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 ...

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. His manager

Colonel Tom Parker Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997),

's persistent lobbying of

William Morris Agency The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...

president Abe Lastfogel for a Presley screen test paid off on March 26, 1956, when the singer auditioned at

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

for a supporting role in ''The Rainmaker''. Although not chosen for the part, he signed a contract with Paramount producer

Hal Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...

on April 25 that also allowed him to make films with other studios. His feature debut was in '' Love Me Tender'' in 1956 for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, with the commercial success of the soundtrack EP being a

bellwether A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends.bellwether
" ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Ret ...

for the next three Presley films, '' Loving You'', '' Jailhouse Rock,'' and ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

.'' Elvis returned to acting after leaving the army in 1960, with '' G.I. Blues'' and a dramatic western ''

Flaming Star ''Flaming Star'' is a 1960 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest, based on the book ''Flaming Lance'' (1958) by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as t ...

''. The popularity of his romantic musicals established a formula for the coming years. Over time, Presley became bitter that his hopes for dramatic roles were not coming to fruition, stating that ''

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 Hard clam, quahogs. The food is traditionally cooked by steaming the i ...

'' 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. 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 ''Elvis on Tour'' is a 1972 American concert film starring Elvis Presley during his fifteen-city spring tour earlier that year. It is written, produced, directed by Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Follow ...

'' in 1972 were the final theatrical releases for Presley.Guralnick, Jorgensen (1999), pp. 271, 305, 321. Fun fact: Elvis used to have a different color of light put on when recording. Red for Classical, Blue for gospel, and no lights for weary and gloomy songs. He did this in studio D in Nashville, TN

Acting credits

Television

Film

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1956) at Archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presley, Elvis

Filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The ...