He was very close to the Jewish people, especially in Memphis,” says Copen. “He always treated them very nicely and they treated him very nicely.” If that grim scenario sounds familiar, the Colonel was also a huge fan of Nightmare Alley, the 1947 drama recently remade by Guillermo del Toro. “The fascination Colonel had with that picture was unbelievable,” Raphael remembered. “He sat there so engrossed that he never moved, though God knows how many times he’d seen it. He talked about it all the time, for years.” The Colonel Loved Elvis’s Racy Headlines—In Fact He Helped Stage Them Janelle wanted to show that Elvis liked all faiths,” says Copen. “I would rather people see the menorah there at the museum than at my house. Maybe this will help everybody appreciate each other and say, ‘We are all one people.’” On January 20, 1997, his wife heard a crash from the living room. When Parker failed to answer her calls, she went in to find him slumped in his armchair, having suffered a stroke. He died of complications from the stroke [77] the following morning at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 87 with his wife at his bedside. On his death certificate, in addition to his name, dates of birth and death, and the cause of death, it also lists his birth name as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, his place of birth as the Netherlands, and his citizenship (incorrectly) as American. [77] Afvaart 'SS Veendam' op 20-03-1926 vanaf haven New York". stadsarchief.rotterdam.nl. Rotterdam City Archive.

Having sold over 500 million records worldwide, Presley is recognized as the best-selling solo music artist of all time by Guinness World Records. ( this is wrong)We thought it would be a great way of honoring her Jewish heritage as well as honoring her,” said Marchese, who has worked at Graceland for 32 years and is one of the world’s preeminent experts on the Presley family. “We think it’s what Elvis would have wanted.” The result is "Schmelvis: Searching for the King's Jewish Roots," and the film does exactly that. For example, we learn that Elvis grew up in "the Pinch" -- the Jewish quarter of Memphis where his mother worked in the "shmata business," a predominantly Jewish enterprise at the time. As a teenager the future king was the "Shabbos goy" (i.e. performed tasks otherwise prohibited to Jews on the Sabbath) for his upstairs neighbors at 462 Alabama Ave., Rabbi Alfred and Jeannette Fruchter, who was the Rabbi at the local synagogue. The Presleys regularly came over for Friday night dinner, and Elvis had a penchant for the Rebbetzin's cooking. He would often make a joke, ‘I don’t want to get left out of heaven on a technicality,’” Marchese said. “So he would wear a Star of David, a chai and he would also wear a cross. He wanted to keep all his bases covered.” Presley had been showing signs of rebellion against Parker, and Parker believed that a stint in the Army would cure him of this. [36]

I’ll put my hands up, I’m a big Elvis fan. I have been since my mum took me to see him in Girl Happy in 1965 when I was six years old, the first of many. Admittedly, I became a bit more circumspect about the films Elvis had been compelled to make as I got older. But he was always on my mind. I’ve been to Elvis’s home, Graceland in Memphis. A friend and I go to every concert of Elvis music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, hosted by Elvis’s wife Priscilla. It goes without saying that I am beyond excited about the new Baz Luhrmann film, Elvis, released on 24 June. Randy Quaid in the CBS miniseries Elvis (2005), alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley. Quaid was nominated for a Golden Globe, Emmy Award and a Satellite Award win for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Presley worked for the rabbi's family, doing tasks Jews were not permitted to do on the Jewish Sabbath. He did this for free. The rabbi, in turn, did things like lend Presley his record player and arrange for a summer camp trip for Presley. When Presley hit it big, he made a major donation to the rabbi's religious school. Elvis worked around the corner as an usher at the movie theater. He said, “Mr. Lansky, I don’t have any money but one of these days when I get rich I’m going to buy you out.”A young singer, Tommy Sands, caught Parker's eye in 1952, and Parker immediately set about promoting him. [19] He arranged live appearances and became a father figure to the then-15-year-old Sands. [19] Parker had intended to mold Sands into the next Roy Rogers, but Sands had no interest in such a plan. Instead, Parker sent demonstration recordings to record producer Steve Sholes at RCA Victor. [19] Sholes showed little interest in Sands but promised that he would attempt to find songs Sands might be able to record. [19]

One of Elvis’s more famous contributions to the estate was a meditation garden, where he, his parents and his grandmother Minnie Mae Presley are buried. Watching over them is a looming marble statue of Jesus Christ on the cross, engraved with the name “Presley.” Regardless of Parker and Presley's success, Parker was still struggling to believe that Presley's career would last longer than a year or two. [36] Parker had seen many acts come and go during his earlier years in management and felt that it would be foolish to believe that Presley, despite being Parker's most successful act to date, would be any different. In January 1958, Presley received his draft notice from the United States Army. [37] Presley was upset about the potential negative effect accepting the draft would have on his career, but Parker was secretly overjoyed. [36] Presley was not Jewish. Yes, some sources repeat a tall tale that Presley's third cousin told 20 years ago to a Jewish biographer of Presley. This cousin said that he and Presley shared a very remote Jewish maternal ancestor (a woman who lived in the early to mid 1800's) Parker served two years in the 64th Coast Artillery at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, and shortly afterward reenlisted at Fort Barrancas, Florida. [4] Although he had served honorably for a time, he went AWOL in Florida and was charged with desertion. He was punished with solitary confinement, from which he emerged with a psychosis that led him to spend two months in a mental hospital. [4] His condition caused him to be discharged from the army.For the remainder of Presley's life, Parker saw little of him. The two had become almost strangers, and false reports in the media suggested that Presley's contract was up for sale. [58] Although Parker publicly denied these claims, he had been in talks with Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin, about the possibility of him overseeing a European tour for Presley. [58] Despite the new rumors of Presley touring overseas, however, Parker never followed through with the deal.