RCA was eager for Presley to record in West Germany, but Parker insisted that it would ruin his reputation as a regular soldier if he was able to go into a recording studio. Snow eventually led Parker to Elvis Presley. Parker, who was born in the Netherlands, entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. The Masked Lookalike Explained, Every Baz Luhrmann Movie, Ranked According To Box Office Mojo, Tom Hanks' Tom Parker isn't his usual role. A gambling, circus- and cigar-loving illegal immigrant: that's who created the buzz behind the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley.Colonel Tom Parker was the one person you'd see at . [68] Marie died on November 25, 1986, of a chronic brain syndrome at age 78. The two had become almost strangers, and false reports in the media suggested that Presley's contract was up for sale. All in all, the manager was known for some appalling behavior towards his star client, and Elvis tries its best to portray that accurately. The claim of Parker's Dutch heritage was publicly confirmed when Parker unsuccessfully tried to avert a lawsuit brought against him in 1982 by asserting in open court that he was a Dutch citizen. [13] Instead, Parker decided to stay in Temple Terrace, Florida, with his family, perhaps to avoid having to submit paperwork that could expose his illegal status. The Colonel was well-known as a strong promoter that frequently leaned into exploitation. [46] Parker had also decided that it was time for Presley to return to New York, and had arranged for him to perform at Madison Square Garden in June. [41] With Priscilla's father dropping heavy hints, and fear that their relationship might become public beforehand, Parker persuaded Presley that he should make an "honest woman" of her in the very near future. [41] The Cadillac tour proved to be somewhat more successful than the film itself. In 1968, he was asked in an interview if it was true that he took fifty percent of everything Elvis earned. [26] By the summer Presley had become one of the most famous new faces of the year, causing excitement among the new teenage audience and outrage among some older audiences and religious groups. I wanted to punch him in the face. They struggled to survive during the Great Depression, working short cons and traveling across the country in search of work. Despite the shady financial dealings Parker maintained with Presley, his net worth when he died was much less than that of Elvis, who died with a net worth of $5 million - around $20 million when adjusted for inflation. [50] They hired private detectives to find out where the drugs were coming from and were successful in stopping any more from reaching Presley. "I had the luxury of essentially recreating somebody who no one really knew. What Elvis Gets RightAnd WrongAbout the Real Colonel Tom Parker His accent wasn't so theatrical, and he was way funnier than Baz Luhrmann gives him credit for. [41] Selling it to RCA for $24,000 ($200,443 in 2021 dollars[11]), it was used to promote Presley's latest film, Frankie & Johnny. Imagine owing anyone $146.6 million dollars. Parker suffered a stroke in 1997, dying at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada after years of declining health, survived only by his second wife. While it sometimes borders on cartoonish parody, with Hanks seemingly becoming a supervillain of sorts, it fits the overall style and narrative of Director Baz Luhrmann's movie. Little, Brown. [18] A one-year management contract with Presley provided Moore with a 10-percent commission, which Moore said he never took. He quickly became the singer's sole representative, and within months he had won Elvis a recording contract with RCA Victor.. [18] When the contract expired, the Memphis radio personality Bob Neal stepped in and made a deal with Phillips to become Presley's manager. Presley's first manager was Scotty Moore, the guitarist in his band, who was encouraged by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips to become Presley's manager to protect Elvis from unscrupulous music promoters. He negotiated Presley's lucrative merchandising deals, TV appearances, and acting roles in films. Colonel Tom Parker's home (former), 409 Park Ridge Avenue, Temple Terrace, Fl. [15], A young singer, Tommy Sands, caught Parker's eye in 1952, and Parker immediately set about promoting him. Related: Why Elvis' Reviews Are So Positive. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Tom Parker Is Dead at 87; Controlled Presley's Career", "Colonel Parker Managed Elvis' Career, but Was He a Killer on the Lam? [72] Priscilla Presley attended the funeral to represent the Elvis Presley Estate and gave a eulogy that, to many in the room, summed up Parker: "Elvis and the Colonel made history together, and the world is richer, better and far more interesting because of their collaboration. [39] Throughout the 1960s Parker would continually renegotiate Presley's film contracts, often paying little attention to the scripts or the concerns of his client. Related: The Darkest Moments In Oscars History. And when he said that, I said, 'Oh, well, okay, now that's brand new.". Later in 1975, the government of Saudi Arabia offered Parker $5 million for Presley to perform there. [13] Within a year, he had the opportunity to become a legal citizen of the United States a new law allowed illegal aliens the chance to become citizens in return for their promise to fight for the country during World War II, if required. [39], For the remainder of the 1960s, Presley made films that relied heavily on exotic locations and mundane songs, and he was tied into contracts that he could not escape. [37] Parker signed long-term contracts with the film studios,[39] possibly to guarantee work and income for both him and Presley. [44] At the time, Presley's back catalog was not considered very important and RCA initially calculated it at being worth much less, but in later years it would become one of the most valuable record catalogs in the music business. [44] The tours were so popular and financially successful that they determined Presley's workload for the remainder of his life and career. [51] In her book, The Colonel, she writes: "in the days before the Betty Ford Clinic, the Colonel didn't know where to take him for discreet, effective help and loathed risking the loss of work if the truth got out". This is because Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had previously arranged a deal to sell those to RCA for $5.4 million, out of which only $1.35 million went to Elvis after Parker's 50% fee and income taxes. QUICK FACTS Birth Year: 1909 Birth date: June 26, 1909 Birth City: Breda Birth. [53], From 1974 onward, Presley's weight gain and prescription drug abuse became too much to be controlled. After the gig came to an end, Colonel Tom Parker came looking for him. He was believed to have been in debt to the Las Vegas Hilton for over $30 million at one point, which led to his eviction from the property after Elvis' death. [citation needed], After the success of Presley's return to live performing in Las Vegas, Parker decided it was time to take him back out on tour for the first time in 13 years. Parker was still worried that Presley would return to nothing, that the public would have found a new star to fawn over by then, and that his golden goose would be reduced to nothing more than a "has-been".[35]. However, there were some interesting omissions from the award announcements. In 1967, Parker pushed Elvis to marry Priscilla Beaulieu, hoping that it would help change the tide of his career. "[72] She reiterated her positive opinion to Tom Hanks in 2022 when the actor prepared to play Parker for Elvis (2022). The premises had been ransacked in search of money. [65] However, there is no definite proof that anything other than romance led to their marriage. Never one to miss an opportunity to make money off of his prized client, Colonel Tom Parker jumped on Elvis' death as a marketing cash grab. [48] The press were told that an audience of one billion was expected to tune in to see the "first entertainment special to be broadcast live around the world",[48] although Parker had not taken into account the fact that many countries, including parts of Europe and America, would not see the concert live due to the time of the broadcast. Gaining or losing weight, taking on accents, and experimenting in a variety of genres that pushed his limits as an actor, Hanks has built a career out of challenging roles. Later, in 1983, Parker admitted during an interview that after 1966, the income from Presley films and soundtracks was dramatically reduced. He died in 1997 at the age of 87. Parker returned to the carnival (one not-too-dissimilar to the 1950s carnival in American Horror Story thanks to the setting), where he made his living for a time before getting involved in music promotion, working with the likes of Gene Austin, Minnie Pearl, Eddy Arnold, and Hank Snow. [11][10], Parker first became involved in the music industry as a music promoter in 1938, working with the popular singer Gene Austin. After a heated argument between the two, Presley told Parker he was fired. [18] Neal was struggling at the time to accommodate his new client's success, and in February 1955, following a meeting with Parker, Presley agreed to let Parker take some control of future bookings and promotions. . So the uncompromising Colonel told her that Elvis couldn't cover the track as those were the terms. [4] He enlisted in the United States Army a few months later, taking the name "Tom Parker" from the same name of the officer who interviewed him, to disguise the fact he was an illegal alien. However, as he always does, Hanks shone as Tom Parker in Elvis, and the Colonel proved to the world that he could play a complex villain. From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis, Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas, From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee, Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances, Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II, Suspicious Minds: The Memphis 1969 Anthology, The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters, Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters, Peace in the Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colonel_Tom_Parker&oldid=1141644408, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2020, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from December 2022, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Articles needing additional references from February 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 02:32. [citation needed], For the remainder of Presley's life, Parker saw little of him. You're going to be a star.'"[71]. Related: Every Baz Luhrmann Movie, Ranked According To Box Office Mojo. While Elvis and the Colonel carried the movie to several awards, Hanks' omission stands out above most others. [64] In 1993, in one of his last media appearances, Parker appeared in a television interview with Dutch TV director Jorrit van der Kooi where they spoke to each other in Dutch about the Netherlands and about Elvis Presley's life and career. After Elvis' death in 1977, the Elvis Presley manager continued on as if The King were still alive. In 1955, Colonel Tom Parker became Elvis Presley's manager, a partnership that would last over two decades and see Presley become one of the biggest stars in the world. [17] In the beginning, Presley, Moore, and the bassist Bill Black were a trio, the Blue Moon Boys. 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