When in January 1960 Elvis finished his military service and returned from Germany, Parker had prepared a special television program on ABC to welcome him; the show was entitled Welcome Home Elvis and featured the participation of Frank Sinatra, with Parker seeing to it that Sinatra was paid much less than Elvis, in retaliation for Sinatras earlier views against rock and roll. Elvis Presley expert revealed the truth about Colonel Parker, Elvis Presley: Graceland chef reveals how to make the Elvis sandwich, Michael Jackson: How he REALLY reacted to Lisa Marie Presley divorce, Elvis Presley expert reveals tragic truth about star's life. Parker, he learned, had vanished in May 1929 without telling any of his family or friends where he was heading, without taking his identity papers, and without money or even the expensive clothing he had spent most of his wages on. In 1968, he was asked in an interview if it was true that he took fifty percent of everything Elvis earned. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 1, Inventing Ivana Trump: Her Improbable Rise and Tragic Death. An immensely talented young man ended up as a ruin of his former self, dying from heart problems connected to long-time drug abuse. He had toured with carnivals, worked with elephants and managed a palm-reading booth before finding his feet in the early 1950s as a music promoter. Other beneficiaries of Elvis Presleys estate include certain family members and employees. The 26-year-old turned herself in this week following a search that captivated certain corners of New York. ELVIS PRESLEY and Colonel Tom Parker had a complex relationship over the years and the manager is widely reported to have taken an extortionate 50 per cent cut of all the King's earnings.. It is a deal that severed the Presley estate from the . He talked about it all the time, for years.. He served for two years, went AWOL, got charged with desertion, and was punished with solitary confinement. He would be nice one second, and stare off like he was lost, and thenboom!tremendous force. Parker was a fairly popular entertainer on the carnival circuit with acts like the Great Parker Pony Circus, and Colonel Tom Parker and His Dancing Chickens. I think even more than Colonel Parker they realised if Elvis saw the outside world a bit more then all of a sudden he might want to be a part of it., Elvis Presley: Graceland chef reveals how to make the Elvis sandwich[VIDEO], Michael Jackson: How he REALLY reacted to Lisa Marie Presley divorce[INTERVIEW], Elvis Presley expert reveals tragic truth about star's life[EXCLUSIVE], And by keeping him confined in their own sphere I think it was detrimental, almost, to Elvis.. Tom Parker American or Dutchman? Its Elvis Time, April 1967; Alanna Nash. The trust ushered in a period of renovations and improvements to the home, turning the estate into a major tourist attraction. He did not give 2 shits about Elvis. Certainly whatever happened in Holland that made him leave his family, with whom he was very close, and to just cut them off, was of a very grave nature. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. By the end of 1956, Elvis had generated nearly $22 million in revenue, more than any other singer that year. Fontana backed Elvis on his TV appearances from January 1956 to January 1957, including the live shows for Milton Berle, Steve Allen, and the nationally star-making Ed Sullivan broadcasts. In parallel, Parker discouraged Presley from his project of offering great live concerts, to the point that in mid-1961. How much money did Colonel Parker make off Elvis? But in Luhrmanns treatment, hes Satan in a snowman sweater. For the most part, these details did not emerge until the 1980s, years after Presleys death and well into the Colonels semi-retirement (he eventually died in 1997). This murder has never been solved. Luhrmanns Parker is an uncaring man, though the character protests that hes not. The trust was established in 1993 and Lisa Marie is the beneficiary of the trust. His father was a stableman for van Gend en Loos on the Vlaszak, he recalled for Alanna Nashand set on what would become a 30-year search for the truth about the Colonel. 5 million, which would be almost $45. It is estimated that she inherited around $100 million from his estate after his death in 1977. As he did not have a will when he died, the bulk of the estate fell to his only heir. How much money did Elvis spend on Graceland? Colonel Tom Parker was best known for. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Arthur S. Poe is a writer based in Europe. The Elvis Presley Trust operates the property and receives 50% of the proceeds of Graceland, while the remaining 50% of the profits are split between Lisa Marie and Priscilla. To me, personally, he was very, very nice, he said. The time he got so mad at me, hammering his cane in the floorboard of his Buick on that ominous ride through the Sin City desert, was when I asked him why he didnt give Elvis better movie scripts and songs. Tom Sizemore, 61, dies after aneurysm and stroke: Action star known for Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down and Born on the Fourth of July battled drug addiction The film has it wrong: Parker likely didnt blanch when Elviss hips summoned the vice squad. Asked what the King was really like away from the cameras and stage lights, he said: I would imagine he lived for the stage and got very little in his personal life. The carnies job is to bring people to the glittering lights on the outside of town, promise them something theyve never experienced before, and then almost giving it to them, at a cost, Hanks told The New York Post. Get your picture back.. Not a single witness at the time suggested that Andreas van Kuijk had ever been a suspect. 8 million, approximately $69. In the late 80s, Lisa Marie Presley, Elviss daughter, began living in the home. In reality, Parker lacked that document because he had never resolved his illegal immigrant status; this caused the manager to fear traveling outside the US and being arrested upon his return, or deported. Even when Elvis was on tour, he went to the next town, he made sure the radio, the TV were aware that Elvis was arriving, Todd continued. And the spot where the murder had occurred was only a few yards away from what had been, in 1929, Parkers family home. He didn't sing "Trouble" at that show because he didn't know that song yet. It was quiet in the car, and then he spoke. Oh, yes? He is currently focusing on anime, his childhood love, with special atten Did Colonel Parker Steal from Elvis? It took very little to set him off, added Parkers assistant, Byron Raphael. | READ MORE. 7 million in todays money. There a woman by the name of Nel Dankers-van Kuijk flicked through a copy of Rosita, a Belgian womens magazine. I played along. Answer (1 of 4): The show must go on. Country singer Eddy Arnold was the first to sign in 1938 and found himself giving the Colonel 25 percent of his take-home pay. The litigation lasted until 1983 when, through an out-of-court settlement, Parker received two million dollars in exchange for giving up all rights to Elviss royalties or income generated by the artists estate, in addition to giving up all future financial claims against the Elvis estate. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. That version doesnt fully fit the facts; its impossible to know now within a week when Parker left the Netherlands, and hence how closely his departure coincided with the Breda murder. Sure, he was out of touch with the times by then, and didnt see the Phoenix-like potential of what the special could do for his attraction, as he called Elvis. "There would have been no Elvis without Colonel Tom Parker; there would have been no Colonel Tom Parker without Elvis. He had been born there in June 1909, the seventh child of a delivery driver and his wife. The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. In those fits of rage, he was a very dangerous man, and he certainly appeared capable of killing. A four-footed one?, I should say not. Express. You never saw it coming. The proceeds from Graceland are currently divided between Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, and the Elvis Presley Trust. So to sum it up, rights owners to Elvis Presley songs include Sony/ATV Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Hill and Range, and Gladys Music, with Sony/ATV Music having exclusive rights to most of them. The real Colonel Parker didnt seem to regard Elvis as a son, even though he apparently cried when Elvis forgot his birthday. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. Parker wanted to make Elvis clean-cut after he came back from the army in part because when Elvis went into the army, neither Elvis nor Parker thought rock 'n' roll would last. The Colonel was even against the reunion which made the Elvis 68 Comeback Special so special. You can unsubscribe at any time. Parker then worked hard to get Elvis appearances on Milton Berles television show and then The Ed Sullivan Show, while simultaneously contracting with merchandising manufacturers to use the Elvis name identically to a trademark. Colonel Parker was possibly no different from that but he really did work hard for Elvis. Graceland is currently owned and operated by the Elvis Presley Trust, and is primarily a tourist attraction, with very few people living in the mansion. From that date on, Parker again influenced Elvis so that he concentrated on shooting movies on an impressive scale, even making three films a year (all with Elvis in the main role), so that American theaters frequently had movies starring Presley. Colonel Tom Parker was Elvis Presley's manager for more than 20 years, and was with him when he died on August 16, 1977. In addition to its considerable value, the estate of Elvis Presley is also a major tourist attraction, with over 600,000 visitors a year to Graceland, the estates most famous landmark. The lack of a passport might even explain the single greatest mystery of Presleys career: why the Colonel had turned down dozens of offers, totaling millions of dollars, to have his famous client tour the world. He could only finance Elvis next movie if the singer broadcast a television special. Todd said the Colonel was no worse than any other and noted his generosity with fans, saying:As far as the British fans were concerned, he was better than most managers were because he really did take time to meet the fans. He would donate the rusting hulk to charity and put a P.R. She sold it to a private organization in 1983, but the Presley family retained a portion of the profits. It was arguably the first marketing campaign aimed squarely at the teen demographic. This means, notes Nash, that he set out in a foreign country literally penniless. In the late 1970s, Vellenga ended one of his newspaper features by posing what seemed to him a reasonable question: Did something serious happen before Parker left that summer in 1929, or maybe in the 1930s when he broke all contact with his family?. He even sold I Hate Elvis buttons. Did Elvis make a lot of money in his movies? Similarly, Viva Las Vegas, his 1964 musical, grossed around $9. Since 1979, several administrators chosen by Priscilla Presley on behalf of her daughter accused Parker of having closed a lousy deal with RCA in 1973 for selling the royalties from Elvis songs prior to that year for just 5.4 million dollars, a price considered unethical when considering that precisely this contract affected the period of greatest creativity and fame of Presley. The only thing Epstein couldnt do for the Beatles was negotiate in their favor, losing them millions of dollars in bad copyright, recording, and merchandising deals. A few years later, when the draft was introduced during the World War II, Parker ate until he weighed more than 300 pounds in a successful bid to have himself declared unfit for further service. Alanna Nash has written four books about Elvis, including The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. I offer it only as a theory, a possibility. His accent, on display in a rare interview with Ted Koppel in the 80s, sounded more like a slight speech impediment mixed with the insulation of a rural upbringing. Sam Cookes family labeled his manager, Allen Klein as a predator, sucking the money from the family long after the innovative soul singers death. Elvis also agreed to provide financial support for her and their child in the event of a divorce. Their manager, Brian Epstein, was dedicated to them. There is some speculation this may be due to the managers hidden status as an illegal immigrant. The Colonel made a joke out of both. Only when Elvis died, in 1977, at age 42, did the first hints emerge that something far more unpleasant was lurking in the Colonels past, and once again they did so in the Netherlands. Presley lobbied for the role of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. In other words, if thats not what happened back in Holland, something equally awful did.. He was able to negotiate contracts for the airing of Elviss old movies and for the release of never-before-heard tracks. He was a carny to the last, even if for one second, unlike with FDRs old Potomac, he had presented the side he never wanted to show. In October 1956 Elvis released his fourth single, called Love Me Tender, and secured a new best-seller for the entire year of 1957, in parallel with the films made with Paramount; even so, Parker still doubted if Elviss fame would last long, having seen, over the years, many artists rise to stardom for a year or two and then be forgotten. Among the most damning evidence was Parker's 1973 agreement allowing RCA to buy out the rights to Presley's 700 songs. In addition, she has various other investments, including music publishing rights and royalties, which provide additional financial returns to the estate. But all that success in the kitchen belied the double life he was leading as a rank-and-file member of the Mob. But his investigation took a much more sinister turn after he received a second tip in 1980. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. His merchandising alone grossed over $22 million by the end of 1957. Simultaneously, Parker had decided for many years to cut costs for his client by preventing Elvis from embarking on concert tours or mass contact with his fans. Tom Hanks plays this villainy broadly with cartoonish gusto, veering somewhere between Snidely Whiplash and Sydney Greenstreet. From there, they were picked up in the late 1970s by Elvis biographer Albert Goldman. In parallel, Parker feared that Elvis in Germany would decide to take on another manager, or that on his return he would have lost favor with the public. After the firing, did Colonel Parker send Elvis an itemized bill for $8 million? Todd also spoke out about the tragedy of Elvis life in the spotlight. The lack of a passport might even explain the single greatest mystery of . Some members of the family suspected that Parker had paid him not to talk. Near the end of the film, Elvis learns that Parker is not an American, and doesnt have a passport, which means Elvis will never fulfill his dream of playing in Europe. Although border-crossing formalities were minimal then, the Colonel did not accompany him. The chickens danced because they were on a sawdust-covered hot plate. The racket caused pioneering Sun Records founder Sam Phillips to come in from the control booth and demand to know what they were doing. 2 million in modern currency. Fury of the Gods Brings Back the "Shazamily": Inside DC's New Superhero Adventure, Scream 6's Brutal NYC Trip: "You Can't Trust Anyone" This Time, Cocaine Bear Is Not Just About a Killer "Coked-Up" Bear, It's Also an "Underdog Story", How Marvel's Wastelanders Podcast Created an Exciting Story with No Visual Safety Net, Elvis: Colonel Tom Parker Really Was That Bad. He sold Elvis hats, lipstick, sneakers,. And while Elvis legacy keeps on living, a man behind the shadows Colonel Tom Parker played a role both in Elvis rise to the stars and in his downfall into the pits of drug abuse and suffering. More still went to RCA records, sole owner of all of Elvis' music before 1973, thanks to a $5.4-million deal Parker arranged in that year. I know that from a letter he wrote to his nephew in the 60s after his family identified him from a magazine photo and began to write to him. Elvis Presley was one of the most successful and popular recording artists of all time and during his lifetime he was said to have made an incredible amount of money. Originally a 13. But, backed by some members of the Van Kuijk family, Nash still believes it more likely than not that Colonel Parker was a killer. Interestingly, my paychecks from MGM said "Elvis Exploitation" on themodd terminology. After Elvis death, an investigation concluded that Parkers management deal of 50% was extortionate compared to the usual average of 1520%, as well as that Parkers handling of Presleys business affairs during his lifetime was unethical and mishandled. Overall, the Elvis Presley estate continues to generate income and provides many benefits to its beneficiaries. This led to his admission to a mental hospital. Elvis and the Colonel were associated throughout the musician's entire career, including music, movies, and TV specials. The Presley estate also has a charitable component. 8-acre property, Elvis purchased the estate for $102,500 from Ruth Brown in 1957. Business as usual.