Follow That Dream
Donna Douglas – Frankie and Johnny
There are several costars that decrease my enjoyment in watching an Elvis movie.
Laurel Goodwin — Girls, Girls, Girls
Ursula Andress — Fun In Acapulco
Joan Freeman – Roustabout
Annette Day – Double Trouble (not in Encore Collection)
And finally, this is the Elvis movie not included in the Encore collection that I missed the most.
“Tickle Me”
© 2013 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Source: http://www.elvisblog.net/2013/06/02/random-thoughts-on-encores-elvis-collection-part-6/
ANGEL ANIMAL INSTINCT ANY DAY NOW ANYWAY YOU WANT ME THAT S HOW I WILL BE
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Can a Book Be Considered a Killer?
Did Elvis die because of a book? According to this interesting story, a book may very well have helped to kill Elvis Presley. You all know the book I am talking about. Elvis: What Happened was published just 2 weeks before Elvis died in 1977 and was an expose by Red and Sonny West as well as David Hebler, former bodyguards to the King who had been fired by Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father. The book was written in collaboration with Steve Dunleavy, a hard-drinking, controversial Australian reporter greatly favored by none other then Rupert Murdoch.
The West brothers tried to appease loyal Elvis friends and fans by saying their intention was to help Elvis by publicizing his drug dependency. But we all know that was a load of horse poop and the real reason they wrote the book was vengeance, plain and simple. It certainly wasn’t for money as this story makes it very clear that all the proceeds from this awful but bestselling book went back to the Murdoch’s news corporation, not the author(s).
Can a book be blamed for killing the King of Rock & Roll? No of course not. Elvis was on his way to his death bed long before these ingrates decided to write this horrible book. (I have never been able to bring myself to read this book, my opinion that it is horrible is based on what others have written about it.) In fact, it is my belief that it wasn’t a book that left Elvis feeling so empty and unfulfilled that he subconsciously felt had nothing left to live for but in fact, it was the loss of his mother Gladys that started him down that fateful road.
Elvis Presley and Rupert Murdoch: The King and Papa Paparazzi
Music journalist Chet Flippo, editorial director for the Country Music Television cable channel and its website, CMT.com, tells a fascinating story in his latest Nashville Skyline column about embattled publishing mogul Rupert Murdoch’s role in the waning days of Elvis Presley’s life.
Now that Murdoch and his News Corp. are embroiled in the cellphone hacking scandal that’s rocking the United Kingdom, Flippo revisits the period in the 1970s when the Australian media giant was lobbying to bring his gossip-mongering ways to the U.S. by acquiring two Texas newspapers — the San Antonio News and the San Antonio Express.
“He later combined both newspapers as the San Antonio Express-News, but early on, he instructed the News staff to turn the paper into a ‘screamer.’ And the paper soon did so. With a vengeance,” Flippo writes. “The staff began introducing Murdoch’s patented tabloid formula of sensationalism, sex, celebrities, crime and corruption. The facts be damned.”
Buy the Book At Amazon – Out of print but used copies are available.
Can a Book Be Considered a Killer? is a post from: The Elvis Presley Blog
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/myElvisPresleyBlog/~3/G-Ko_3QGyo8/can-a-book-be-considered-a-killer
BIG BOOTS BIG BOSS MAN BIG LOVEBIG HEARTACHE BITTER THEY ARE HARDER THEY FALL
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
ELVIS: The King Revealed
A recent news article on Elvis.com announced a so-called instant keepsake – the magazine ELVIS: The King Revealed. This “Official Graceland Special Edition” is touted for going deep into their Elvis historical archives, accessing thousands of photos, documents, interviews and Elvis memorabilia, and sharing them with the public for the first time.
With over 350 ‘rare’ photos, the magazine is probably worth its $9.99 price. But I wish they had used a different title. The King Revealed just sounds too much like those Midnight Globe and National Enquirer tabloid headlines from the late 70s and early 80s. I remembered that many of them proclaimed all sorts of different stuff they supposedly revealed about Elvis.
That was enough motivation to look in my large box of old tabloid issues with Elvis cover stories to see how many had the words Elvis and Revealed in the headlines. To my great surprise, there were none.
However, there were three Elvis tabloids featuring variations on the word revealed, like Starlet Reveals, or New Tapes Reveal.
Midnight Globe — November 22, 1977:
The starlet who revealed why she said no to Elvis is Joan Freeman, his co-star in Blue Hawaii and Kid Galahad. According to the article, “When we first set eyes on each other, there was a spark, a magic in the air… There was just that special something between us, sometimes so warm and wonderful you could almost reach out and touch it.”
Wow, that special something sure sounds like lust to this reader.
Blackman claims she knew Elvis prior to working with him on Blue Hawaii in March and April 1961. It’s possible she met Elvis in Hollywood in 1957, while she was filming her first role in Good Day for a Hanging, but all of her other parts were in movies made while Elvis was in Germany. Anyway, she said Elvis begged her repeatedly to appear in one of his movies, but she turned him down each time. “I wanted parts because of my ability, not because I was dating Elvis.” She maintains she got the role in Blue Hawaii because producer Hal Wallis picked her.
The special something between Blackman and Elvis heated up when they got to Honolulu in 1961. The Midnight Globe asserts they had a wild, tumultuous love affair while there. “We had rooms next to each other in the hotel, and for weeks we just lived together.” This led Elvis to propose marriage. “He really wanted me to be his wife… But I said no… I was in love with another actor, Hampton Fancher III (mostly TV work, lots of westerns).
So, Elvis got shot down in his wish to marry Joan Blackman, but for some reason, he wanted her to appear with him two films later in Kid Galahad. Who needs marriage when you can still have that special something?
The Star — June 27, 1978:
Elvis didn’t make the cover of this issue (just a promo tease in the bottom right corner), and he barely was shown in the centerfold photo-spread. The new tapes referenced came from Wanda June Hill, who used them to write her book We Remember Elvis. She says she first met Elvis in a Hollywood studio and kept in contact with him for fifteen years, right up to his death. Apparently, she had a tape recorder going much of the time during their phone conversations.
The Star article does emphasize the continuing love Elvis and Priscilla had for each other, even after their divorce in 1971. That seems to be accepted narrative these days, but maybe it was considered a revelation back in 1978 when the article appeared.
What’s interesting is the choice of photos under the banner “The Eternal Love of Elvis and Priscilla.” There’s one tiny picture of them in the upper right-hand corner.
There is a considerably larger photo of Priscilla and Karate trainer Mike Stone on the lower right. He is not mentioned in the article, except for the photo caption that says, “He [Elvis] forgave the relationship she developed with Mike Stone after the separation. (After?)
There is an even larger photo of Priscilla with her ‘latest escort,’ Hollywood hairdresser Elie Erzer. What ever happened to calling them boyfriends or lovers?
There is also a great shot of Linda Thompson I’ve never seen before. She gets treated rather kindly in the article.
Finally, there is a familiar glamour shot of Ginger Alden. She doesn’t come out too well in the article. In fact, the author says Elvis was about to cut off the relationship shortly before his death. Supposedly, he had a beautiful blonde woman waiting in the wings.
Midnight Globe – Dec 13, 1977 :
Dee Stanley is the stepmom who reveals the truth behind the Presley divorces. She and Vernon were married for fourteen years, but they separated in 1974 when she found out he had been seeing another woman he met in Las Vegas. The article says she never thought for a second that the separation would lead to a divorce. However, three years later, Vernon was still living with the woman. A few months after Elvis died, Vernon and Dee had a quickie divorce in the Dominican Republic.
Ninety percent of the Midnight Globe article is about this divorce and the aftermath. The only time Dee mentions Elvis and Priscilla’s divorce is when she compares it to hers. “The two marriages… succumbed to the same sort of strains – Elvis’ work on the road, in Las Vegas and other places, and Vernon going off with him. The two of them felt the same way, that there was a separate man’s world where women shouldn’t be allowed to enter… ” Dee called it the reverse of an old saying: “Like son, like father.”
Dee also discussed her divorce settlement as fair and generous, and that Vernon had always been that way. Later in the article, she admitted it was enough for her to live an opulent lifestyle for the rest of her life. Near the end of the article, Dee says she still feels for Vernon. She tells him she still loves him and she prays someday they might marry each other again. That didn’t happen for Elvis, and we know how that old saying goes.
© 2013 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Source: http://www.elvisblog.net/2013/07/28/elvis-the-king-revealed/
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Random Thoughts on Encore’s Elvis Collection — Part 5
For the second week in a row my new laptop spent four days in Data Transfer Hell at Geek Squad. It’s back home now and almost everything is working. So, let’s continue with the random thoughts on Encore’s Elvis Collection.
Movies Presented in the Past Week That I Liked:
Follow That Dream — I will always be thankful to my buddy Alan Hanson over at the Elvis-History Blog for pointing out the subtle nuances of this film. The more I watch it, the more I like it – especially the courtroom scene where Elvis utterly charms the judge and outsmarts the spiteful child protection lady. And I just love the end where Anne Helm transforms into a woman and nuzzles Elvis into realizing his feelings for her.
In many of his movies, Elvis plays characters with various flaws. Here he is initially presented as a country bumpkin, but he comes out on top in every situation. I found his character thoroughly likeable. On a similar note, I usually dislike the cutesy child actors in Elvis’ movies, but Eddie and Teddy in this were kind-of cool.
Easy Come, Easy Go — My reasons for liking this probably wouldn’t sway the folks who slam Elvis’ later movies when he was pretty much just going through the motions. For one thing, I hadn’t viewed it a bunch of times, so it seemed kind-of fresh. The second reason I liked it was that Pat Priest spent half her screen time in bikinis. She was hot as Marilyn Munster, but she is something else in this movie. And finally, there was a song I really enjoyed: “You Gotta Stop.” After some of the dogs Elvis had to sing in his 1967-68 movies, it was a pleasant surprise to find a good one.
The Movies I’m Tired of Watching:
Clambake – I’ve watched this one a lot, mainly because I like Shelly Fabares so much. However, she is much better in Girl Happy, where her character was more likeable than the spoiled rich girl she played in Clambake. So, I amused myself watching for Elvis’ Memphis Mafia buddies in bit parts. Did you notice Charlie Hodge giving Elvis’ character’s dad a shave early in the movie? You could hardly miss Red West as the ice cream vendor. You had to look pretty close to spot Jerry Schilling and Richard Davis at the clambake-themed pool party.
Hey, this movie takes place in Florida. Where’d the mountains come from?
My favorite scene in the movie is when Elvis moves down the line kissing all the pretty women who helped put the hardening goop on the racing boat’s repaired body.
It Happened at the World’s Fair – As I said a month ago in the 50th Anniversary Movie Pictorial, “By this time, Col. Parker and the producers had given up any pretense of putting Elvis into quality movies, and this one was a real stinkeroo, in my opinion. The plot was very thin, there was way too much of five-year-old Sue-Lin, and the songs were weak (especially the four Elvis sang to Sue-Lin).
Harum Scarum – This is one I wish I could like more, because I am a big Mary Ann Mobley fan. At least she got better treatment from Elvis compared to all the double dealing he subjected her to in Girl Happy.
Unfortunately Harum Scarum doesn’t get better with repeated viewings. Mighty weak plot. I did notice something watching it again – by the time the movie was fourteen minutes old, Elvis had already sung four songs. And they were all very forgettable. The scene with the little girl doing a belly dance for Elvis totally freaks me out.
Repeat Showing — Already Discussed:
This Is Elvis
King Creole
Coming Up:
Sunday, May 26 – Girl Happy:
My third chance to see Shelly Fabares, and this is the best one. I love watching her sing “I’m Evil.”
I also get a kick out of Elvis escaping from jail in drag.
Monday, May 27 — Change of Habit
Tuesday, May 28 — G.I. Blues
Wednesday, May 29 — Jailhouse Rock
Thursday, May 30 – Roustabout
Friday, May 31 — Kid Galahad
© 2013 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Source: http://www.elvisblog.net/2013/05/26/random-thoughts-on-encores-elvis-collection-part-5-2/
DO THE VEGA DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM DOIN THE BEST I CAN DOMINIC
Conan O’Brien and Peter Guralnick: The Elvis Interview
Last week I learned that Conan O’Brien is a huge Elvis fan and has a deep knowledge of all things Elvis. This was very apparent when I watched a recent video interview he did with probably the best expert there is on Elvis, Peter Guralnick. So, I rushed to write a blog article about Conan’s love for Elvis.
Unfortunately, in last week’s post I zipped past Guralnick too quickly, and that’s not right. Guralnick is a leading music critic, writer on music, and historian of American popular music. He has been writing books chronicling the history of blues, country, rock and roll and soul since he graduated from Boston University in 1971 with a master’s degree in creative writing. The first of Guralnick’s two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley in 1994, told the happy, inspiring story of Elvis’ life and career up to his departure for Germany in the Army. I own this book and read it many years ago. I liked it a lot.
Guralnick followed with Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley in 1999, and I started to read this one, too, but I just couldn’t handle the down side of Elvis’ life. There are some things I just don’t care to dwell on. However, both books have been acclaimed as in-depth, scholarly examinations of Elvis Presley’s life and music.
My favorite Guralnick book is Elvis – Day By Day, co-written with Ernst Jorgensen.
It has been a valuable aid in writing numerous ElvisBlog articles. Lots of little known facts, and 300 photos, too. Guralnick was granted unprecedented access to hundreds of thousands of photos, documents, letters, artifacts, and memorabilia by Elvis Presley Enterprises and Colonel Parker. So, let’s look at some of the points Guralnick covered in chatting with Conan O’Brien about Elvis.
You are probably aware of Elvis’ spiritual awakening in the 60’s, but did you know it had an effect on his music? Guralnick said, “Between ’64 and mid-’66, He never went into the recording studio except to record the movie songs. The reason was not because the movies were killing him. The reason was that what he wanted to do every waking moment, morning, noon and night, was to study his religious texts.” The Colonel decided Elvis had to break out of this pattern, and the way would be to record a gospel album. “That’s what brought him back into the studio to record How Great Thou Art. But, while he’s doing that, he’s also doing all the songs like “Down in the Alley.” He would just go from one to another. That essentially began his regeneration.”
And you probably think Elvis never toured Europe was because Col. Parker was an illegal alien (from Holland), and he was afraid he might not get back into the U.S. Conan stated, “Had Elvis toured Europe, they would have lost their minds. The Europeans would have gone crazy for him. They always desperately wanted Elvis to tour.”
Col. Parker and Elvis
However, Guralnick disagreed that the Col. Parker angle had anything to do with it. He based that on interviews with Tom Hulett, the promoter for many of Elvis’ American tours. “I got the same thing from Helett that I got by inference from the Colonel. That basically, they were afraid to take him to Europe. Why? He’d get busted… because of everything that was happening. Paul McCartney’s getting busted. There were a lot of busts going on. The Colonel used the term ‘We can’t guarantee Elvis’ security overseas.’ And you can read that the way I think he meant it. I mean, he was never going to say it.”
Conan asked another question about the Colonel. “You got closer to the Colonel than anybody. What was your take on the guy?” Guralnick replied, “Col. Parker, whom I very much liked, was a fascinating guy… Elvis saw the Colonel as being the one person who could take him to other worlds – the worlds he wanted to go to. It was a partnership that worked very well for many years. One of the great things about the partnership is that everybody in Hollywood, everywhere they went, took them as total yokels. And the two of them just chortled, I mean, took these guys who were taking them for rubes, and taking them for everything they had. Hal Wallis was ready to tear his hair out… over and over again, in which he was taken contractually by somebody he felt so superior to.
Elvis and Hal Wallis
Did you know Elvis had a photographic memory? Guralnick says so: “One place he seemed to get some joy – he was a big movie buff. Dr. Strangelove, Monty Python. He could recite all the lines from Monty Python.”
“He had a photographic memory. When he was a kid, he memorized Gen. MacArthur’s farewell speech. He was so admiring of Dr. Martin Luther King, that he could recite the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.”
Guralnick spent some time discussing efforts by Col. Parker, Vernon, Dr. Nick and the Memphis Mafia buddies to intervene and help Elvis with his prescription medication problem. They never worked. “He was in the hospital in ’73 in Memphis for a form of glaucoma, and Dr. Nick brought in two psychiatrists under the guise that they were optometrists who were consulting. Elvis immediately saw though it.”
Conan O’Brien made one final lament to Guralnick near the end of the 72-minute interview. “I think about this with Elvis, wishing that, or hoping, that he could have been well enough to live longer and see, you know, how respected he is now by people like you, by intellectuals, by historians. How he’s achieved that status.”
Again, I recommend that you click here and watch this fascinating interview between Conan O’Brien and Peter Guralnick. You won’t be disappointed.
Last week’s article ended with a tease about Conan singing Elvis songs on the next one. Now that Peter Guralnick has been given the attention he deserves, we’ll try to cover Conan singing Elvis next week.
© 2013 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Source: http://www.elvisblog.net/2013/06/16/conan-obrien-and-peter-guralnick-the-elvis-interview/
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