Larry Geller (born August 8, 1939) is an American writer, hairstylist, and public speaker. He was a spiritual advisor and personal hairstylist to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Weekly January 10, 1994, Daily January 14, 1994. P. viii. He "played a major role in shaping the King's iconic hair looks". Elvis hired him on April 30, 1964 , . Pages 225, 226, and 254. during the filming of ''

Roustabout Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who handled materials ...

''. . Pages 216, 232-244. He became "the man in whom lvisconfided in matters of the spirit."Tillery, p. 2

Career

Geller's career began when he joined forces with famed hairdresser

Jay Sebring Thomas John Kummer (October 10, 1933 – August 9, 1969), known professionally as Jay Sebring, was an American celebrity hair stylist, and the founder of the hairstyling corporation Sebring International. Sebring was murdered by members of the M ...

, opening the first men's hair salon in America in 1959. This salon provided services like women's hair styling salons as opposed to the traditional barber shops. Their salon, Sebring International, attracted Hollywood's A-list. Film stars, TV and recording artists such as

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and ''Hart to Hart'' (1979– ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including '' The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's ''The Ameri ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, and

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

were among their clientele.

Personal hairstylist to Elvis Presley

Beginning in 1964, Geller left Sebring to accompany Elvis and style his hair for entertainment engagements, including film productions, concert performances, and reception of guests at

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

. Their relationship went far deeper than hairstylist and client. Geller was Elvis’ confidant and friend. He brought Elvis many new age ideas on " ligion, philosophy, ... life, and anything else you can think of", and books which contained them, which helped Elvis in his search for identity and purpose. Geller styled Elvis’ hair for nearly a dozen movies: ''Roustabout'', ''

Girl Happy ''Girl Happy'' is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy and beach party film starring Elvis Presley in his eighteenth feature. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965. It featured the song " Puppe ...

'', '' Double Trouble'', '' Easy Come, Easy Go'', '' Frankie and Johnny'', '' Harum Scarum'', ''

Paradise, Hawaiian Style ''Paradise, Hawaiian Style'' is a 1966 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. It was the third and final motion picture that Presley filmed in Hawaii. The film reached #40 on the ''Variety'' weekly box office chart, earning $2.5 mill ...

'', ''

Tickle Me ''Tickle Me'' is a 1965 American musical comedy western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster. Presley won a 1966 Golden Laurel Award as best male actor in a musical film fo ...

'', ''

Clambake The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, scallops, soft-shell clams, and quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the ingredients ...

'', and ''

Spinout Spinout or Spin Out may refer to: *Corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, a type of corporate action where a company turns a portion of itself into a separate business *Spinout (driving), failure when braking Entertainment * ''Spinout (fil ...

''. Geller prepared Elvis’ hair for the last time for his funeral in August, 1977.

Personal life

Geller was first married to Stevie, from 1963 to 1972. Geller remarried in 1995. He and his wife Shira lived in Los Angeles, and now live in Sedona, Arizona. He has twin sisters. . Pages 48 and 157. Elvis studied with him for years.

Notable appearances

In November 2010, Geller appeared on the Elvis Cruise 2010, which sailed from Jacksonville to Nassau, Bahama on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship named the ''

Carnival Fascination ''Carnival Fascination'', originally ''Fascination'', was a cruise ship built at Helsinki, Finland in 1994. For most of her service with Carnival Cruise Lines she operated out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2017 ''Carnival Fascination'' was charte ...

''.

Bibliography

* (with Joel Spector and Patricia Romanowski) * (with

Jess Stearn Jess Stearn (April 26, 1914 – March 27, 2002) was an American journalist and author of more than thirty books, nine of which were bestsellers. Early life Stearn was born in Syracuse, New York to David Stearn, a rabbi. He graduated from Syracus ...

) * A "small printing". * *

In popular culture

* Played himself and was a technical advisor in ''

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

'', a 1979 TV movie with

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

Retrieved 2015-11-28. * Portrayed by Patrick O'Connell in '' Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story'', a 1993 TV movie Retrieved 2015-11-28. * Portrayed by Robert C. Treveiler in ''

'', a 2005 TV mini-series with

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins (film), Michael Collins'' (1996), ''Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus (f ...

Retrieved 2015-11-28.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geller, Larry 1939 births Writers from Elmira, New York Writers from Los Angeles Novelists from Arizona Living people Jewish American novelists American male novelists Novelists from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews