Singer has only left the United States three times, despite huge worldwide influence and popularity.
Elvis Presley is one of the best-known names in the entertainment world. Entitled of Rock kingthe singer became world famous for presenting a style of music and dance considered daring and revolutionary for his time.
Despite all the success, the musician and actor only performed three times outside the United States, in neighboring Canada, in 1957. And the notorious businessman from Presleyknown as Colonel Tom Parkerwould be behind the decision.
born as Andreas Cornelius van Kuijkresponsible for managing the career of the Rock king he was, according to suspicions at the time, a man who had escaped from Holland and was staying illegally in the United States, which made it difficult for the agent to leave the country.
Even though he married an American and served in the Army, the colonel did not register as a foreigner under the Smith Act (1940) or sought the necessary amnesty programs to regularize their immigration.
In 1957, Presley toured in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. At that time, the border between the two countries did not require a passport for the crossing, but even so, the businessman remained in the United States while the rest of the team accompanied the singer.
Among the justifications for not giving in to touring agreements outside the country, the colonel always claimed the lack of security, inadequate infrastructure and abusive ticket prices that would harm fans. The colonel’s negative responses ended up shaking the relationship with the musician.
Tension between the two reached a boiling point in 1974, when a multimillion-dollar offer to tour Australia was turned down by the colonel, who was reportedly fired after Elvis find the deal.
In an interview with the website noise11, Jerry Schillingformer member of the executive group around Elvisnicknamed the Memphis Mafia, told about what happened and detailed how even firing the manager, the singer could not escape his influence in the medium.
“I was at that late night meeting at the Las Vegas Hilton. Elvis wanted to tour abroad. He wanted to go to Australia, to Japan. The colonel said: ‘if you go, I won’t go with you’. Elvis said: ‘okay then, you’re fired’.”
“When Elvis tried to mount a tour no one dared go near him for fear of the Colonel. They [os produtores] had a relationship with the colonel. They respected the colonel. They didn’t want to run over him. In the end, Elvis I couldn’t get where I wanted to because of the constraints of business.”
More details on the trajectory of Elvis Presley and colonel Tom Parker was featured in the biopic of Baz Luhrmann. Production follows the rise of Elvis Presley to fame and the singer’s complex relationship with the businessman, who discovered him in 1955.
The film has Austin Butler in the role of the King of Rock and Tom Hanks comg Parker. In addition, cast has names such as Richard Roxburgh, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luke Bracey, Dacre Montgomery, David Wenham, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Olivia DeJonge.
Elvis It is showing in all national cinemas. Watch the trailer here:
Source: Rollingstone
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
