Elvis is still in the building. We can't, in fact, get Elvis to leave the building. Even 30 years after his death.
TV Land hawked its August "Elvis Month" -- yes, month -- at press tour this morning with a panel including Elvis Presley's "former girlfriend and 'Hee Haw' honey" Linda Thompson.
The Elvis industry rolls on.
Panelist Pamela Clarke Keogh is the "authorized biographer" of Elvis Presley Enterprises ("Elvis Presley: The Man, The Life, The Legend"). "Friend" Jerry Schilling mentions that he just wrote a book about Elvis ("Me & A Guy Named Elvis"). Who remembers Thompson from the old "Hee Haw" TV show? She dated Elvis!
Even tube-lovin' TV Land is strip mining the territory now, airing "a huge showcase featuring nearly 40 hours of Elvis-related programing," said TV Land president Larry Jones. In commemoration of Presley's death Aug. 16, 1977, they'll be running Elvis' music specials (the 1968 "comeback" and 1973's "Aloha From Hawaii"), Elvis movies ("Love Me Tender," "Speedway"), Elvis documentaries (including TV Land's new "Myths and Legends: Elvis"), Elvis on the web site (footage of TV Land's statue being unveiled in Honolulu), Elvis everywhere.
And unending Elvis hype. "He had such a terrific impact on our society and was representative of good and bad, the things that came about in his life," intoned Thompson. "I think he was an extraordinary human being and a great American, really," said Keogh.
All right, already. Let's get over the aggrandizing and just look at the entertainer. And icon. The TV Land promo reel shown on big screens in the hotel ballroom here actually was an impressive montage of moments we all know -- the hip swiveling '50s footage, the black leather '60s, the sparkly white jumpsuit '70s; the memorable songs, and the formula chick-chasing flicks MGM made Elvis churn out. Even fetuses in the womb probably recognize this stuff.
"You have to remember, Elvis was the first," Keogh pointed out. "There was no infrastructure of entertainment then. There was no one there to show him the way." True. Plenty of showbiz ground was broken by Presley Inc. Unfortunately, not quite enough. Elvis was only 42 when he died suddenly, of drugs and hard living. "This was before Betty Ford," noted Thompson.
We'll probably hear about that in August, too. Much of the press conference was taken up by talk about Elvis' sad final years. "In those days you turn 40 and you're on your way downhill," said ex-bodyguard and road manager Joe Esposito, "and it affected him tremendously." Magazines were poking fun at Elvis' fat-belly-jumpsuit look, and he was no longer taken seriously musically.
But now, "after 30 years, people are starting to look back at this man's body of work," said Schilling. "There are a lot of projects you're going to see in the next two or three years, and you're going to see the legend of Elvis Presley go to the next level."
Imagine what they'll do for his death's 40th anniversary. The Elvis Channel?
Comments (2)
An all Elvis channel, what a great idea! Bring it on.
the king's legacy should live on forever. wheather it is through sirius radio or a cable channel, people of all ages should know what type of person he was. Yes, he did have an adiction to drugs that eventually took his life, but that does not tell the story of who Elvis Presley was...he was a kind, gentle, and giving person...his life was surrounded by millions of fans,his marraige was strained by fame, and his life was taken by his celebrity..he was trapped in hollywood and could not get out...one film I request all people to watch on Elvis, is a gospel documentray that explains the person he was and his love of god, country, and family.....