Elvis Presley on film and television

Elvis Presley was an American entertainer who achieved great initial success as a singer and stage performer. He publicly expressed an early career goal of following in the footsteps of his role models James Dean and Marlon Brando to become a top dramatic actor.[1] His manager Colonel Tom Parker's persistent lobbying of William Morris Agency president Abe Lastfogel for a Presley screen test paid off on March 26, 1956, when the singer auditioned at Paramount for a supporting role in The Rainmaker.[2] Although not chosen for the part, he signed a contract with Paramount producer Hal Wallis on April 25 that also allowed him to make films with other studios.[3]

Elvis in a publicity photo for the film Jailhouse Rock in 1957

His feature debut was in Love Me Tender in 1956 for 20th Century Fox, with the commercial success of the soundtrack EP being a bellwether for the next three Presley films. Loving You, Jailhouse Rock and King Creole. Elvis returned to acting after leaving the army in 1960, with G.I. Blues and a dramatic western Flaming Star. With the popularity of his romantic musicals establishing a formula for the coming years.

Over time Presley became bitter that his hopes for dramatic roles were not coming to fruition,[4] stating that Clambake was his worst film. He began to complain about the deteriorating quality of the films and his belief that his manager's objectives were more monetary than anything else.[5] At the expiration of all studio contracts, he returned to live entertaining. The two concert documentaries Elvis: That's the Way It Is in 1970 and Elvis on Tour in 1972 were the final theatrical releases for Presley.[6]

Acting credits


Television
Television credits of Elvis Presley (as himself)
Year Title Notes Ref(s)
1956 Stage Show 6 episodes at the CBS studios in New York City, NY: January 28, February 4, 11, 18, March 17, 24; Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's show, produced by Jackie Gleason as a lead-in for his show [7]
1956 Texaco Star Theatre 2 episodes: April 3 aboard the USS Hancock in San Diego, CA; June 5 NBC studios Los Angeles, CA [8]
1956 Teenage Dance Party June 16; hosted by Wink Martindale, WHBQ-TV Memphis, TN [9]
1956 Hy Gardner Calling July 1 television interview, WRCA-TV, New York City, NY [10]
1956 The Steve Allen Show July 1; NBC, New York City, NY [10]
1956–57 The Ed Sullivan Show 3 episodes: September 9, October 28, 1956; January 6, 1957, CBS New York City, NY [11]
1960 The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis Taped March 26, in Miami, FL; aired on ABC May 12 [12]
1968 Elvis Also known as the Elvis Comeback Special, the '68 Comeback Special, and One Night With You; June taping at NBC Los Angeles, CA; air date December 3 [13]
1973 Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite Kui Lee Cancer Fund benefit concert at Honolulu's Neal S. Blaisdell Center broadcast by NBC world-wide live January 14 [14]
1977 Elvis in Concert The last concert tour before Presley died; CBS broadcast after his death [15]

Film
Feature film credits of Elvis Presley
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1956 Love Me Tender Clint Reno [16]
1957 Loving You Jimmy Tompkins (Deke Rivers) [17]
1957 Jailhouse Rock Vince Everett Added to the National Film Registry in 2004 [18]
1958 King Creole Danny Fisher Banned in Mexico after a riot ensued at the Las Americas cinema in Mexico City, where the movie had its premiere. Final film before military service. [19]
1960 G.I. Blues Tulsa McLean Banned in Mexico after a similar riot took place, also at the Las Americas cinema in Mexico City. All further Elvis films banned as a result, with the restriction being lifted in 1971. [20]
1960 Flaming Star Pacer Burton A single film still from the film was used by Andy Warhol in 26 of his silkscreens, eight of which are known to have garnered US$345 million at auction and in private sales. [21]
1961 Wild in the Country Glenn Tyler [22]
1961 Blue Hawaii Chad Gates [23]
1962 Follow That Dream Toby Kwimper [24]
1962 Kid Galahad Walter Gulick / Kid Galahad [25]
1962 Girls! Girls! Girls! Ross Carpenter [26]
1963 It Happened at the World's Fair Mike Edwards [27]
1963 Fun in Acapulco Mike Windgren Filmed in Acapulco by the entire crew (without Elvis who was persona non grata in Mexico since 1957) in November of 1962 and, upon their return to Los Angeles in January of 1963 with filming continuing at Paramount Studios, as Elvis dovetailed all his close up scenes with those filmed at the Mexican location, by a double. The movie was not shown in Mexico, whose government only lifted its Presley ban in the summer of 1971, when Elvis: That's the Way It Is opened outside the US. [28]
1964 Kissin' Cousins Josh Morgan / Jodie Tatum Filmed after Viva Las Vegas [29]
1964 Viva Las Vegas Lucky Jackson [30]
1964 Roustabout Charlie Rogers [31]
1965 Girl Happy Rusty Wells [32]
1965 Tickle Me Lonnie Beale / Panhandle Kid [33]
1965 Harum Scarum Johnny Tyronne [34]
1966 Frankie and Johnny Johnny [35]
1966 Paradise, Hawaiian Style Rick Richards [36]
1966 Spinout Mike McCoy [37]
1967 Easy Come, Easy Go Lt. (j.g.) Ted Jackson Filmed after Double Trouble [38]
1967 Double Trouble Guy Lambert [39]
1967 Clambake Scott Heyward [40]
1968 Stay Away, Joe Joe Lightcloud Filmed after Speedway [41]
1968 Speedway Steve Grayson [42]
1968 Live a Little, Love a Little Greg Nolan [43]
1969 Charro! Jess Wade [44]
1969 The Trouble with Girls Walter Hale [45]
1969 Change of Habit Dr. John Carpenter (final film role) [46]
1970 Elvis: That's the Way It Is Himself Concert documentary [47]
1972 Elvis on Tour Himself Concert documentary, co-winner Golden Globe for Best Documentary 1972 [47]

Notes
  1. Guralnick (1994), pp. 155–156, 443, 323.
  2. Guralnick (1994), pp. 144, 241.
  3. Guralnick (1994), p. 262; Guralnick and Jorgensen 1999, pp. 67, 127.
  4. Guralnick 1999, p. 212.
  5. Guralnick 1999, p. 212; Neibaur (2014) pp. 217, 219.
  6. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 271, 305, 321.
  7. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 61–62, 65, 67; Guralnick (1994), pp. 236, 244–246, 249–252, 257.
  8. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 67, 73.
  9. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), p. 75.
  10. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), p. 77.
  11. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 83, 89, 95.
  12. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 151, 154.
  13. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 242–248, 251.
  14. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 319–321.
  15. Guralnick, Jorgensen 1999 p. 375.
  16. Guralnick (1994), p. 311; Marsh (1982), p. 241.; "Love Me Tender". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  17. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999) p. 96; Guralnick (1994), pp. 344, 370; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  18. "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. United States Government. December 28, 2004. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.; Knowles (2013), pp. 97–108; Guralnick (1994), pp. 409–410; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  19. In a 1992 interview King Creole co-star Jan Shepard told historian Peter Guralnick that Elvis told her in 1965, "Honey, that was my favorite picture." Guralnick 1999, p. 209; Guralnick (1994), p. 442; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  20. Guralnick (1999), p. 28; Marsh (1982), p. 241; "G.I. Blues". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  21. Neibaur (2014) p. 64; Guralnick (1999), p. 78; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  22. Guralnick (1999), p. 84; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  23. Lisanti (2012), p. 60; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  24. Marsh (1982), p. 241; "Follow That Dream". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  25. Marsh (1982), p. 241; "Kid Galahad". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  26. Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  27. Neibaur (2014) pp. 120, 123; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  28. Guralnick (1999), p. 141; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  29. Guralnick (1999), pp. 155–159; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  30. Guralnick (1999), pp. 152–153; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  31. Rose (1996), p. 270; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  32. Lisanti (2012), p. 203; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  33. Templeton, Craig (2002), p. 91; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  34. Neibaur (2014) p. 184 ; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  35. Neibaur (2014) p. 187; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  36. Lisanti (2000) pp. 135–137 ; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  37. Neibaur (2014) p. 207; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  38. Neibaur (2014) p. 200; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  39. Neibaur (2014) pp. 213–214 ; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  40. Neibaur (2014) pp. 219–220; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  41. Gulick (2006), pp. 143–144; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  42. Neibaur (2014) p. 229; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  43. Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999) pp. 239–240; Marsh (1982), p. 241; "Live a Little, Love a Little". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  44. Neibaur (2014) p. 242; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  45. Ellroy, Penzler (2011), p. 63; Marsh (1982), p. 241; "The Trouble with Girls". AFI Catalog of Featured Films. AFI. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  46. Neibaur (2014) p. 253; (Guralnick (1999), pp. 338–339; Marsh (1982), p. 241.
  47. Marsh (1982), p. 241; Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 315, 321.

References
  • Ellroy, James; Penzler, Otto (2011). The Best American Noir of the Century. New York, NY: Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0-547-57744-9.
  • Guralnick, Peter (1994). Last train to Memphis : The Rise of Elvis Presley. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-33220-0.
  • Guralnick, Peter (1999). Careless Love : The Unmaking of Elvis Presley. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-33222-4.
  • Guralnick, Peter; Jorgensen, Ernst (1999). Elvis Day by Day: The Definitive Record of His Life and Music. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-42089-3.
  • Jorgensen, Ernst; Guralnick, Peter (1998). Elvis Presley: A Live in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-18572-5.
  • Lisanti, Tom (2000). Fantasy Femmes of 60's Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-0868-9.
  • Lisanti, Tom (2012). Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies The First Wave, 1959–1969. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-7297-0.
  • Marsh, Dave (1982). Elvis. New York, NY: Time Books. ISBN 0-8129-0947-X.
  • Neibaur, James L. (2014). The Elvis Movies. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-3073-6.
  • Rose, Frank (1996). The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. New York, NY: HarperBusiness. ISBN 978-0-88730-807-9.
  • Templeton, Steve; Craig, Yvonne (2002). Elvis Presley: Silver Screen Icon: A Collection of Movie Posters. Johnson City, TN: Overmountain Press. ISBN 978-1-57072-232-5.

See also

Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1956) at Archive.org

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