Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley

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Elvis Presley has inspired artistic and cultural works ever since he first entered the national counsciousness, in 1956, after the Sullivan Shows, then that of the world's, starting with the year after, and his induction into the US Army, in 1958. from then on, the interesst in his life has never stopped, with his death, in 1977, increaseing even further the number of works dedicated to his memory and legacy. The following lists cover various media to include items of historic interest, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. The entries represent portrayals that a reader has a reasonable chance of encountering rather than a complete catalog. Lesser known works are not included.

For purposes of classification, popular culture music is a separate section from operas and oratorios. Television covers live action series, TV movies, miniseries, and North American animation but not Japanese anime, which appears with manga and graphic novels.

Contents 1 Trivia 1.1 Music 1.2 Acting 1.3 Finances 1.4 Personal life 1.5 Name 1.6 Legacy 1.7 Likes and dislikes 1.8 Miscellaneous 2 Actors who have played Elvis Presley 3 See also

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Music

• Has won three Grammy awards, all for his gospel recordings. These were for the 1967 "How Great Thou Art" LP, for the 1972 LP, "He Touched Me" and, in 1974, for the song "How Great Thou Art" (live).
• Billboard historian Joel Whitburn declared Presley the "#1 act of the Rock era", beating out The Beatles, based upon his dominance of Billboard's list of top 100 singles artists since 1955.
• Elvis guest starred on T-Unit's Second Album in their performance of "Jailhouse Rock."

[edit] Acting

• He was offered the lead role of Tony in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story. Despite Presley's arguments that it would legitimize his acting career, "Colonel" Parker forced Presley to turn it down thinking that it was non-commercial. The film won ten Academy Awards including Best Picture.

[edit] Finances

• When Presley was drafted into the US Army in March 1958, his monthly pay went from $100,000 to $78.
• Presley's estate earns over 40 million dollars every year which is a record for a deceased entertainer.
• In 2005, for the fifth year straight, Presley was named the richest deceased celebrity in www.Forbes.com. In 2006, he's in the number two spot after Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame. (see also preceding section entitled, "Presley in the 21st Century")

[edit] Personal life

• Presley was an avid practitioner of Kenpo karate, studying under both legendary instructor Ed Parker and Parker's protégé Mike Stone. The latter would take a romantic interest in Priscilla Presley, eventually being among the causes of the couple's divorce. Presley was known to have attained at least an eighth-degree black belt in the martial art.^[1][2]
• Presley was an honorary member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

[edit] Name

• His given middle name at birth was Aron;^[3] however, Aaron was placed on his gravestone by his father because Presley preferred that biblical spelling and had legally changed it. Aaron is the official spelling used by his estate.
• A number of people the world over are named after Presley, many of them becoming quite well known themselves: Elvis Stojko, a Canadian who was the three-time World Figure Skating Champion; Elvis Crespo, a salsa and meringue musician; Elvis Dumervil, a former University of Louisville All American football player, now with the Denver Broncos; Elvis Perkins, a musician who is the son of actor Anthony Perkins; and Elvis Polansky, son of movie director Roman Polanski.
• Musician Elvis Costello adopted Presley's first name a few months before Presley's death in 1977.

[edit] Legacy

• The 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie is a satire about the effects of the compulsory U.S. military draft on a famous singer similar to Presley.
• Kirsty MacColl's 1981 song "There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" is a reference to all the unusual sightings in the United Kingdom of the singer.
• Presley had a short mention in the S.E. Hinton classic, The Outsiders.
• In the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, one of the narrator Alex's "droogs" (friends) wears an Elvis Presley mask, when they go out on crime sprees.
• The Broadway musical All Shook Up features the songs of Presley, and is based on the plot of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
• Freddie Mercury wrote the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" as a tribute to Presley. The song remained in the #1 position on the U.S. charts for four weeks in 1980.
• Wink Martindale, who was a close friend of Presley, aired a nationwide tribute in his memory following the news of his death. Martindale was an up-and-coming radio DJ in Memphis at the time Presley's career began to take off in high gear.
• Richard Dawson also paid tribute to Presley on an episode of Family Feud.
• The 2002 Disney animated feature Lilo and Stitch contains more Presley songs than there are in several movies in which Presley himself starred. The film's closing sequence also features a montage of photographs, one of which portrays the film's main characters posing before the gates of Graceland. The film also broke several rules related to Presley in films which included using his photo, shortening his songs for time and dressing up like him. However, the Graceland estate allowed the producers this degree of freedom.
• In December 2004 Wade Jones from Belmont, NC sold 3 tablespoons of water from a cup from which Presley drank on eBay. The water fetched $455. One week later (January 2005), he sold an appearance of the Elvis Cup on eBay for $3,000 and currently tours with the Elvis Cup. Jones says he scored the Styrofoam cup at a 1977 concert the King played. Hoping for a better souvenir, he ended up getting a cup out of which he saw Presley drink.^[4]
• The "Doctor Who Adventures" magazine published a list of the top ten historical figures people would like to travel back in time to meet; Presley ranked 2nd, behind Sir Winston Churchill [1].
• The Chinese tend to nickname him The King of Cats (Traditional: 貓王, Simplified: 猫王, Pinyin:Māo Wáng) after the "hillbilly cat" remark in The Memphis Press Scimitar interview. (See:Devotion to his Mother)
• In Soul Calibur, the character Maxi bears a distinct resemblance to Presley and is a martial artist like him.
• The Thai film Killer Tattoo features a Thai assassin who insists that he is Elvis, and demands to be addressed in English, a language he does not speak.
• In Shaman King, Ryunosuke Umemiya dresses up like Elvis Presley and is a big fan of him.
• The cartoon character Johnny Bravo has a voice like that of Presley in addition to his resemblance to Presley's idol James Dean.
• British satirical puppet show "Spitting Image" did an Elvis parody entitled "I'm Sure Livin' Since I Died".
• Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for covering the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style, sung by an Elvis Presley impersonator.
• The Norwegian rock band Kaizers Orchestra has a stagehand who is dressed like Elvis, and he can be seen in the Viva La Vega DVD, coming out on stage several times to help with the instruments. Janove Ottesen even encourages him to come out on stage for applause, insisting that "He's still working in the industry. He never left the building!" He goes on to insist that Elvis is assisting the band in their rise to stardom, and that they "wanted Roy Orbison, but they said he was dead".
• In 1985 Bruce Springsteen, a longtime admirer of Elvis, released "Johnny Bye Bye" as the b-side to his single "I'm on Fire." The song pays tribute to Elvis and contains modified lyrics from a Chuck Berry song of a similar name.
• Former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is a longtime Presley fan who has released a CD of his favorite Presley songs with his own commentary, He also helped finance a statue of the music pioneer and made a historical visit to Graceland in June 2006 with United States President George W. Bush.
• Some of Elvis' hits were covered later by famous artists: "Can't Help Falling in Love" (1961) was covered by British reggae band "UB40" (1993) ; "Always on my mind" (1972, although it was not originally sung by Presley) was covered by country singer Willie Nelson (1982) and British duo Pet Shop Boys (1987) ; "Suspicious Minds" (1969) was covered by British trio Fine Young Cannibals (1986).
• For a broad listing of Elvis references and episodes in TV programs see EIN's Elvis Rules on Television [2]article
• Probably the most unusual film with an Elvis related plot is 1999's "underground" slasher movie, Evil Elvis Christmas [3]
• In the english Digimon Adventure anime, Etemon is a parody of Elvis, including mocking his voice, the "Thank you very much", "I'm the king" and "Uh-huh!".

[edit] Likes and dislikes

• Presley was a big fan of Captain Marvel Jr, and may have styled his trademark haircut after that of the comic book character. In addition, Presley's stage outfits (with a half-cape similar to those worn by the Marvels) and his TCB logo (with a Marvel-esque lightning bolt insignia) may also show inspiration from Captain Marvel, Jr.
• He was proud of his role in King Creole because the part was originally offered to his idol James Dean.
• His favorite roller coaster was the Zippin Pippin at Libertyland. He would rent out the park to himself just so he could ride it non-stop.
• One of Presley's favorite female singers was Anne Murray^{[citation needed]} and he recorded a version of "Snowbird".
• One of his favorite songs was "Something" by George Harrison.^{[citation needed]}
• His favorite film was Dr. Strangelove--he was a great fan of Peter Sellers.
• It is commonly known that Presley loved gospel music. The last record he listened to was a new album by JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, the group that accompanied him on stage. Their record was on Presley's record player in his bedroom on the day he died.
• Presley disliked being called "The King", saying that "there's only one King, and that's Jesus."
• Elvis loved his Cadillac cars, Sir Guy and Don Loper Shirts.

[edit] Miscellaneous

• His death occurred only three days before that of Groucho Marx. As a result, the great comedian's death did not receive as much media attention as it may have otherwise received. Coincidentally, the two owned houses next door to each other in Beverly Hills, California.
• Although not in practice, Elvis was technically Jewish according to Jewish law because of his uninterrupted maternal Jewish heritage (i.e. his mother's mother's mother...etc. was Jewish). He was known to wear both a cross and a Star of David around his neck, explaining that he "wouldn't want to be kept out of Heaven on a technicality."
• Punk band Peter and the Test Tube Babies recorded a song titled "Elvis is Dead" for their album "Pissed and Proud" making fun of his weight and drug problems. Notable lyrics include "Elvis had a heart attack/because he got so big and fat"
• Funk/rock group Living Colour recorded a song titled "Elvis Is Dead" for their Time's Up album. The song ridicules those who contend that Presley is alive.
• Country comedy duo Pinkard & Bowden recorded a song titled "Elvis Was a Narc", which mocked Presley's stand on illegal drugs while himself consuming large quantities of pharmaceuticals. A live version also poked fun at the "Elvis Lives?" phenomenon.
• Presley had a pet rabbit called Dean, after his idol James Dean.
• Presley had remarkably large feet, taking an unusual size 15 in shoes.
• Elvis was considering joining the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) at the time of his death, and may have already set a baptism date.^[5]
• Singer Harry Nilsson, a fellow RCA Records artist, was disappointed that the label canceled a publicity push for his latest album (Knnillssonn) to instead promote Presley's back catalog after his death, and asked to be released from his recording contract.
• McFarlane Toys came out with a line of action figures that depict Elvis in his greatest moments like "Jailhouse Rock", "Blue Hawaii", "'68 Comeback Special" etc... there have been 6 figures released as of now.
• Elvis's beloved teddy bear Mabel was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff. It was on display at a children's museum near Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, when Barney, a Doberman-Pinscher guard dog went wild and destroyed it and damaged about 100 other valuable stuffed animals in the summer of 2006. The insurance company had insisted that the valuable teddy bears be protected by guard dogs.

[edit] Actors who have played Elvis Presley

The table below omits:

1. Actors playing a role in a film where the script calls for them to act in a non-Elvis role, but nevertheless purposedly imitating Elvis' style of singing, Elvis himself, or to appear dressed as Elvis did, both in a performance scene, or off stage, e.g., "Bye-Bye Birdie" (actors Jesse Pearson and Marc Kudisch, starring in the two filmed versions of the early sixties' famed Broadway play), "Top Secret" (Val Kilmer -see also his separate entry in table below-), "Wild at Heart" ( Nicolas Cage -see also paragraph B, below-); or as in various episodes of TV sitcoms like "Cheers" & "Full House" (John Stamos)
2. Actors in movies where the plot calls for them to specifically wear Elvis-impersonator apparel, or desguise themselves as an Elvis impersonator, e.g., as in Honeymoon in Vegas (Nicolas Cage) and 3000 Miles to Graceland (Kevin Costner, Christian Slater, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Shawn Michael Howard and Kurt Russell -see also separate entry for Russell, in table below-)
3. Actors playing the character of a real, or fictionalized entertainer other than Elvis Presley who impersonate him as part of a stage act within the movie's plot itself, e.g., as in the movie biographies "Wired" and "Man on the Moon", where the characters of comedians John Belushi ( played by Michael Chiklis), and Andy Kaufman ( played by Jim Carrey) are seen impersonating Elvis Presley, or in "Let's make love", (Jackie L. Cochran)
4. Actors playing characters based on specific, actual periods in the life, and/or music of Elvis Presley, e.g., in motion pictures such as "Living Legend" (Earl Owensby), or on Broadway, or London-based musical plays, such as "Jailhouse Rock" (Mario Kombou), and "All Shook up" (Cheyenne Jackson), respectively.
5. Actors, extras and/or Elvis impersonators, either male and female, whose specific role in a film is that of an Elvis impersonator, e.g, My Fellow Americans, The Client, Independence Day, 3000 Miles to Graceland, Honeymoon in Vegas, Something in the air, George of the Jungle 2, Wedding Bell Blues, Bachelor Party: Vegas, and in many other films, and TV sitcoms.

Thus far, more than 60 actors have tried, with varying degrees of success, to play an Elvis Presley character, an Elvis impersonator, his mannerisms, or even other actors impersonating Elvis Presley at any age, and during every period of Presley's life and career, both on films and in the theater.

[edit] See also

• Elvis Presley
• American art
• American music
• History of film

Actor	Credited character	Title (year of theatrical release, unless otherwise noted)
Jason Biggs	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Picasso at the Lapin Agile (2008)
Paul Boensch	Elvis Presley, age 10.	This Is Elvis (1981)
Lucas Cain	Elvis Presley, age 10.	Elvis (1990) (TV mini-series)
Bruce Campbell	i) and ii) (fictional) Elvis Presley	i) Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) ii) Bubba Nosferatu (2006/7)
Peter Dobson	i) (fictional) young Elvis Presley ii) The King	i) Forrest Gump (1994) ii) The Headhunter (2006/7)
Casting as of 25/1/07	Elvis Presley, ages 23-25	Sgt. Presley (2007)
David Dunavent	teenage Elvis Presley	Elvis (1990) (TV mini-series)
Jerry Eeten	Aaron Presley (Elvis re-incarnated)	Elvis took a bullit (2001)
Rob Fenton	young Elvis Presley	Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol (1999) (TV-made)
Martin Fox	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Give My Head Peace (2003) (BBC TV comedy show)
Randy Gray	Elvis as a boy	Elvis (1979) (TV-made)
Johnny Harra	Elvis Presley, age 42.	This Is Elvis (1981)
Tyler Hilton	young Elvis Presley	Walk the Line (2006)
Paul Hipp	Elvis Presley	Liberace: Behind the Music (1988) (TV-made)
Don Johnson	Elvis Presley	Elvis and the Beauty Queen (1981) (TV-made)
Stephen Jones	(fictional)Ghost of Elvis Presley	Mystery Train (1989)
Harvey Keitel	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Finding Graceland (1998)
David Keith	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Heartbreak Hotel (1988)
Val Kilmer	(fictional)Ghost of Elvis:The mentor	True Romance (1993)
Shawn Wayne Klush	young Elvis Presley	Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (1999) (TV mini-series)
Matt Lewis	Elvis Presley	Tears of a King (2006/7)
Steve Martin	The visitor (Elvis Presley, age 21).	Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993, play)
Dana MacKay	Elvis Presley, age 35.	This Is Elvis (1981)
Gil McKinney	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Elvis Has Left the Building (2004, Video release only)
Karlo Metikos	Elvis Presley	Going for the Gold: The Bill Johnson Story (1985) (TV)
Dale Midkiff	Elvis Presley	Elvis and Me (1988) (TV-made)
Ryan Pelton	(fictional) Elvis Presley, age 26	Hounddog (2006/7)
Robert Patrick	(fictional) Mr. Aaron	Lonely Street (2006/7)
Rick Peters	Elvis Presley	Elvis meets Nixon (1997) (TV-made)
Todd Peterson	young Elvis Presley	Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (1999) (TV mini-Series)
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers	Elvis Presley	Elvis (2005) (TV mini-series)
Kurt Russell	Elvis Presley	Elvis (1979) (TV-made)
Joe Sagal	(fictional)Elvis Presley	Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King: "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" (2006) (TV-made)
David Scott	Elvis Presley, age 18.	This Is Elvis (1981)
Martin Shaw	Elvis Presley	Are You Lonesome Tonight? (1985, play)
Jason Alan Smith	Elvis Presley	Crazy (2006/7)
Ed Shifres	Elvis Presley	King and Me, The (1999)
Michael St. Gerard	i)and ii) young Elvis Presley iii)(fictional) young Elvis Presley	i) Elvis (1990) (TV mini-series) ii) Great Balls of Fire! (1989) iii)Heart of Dixie (1989)
Rob Youngblood	Elvis Presley	Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story (1993) (TV-made)
Jack White	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Walk hard (2007/8)