Shane, 24, is a drummer, living in Nashville. ", and Miley's brother Jackson, in Hannah Montana, impersonated Elvis twice: The first time was to fool a gossip reporter, as a coverup, after Miley accidentally blabbed the Hannah-secret to her; and the second time was when Miley and Lily impersonated Dolly Parton and Miley's "Mamaw" Ruthie, respectively, after it came out that Ruthie and Dolly (portrayed by Parton herself) had a fight over Elvis Presley. Eddie is still performing mostly in bars or 6-star hotels, especially with Elvis impersonators. I feel weird saying this, but basically I was the hit of the show, says Caywood. As incredible as it may sound, Elvis Presley would have celebrated his 74th birthday today probably quietly at Graceland lest he throw out a hip. there are currently no upcoming events. . The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. (Blame it on the club owner, ODay said in response.) Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Growing up, he dressed like Elvis and answered to Elvis in the school halls. The final Elvis impersonator made a splash by parachuting in on top of a car. I was 30 or 32 and wild and crazy anyway. Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account. Events tend to attract large numbers of amateur Elvis impersonators and Elvis fans. Another popular theater event has been the "Elvis Story" over the last five years. from the cities of Augusta, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. It was in his blood, and I want to think it was the drinking that prohibited him from doing more with his life. For reasons that remain mysterious, ODay completely turned his back on show business and began working in sales for car dealerships in the greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area. New York-native Erin Feinberg is a master observer of musical subcultures, and has snapped diehard tribes of metal-heads, prog-rockers, and punks. For the first and not last time, his boss, Danny ODay, could boast, with one of his robust laughs, that he was the monster maker.. But he hit a snag: According to his musicians, the Vegas casino establishment wanted ownership of the idea and were less interested in working with ODay himself. They mainly fall under three main levels of impersonation, which are: Enacting a typical 70s Elvis concert is a preferred choice of most ETAs; however, some ETAs may portray various phases of Presley's career in a single show. Arona Mane Shows Off His Production on Thandi Phoenix's new single 'Hot Sauce'. Following the transformation, he made his TV debut on Good Morning Americain early 1978. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug.16, 1977. There have been at least three prominent Elvis impersonators of Samoan descent. Erwin, D.H. and Droser, M.L., 1993. But several weeks later, he made his post-surgery television debut on Good Morning America, and at press conferences began imitating Presleys Southern drawl and polite use of maam and sir. His brother Jim watched one of his TV appearances in a bar. [57] Keil was influenced by Elvis impersonator Andy Stankovich who he saw live. For more information, please call (702) 631-7000. He is played by Frank Wagner. When he woke up, his swollen face wrapped in bandages, Wise had implants in his cheeks and a curled-up lip, and he was on his way to resembling the King more than his 23-year-old self. After James' recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley's career. audition for Wise as an Elvis Presley impersonator. BY THE NUMBERS $52 million Amount the Elvis estate made. But the fans gave their tender love to Shawn Klush of Pittston, PA, crowning him King in the finale. Dennis's 'Rolling Stone' has the story of 'rogue '70s promoter' Danny O'Day. I really hated him then. On New Years Eve 1979, during the tours Reno run, she tossed down 50 sleeping pills and some champagne and hoped it would all end. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I was a small kid growing up in Joplin, Mo., he says. Elvis Presley performs in Providence, R.I., on May 23, 1977. . by Rick Marino, a well-known tribute artist, released in 2000 by Sourcebooks and the more recent, The Elvis Impersonation Kit by Laura Lee, released in 2006 by Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers. Hes lead singer for the dance band Deja Vu, which performs from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at South Point. ACCESS RIGHTS ONLY. Croce hadnt heard of the tribute until contacted by Rolling Stone, and neither the Joplin estate nor the surviving members of the Doors remember these clones from more than 40 years ago. Guess where the money went? Wise wound up suing ODay for negligence (claiming his professional reputation has been damaged) and breach of fiduciary duty, demanding a minimum settlement of $2,500. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the unique iconic status of Elvis. in Roxy's at the Fiesta Rancho located at 2400 N. Rancho He is a published author and has appeared on New Zealand television in ads, Like Minds, Like Mine. In the Sledge Hammer! Dave Ehlert from Waukegan, IL began performing as Elvis in 1967 a full 10 years before Elvis died. Rock and Roll Heaven, the touring extravaganza he conceived and promoted, didnt just pay homage to one deceased icon, but four of them: Elvis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jim Croce. ODay wasnt there, so Gamble had to content himself with walking off with a piece of stage gear. It's only fitting that he would "It's almost like you're on autopilot," Garon said, of drifting into the Presley persona. As she later told the Orlando Sentinel, the whole show gave her the creeps due to real weird girls who started hanging out during my shows, biker types. She complained to ODay about her female-Elvis role, but he wasnt listening: Nothing I said seemed to sink in, Rhyne said. One of his biggest fans is Dennis Wise, a man who even had his face and hairline changed through plastic surgery to look more like Elvis. But none of it gave ODay even the slightest pause; by now, he was in full Barnum mode. He spent years touring the U.S., living a rock and roll lifestyle while playing his favorite music. The Disney Channel sitcoms Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody both featured main characters dressing up and acting like Elvis. The film was directed by Don Coscarelli. E One of the first books to document the phenomenon was, I Am Elvis: A Guide to Elvis Impersonators released by American Graphic Systems in 1991. People were calling me from all over the world. Fans who wish to pay homage to the King of Rock n Roll might enjoy attending Wises annual show commemorating the passing of Elvis. How would Danny come up with that? she says. It was his seventeenth and last number-one single in the United States. Their fellow townspeople understand this sentiment, but in the final scene they are shown burning those selfsame photographs, which display both Oscar and Emma dressed as Elvis. Thats up from $49 million in 2007. ", "Arkansas Libertarians select candidates lineup; Elvis Presley among nominees", Kiwi Elvis impersonator to take on the Aussies, This man makes snake anti-venom by day and is Ceredigions only Maori Elvis tribute artist by night By Rachael Misstear, Andy Stankovich is Elvis for six New Zealand shows - Courtney Martin, 5-B Mr. Fatu And The Coastal Connection At Colonial Inn, Page 14/LA GACETA/Friday, June 9, 2006 . Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the correct date that Elvis Presley died. He has every album Elvis ever recorded and pictures by the thousands. After the semi-highs of their casino days, they found themselves scrambling to survive, selling magazines to convenience stores and even hawking their own blood to pay the bills, as they told the Orlando Sentinel. Some of the performers had reservations about what they were doing. Their memories of Rock and Roll Heaven are decidedly mixed. A more scholarly examination of Elvis impersonation is, Impersonating Elvis by Leslie Rubinowski released in 1997. Finding the right plastic surgeon to tweak Wises lips and cheeks and straighten his nose was tougher. The man who played Elvis' boss at the Crown Electric company was Red West, a real life schoolmate and best friend of Elvis. Elvis Impersonator from Winston Salem, NC (95 miles from Wake Forest, NC) Danny Crouse is a consummate performer who performs as a solo artist and can perform a variety of music! Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Elvis impersonators are a type of pedestrians commonly spawned in the Las Venturas (which is modelled after Las Vegas) area of the map. In the Summer 1997 issue of The Oxford American magazine author Tom Graves wrote an acclaimed article, Natural Born Elvis, about the first Elvis impersonator, Bill Haney, the only tribute artist Elvis himself ever went to see perform. The friendship between Nelson and Presley is documented in the book "Elvis in Texas". But once she arrived for the job, she realized what her new boss had in mind. Cruise kept asking James if he had any songs that would be right for Elvis. True impersonators don't 'do Elvis' for monetary gain, but as missionaries to spread the message of The King. Wow your guests with a visit from the King of Rock and Roll! Cram him into brown leather pants and he might pass for the Lizard King. Watching from afar as he attempted to revive his deflated career as a new Elvis, Dennis Wise had his worries. But for ODay, it probably didnt matter: He already had a bigger, grander, and wilder scheme in mind. In the mid-1970s, Andy Kaufman made an Elvis impersonation part of his act. He would say, We ought to do this! and I would be, Oh, my gosh!. It's only fitting that he would choose a career that pays tribute to the King of Rock and Roll. Swipe your Rampart Rewards card at the door and receive 1,000 points! Often, the shows would start with OConnell as Morrison, vamping through the Doors Light My Fire, Love Me Two Times, and Touch Me, before Hazebrouck came out with Croce hits like Time in a Bottle and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. After a brief intermission, the band launched into a stomping groove, and Caywood stuck her hand through a curtain holding a bottle of Southern Comfort before emerging feathers flying, she says and starting her Joplin set, which included Ball and Chain and Piece of My Heart. Then, Gamble would re-enter, karate-chopping his way through a medley of Elvis hits, before everyone reconvened onstage for a grand finale. In 1978 Wise went through extensive plastic surgery to make himself look more like Elvis. (I knew it wasnt the original, the woman said of ODay. Sounds right, says Patten, laughing. ODay also landed them an appearance on Tom Snyders late-night network talk show. I just say, I want plastic surgery done on her nose and his chin and this and that and, oh, by the way, I just happen to have a picture here of exactly what we want done. When the six-hour procedure was finished, Wise was rolled out in a wheelchair, his face covered in bandages. The mementos may be gone. Shawn Klush. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Jim called Dennis, who was then selling Toyotas at a Honolulu dealership, and asked if hed want to come to Arkansas and try out for their band. He has performed more than 10,000 shows as an Elvis impersonator. Other honors bestowed upon Wise What ODay himself dubbed his clone army only wound up fighting a few minor skirmishes: a handful of TV appearances, and gigs at clubs, state fairs, and casinos, earning enough notoriety to have possibly inspired not one but two Saturday Night Live parodies. We were traveling the country, doing two shows a night six and seven nights a week.. Danny pulls in with a brand-new Burt Reynolds Trans Am, he says. Halfway through the Once the artists are gone, theyre gone, says Pezzuti. While some impersonators perform a wide variety of Presley's discography, his songs from the 1950s and 1970s remain fan favourites. As far back as the Seventies, touring and club acts meticulously did their best to look and sound like the Doors or the very much alive Bruce Springsteen, and tourists in Manhattan flocked to Beatlemania, a Fab Four tribute that ran on Broadway for two years. ODay rounded up another Jim Croce and another Elvis and found a local Florida musician to go under the knife to more closely resemble Buddy Holly. It was very fresh at that point compared to now. ODay had what felt like a foolproof method of making the operation seem as routine as possible. At a hotel pool in Florida, an on-message ODay introduced his clones to a writer from the Miami News and regaled the reporter with tales from his rock & roll crypt. I would tell those people not to do it. All of a sudden, it started hurting real bad, Wise recalls. What followed was anything but conventional, even during an era, the Seventies, when genuine rock stars would pop up on campy network TV specials. His marriage to Rhyne fell apart. Gamble switched to Christian music and eventually became an ordained minister in Arizona, where he currently lives. Hes Elvis. His admiration for Elvis has spanned over forty years. Musician who performs in the style of Elvis Presley. He was on hand for the first year anniversary of Elvis' death at the Prince William County Fair in Manassas, VA on August 16, 1978. ODays first choice bailed when his name leaked to the press. Novelist William McCranor Henderson wrote about his attempts to learn the Elvis trade in, I, Elvis: Confessions of a Counterfeit King. [10] As Kaufman gained fame, the impersonation was used less and less. Even though James's recording initially had not been commercially successful, upon reviewing the song Elvis decided he could turn it into a hit. I have no idea. The film's soundtrack contains multiple Elvis songs with the titular Hawaiian girl named Lilo being a huge fan. By 1977, the band found itself gigging in Arkansas, doing what their guitarist Jim Wise calls Stevie Wonder and disco stuff. ODay was also learning how to work the system. It was not for money purposes. What if, instead of one altered rocker, he had an all-star ensemble of them? include being named by Dick Clark as one of the three best Elvis SUMMERS: So it is deep cuts and classics all weekend at the Birmingham Hilton. (Rhyne, by then remarried and known as Deborah Erin Bertalan, died of complications from a brain tumor in 2011. Wise isnt totally focused on Elvis. ODay already knew the limitations of tribute bands. When Wise reexamined his contract at the time, he realized hed signed with ODay for 50 years and that ODay was entitled to half his earnings. Since I was 5 Ive been acting like him he was kind of like a father figure to me because my dad was gone all the time. A fast and unbiased roundup of whats happening in the world today. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the unique iconic status of Elvis. Wise says that, inspired by Dark Passage, the 1947 film in which Humphrey Bogarts escaped-con character undergoes plastic surgery to avoid recapture, he suggested altering his face to look more like the King. Of course theyll come., Rhyne sang credible Ronstadt covers, while her new husband dug into his performing past to mimic Rogers husky delivery. Described as the original and best-known Elvis Presley tribute artist, Dennis Wise has performed more than 10,000 shows in all 50 states and in other countries including Peru, England and Japan. appealed to everybody.
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dennis wise elvis impersonator