Related: Elvis True Story: Who Was Orion? What happened to Colonel Tom Parker after Elvis died? [4], "Colonel Tom Parker rubbed my head in Vegas", Eddie Murphy stated in 1989. In January 1979, it was discovered that Presley had lost out on royalties for songs on which he had been listed as an author or composer because Parker had unwisely advised him not to sign up to ASCAP or its younger competitor, BMI. Parker privately acknowledged his brother and even introduced him to Presley. He is passionate about film, comics, TV and spends way too much on collectibles. For the rest of his life, Parker managed the Presley estate. [14] In 1945, Parker became Arnold's full-time manager, signing a contract for 25% of his earnings. In January 1958 Presley received his draft notice from the United States Army. Elvis Presley expressed his desire to go overseas frequently, but he was kept at bay with easy and fast money arranged by The Colonel on projects in the U.S. By the time they reached the final years of Elvis' career, the two were so intertwined and invested that it made more sense to stay in business than to walk away. It took a probate court to remove Parker and his 50% fee from future dealings. But according to IMDb, it was because Elvis just didn't like dealing with confrontation. He had a matter-of-fact method of speaking and didn't suffer fools lightly. [29] While Presley was a hit among the youth of America, the middle-aged audiences found him an oddity. [59] Due to an ill-advised agreement between Parker and Presley that gave RCA sole ownership of all his recording royalties prior to 1973, the estate was relying heavily on the income from Factors Etc. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He influenced Presley's personal life, including Presley's decisions to accept military service in 1958 and to marry Priscilla Beaulieu in 1967. Although from the Netherlands originally, actor Tom Hanks' Parker had a Southern-style accent due to a huge chunk of his life being spent there, but it was more of a mixture with his native Dutch accent. In the end, both Elvis and Colonel Parker shared a tragic journey that mirrored their working relationship. [50] This would be successful for a short time, but when Presley discovered the trick, he simply found himself other doctors. Mourners recall being surprised at his wearing a Hawaiian shirt and baseball cap, smoking his trademark cigar, and purposely avoiding the casket. Presley's acting career was originally intended to be a serious one, but after seeing a chance to cross-promote singles and albums with the films, Parker persuaded Presley to sing in his films. Inc.[4] However, because Parker was still entitled to 50% of all Presley's income, and after taxes were taken off, the overall amount going towards the upkeep of the estate was less than $1 million a year.[4]. [41] In Houston alone in one afternoon, 40,000 people paid to see it, with one woman offering to have sex with the tour manager if he would allow her to sit in it. [64] In 1993, in one of his last media appearances, Parker appeared in a television interview with Dutch TV director Jorrit van der Kooi where they spoke to each other in Dutch about the Netherlands and about Elvis Presley's life and career. [15], In 1948, Parker received the honorary rank of colonel in the Louisiana State Militia from Jimmie Davis, the governor of Louisiana and a former country singer, in return for work Parker did on Davis's election campaign. [48], Aloha from Hawaii proved to be the last great moment in Presley's career. [4] Although Parker had served honorably for a time, he went AWOL this time and was charged with desertion. In particular, Hanks was looking forward to taking part in a fresh look at the story, as the tale of Elvis is well-known enough to garner fatigue. It's a surprisingly relatable trait for someone . [53] Despite this, however, the deal never materialized. It was in 1948 that Parker pulled off one of his most inspired "snow-jobs" when he persuaded Jimmie Davis, former country-singer turned Governor of Louisiana, to grant him the honorary title of "Colonel". [56] Shortly afterward, he traveled to Memphis for Presley's funeral. [54], In July 1976, three of Presley's personal bodyguards and members of the "Memphis Mafia", Robert Gene "Red" West, his cousin Sonny West and David Hebler, were fired by Vernon Presley and decided to write a tell-all book about their life in his inner circle, Elvis: What Happened? There are probably a number of reasons for this. [53] Seeing it as a chance to finally be taken seriously as an actor, Presley agreed to take the role if the contracts could be worked out. (Elvis), Tom Hanks (Colonel Tom Parker), Olivia DeJonge (Priscilla) and other actors will also be on . In January 1997, Parker suffered from a stroke and died the next day in a hospital in Las Vegas at the age of 87. [4][5] Parker's final years were spent living in Las Vegas, in increasingly poor health before his death in 1997. [15] Around the same time, realizing the deal for Presley might fall through due to the cost of the contract, Parker attempted to sell Tommy Sands to RCA. The very next morning, Tom died in a renowned hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada due to stroke-related complications. Lisa Marie died on January 12 after suffering cardiac arrest. [4] Priscilla and the Trust were prepared to let Parker continue to handle Presley's business affairs, and petitioned the court to that end. [18] According to Moore, Presley agreed to take 50 percent, with Moore and Black splitting the other 50 percent. Parker's cut of Presley's earnings was typically 50%, and by the time Presley died in 1977, Parker had earned an estimated $40 million from his share of Presley's income. PIONEERING EARLY MANAGEMENT Paul Shirey is a senior news writer for Screen Rant. [53] According to Parker himself, he did privately attempt to talk to his client a number of times about the matter, but allegedly every time Parker casually told Presley to quit or at least tone it down with the pill popping and binge eating, Presley would respond by telling Parker to stay out of his personal business. [44], During a closing night performance on September 3, 1973, following news that a Hilton staff member whom Presley was fond of had been fired, Presley attacked Hilton Hotels chairman Barron Hilton in a verbal rage on stage. Presley was never one to stand up against Parker, but he knew that this TV show was his one chance at a true comeback, and with Binder backing him, Presley told Parker he was doing it "Binder's way". [citation needed], For the remainder of Presley's life, Parker saw little of him. At that time Parker believed Elvis to be black. Presley's career stagnated while artists like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys dominated the charts. The 19 years of silence that his mysterious correspondent mentioned took the story as far back as 1961exactly the year that the Van Kuijk family had made contract with Parker, and Ad van Kuijk. Parker struggled with a gambling addiction while keeping Elvis on a short leash, halting the singer from touring overseas and pushing him into cheap projects that were frequently averse to what the artist wanted to be a part of, eventually taking 50% of Elvis' earnings, of which they both agreed upon. [4] He enlisted in the United States Army a few months later, taking the name "Tom Parker" from the same name of the officer who interviewed him, to disguise the fact he was an illegal alien. [33] If Presley could show the world that he the same as any other young man, Parker told him, then more people would accept him and his music. They struggled to survive during the Great Depression, working short cons and traveling across the country in search of work. The truth about his early years was revealed in 1960 when one of Parker's sisters, Nel Dankers-van Kuijk, living in the Netherlands, recognized him in photographs standing next to Presley. The two had become almost strangers, and false reports in the media suggested that Presley's contract was up for sale. [4], Parker had worked as a "consultant" for Hilton Hotels since Presley's death,[60] with some believing he was working to pay off debts owed to the casino from his gambling during Presley's performances there. When Elvis returned home from the Army, The Colonel focused on more films, TV appearances, and albums, saturating the airwaves with Elvis. Instead, Parker sent demonstration recordings to record producer Steve Sholes at RCA Victor. During the interview, Parker said that he was not aware that another one of his sisters, Adriana van Kuijk, had died in the Netherlands a few years before. This proved very lucrative, especially when the single for Presley's first film, Love Me Tender, sold over one million copies in advance sales. Even so, he continued to sell out shows and hit the Top 10 charts. Parker was able to receive more than half of the income from the enterprise, an unprecedented figure for a music manager. I quit! Parker had unknowingly backed himself into a financial corner. [26] By the summer Presley had become one of the most famous new faces of the year, causing excitement among the new teenage audience and outrage among some older audiences and religious groups. "A couple times he set me up in the Elvis Presley suite on top of the Hilton, and I would go play Elvis for a week One night we were at the crap table together and he rubbed my head for luck. [52] After nearly two weeks of trading insults back and forth, Parker and Presley decided to continue to work together. Many Parker biographers, including Dirk Vellenga and Alanna Nash, have stated that Parker's gambling habit began to get out of control in the mid-1960s. He also became friendly with the estate again, attending special ceremonies and events in Memphis, invited by Priscilla. The Masked Lookalike Explained. Guralnick, Peter (1994). [52] Angered by this outburst, Parker declared: "You can't fire me. But according to Alanna. [15] Despite this, Phillips was not keen to let him go easily, advising Parker that he would require $40,000 (US$404,621 in 2021 dollars[11]) to secure the release of Presley's contract, a completely unheard-of sum at the time. [72] Priscilla Presley attended the funeral to represent the Elvis Presley Estate and gave a eulogy that, to many in the room, summed up Parker: "Elvis and the Colonel made history together, and the world is richer, better and far more interesting because of their collaboration. The Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal was certainly a different type of role for the actor, who is known for taking on characters like the sunny Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. None of the rules of the relationship was operative any longer, yet neither had the courage to walk away, for a variety of reasons." [4][5] Tual, once appointed as Lisa Marie's guardian ad litem, chose to investigate the entire period of Parker's management of Presley; his preliminary finding was that Parker's management deal of 50% was extortionate compared to the industry average of 1520%. However, it soon became obvious that Elvis had staying power, with the right guidance. And there certainly would've been no Elvis without Colonel Tom Parker.' . [4] During his first visit there, he traveled with a Chautauqua educational tent show, before returning briefly to the Netherlands. He suggested to Parker that, as Presley had recorded and was still performing the song "I'll Remember You" written by Kui Lee, the donations could go to the Kui Lee Cancer Fund that had been set up following the death of the songwriter in 1966. God, yes! After the gig came to an end, Colonel Tom Parker came looking for him. [15] The rank was honorary, since Louisiana had no organized militia, but Parker used the title throughout his life, becoming known simply as "the Colonel" to many acquaintances. Parker suffered a stroke in 1997, dying at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada after years of declining health, survived only by his second wife. [16] He suggested to Sholes that Sands could record material similar to Presley's style. Parker returned to the carnival (one not-too-dissimilar to the 1950s carnival in American Horror Story thanks to the setting), where he made his living for a time before getting involved in music promotion, working with the likes of Gene Austin, Minnie Pearl, Eddy Arnold, and Hank Snow. [41], To make up for lack of earnings, Parker arranged for Presley's gold Cadillac to go on tour. But, after he gave a detailed invoice to Elvis, the star realized he couldn't pay Parker, so they continued collaborating. Parker was a svengali who exerted an extreme amount of control over his charge's career, and took enormous 25 to 50% in commission. I said no." Yet, in the end, standing up to the Colonel proved to be an expert . After that, his crippling gambling habit caught up with him, and Parker died nearly penniless. [33], Presley had been showing signs of rebellion against Parker, and Parker believed that a stint in the Army would cure him of this. On March 26, 1956, after Presley's management contract with Neal expired, Presley signed a contract with Parker that made him his exclusive representative. The "Colonel" badly mismanaged Elvis. [21] In return for a larger financial stake in the deal, Neal agreed not to renew his management contract with Presley after it expired in March 1956,[22] allowing Parker the opportunity to claim the job for himself. However, there were some interesting omissions from the award announcements. In 1983, he was paid $2 million dollars in an out-of-court settlement, which had him turn over any and all audio and video recordings he had of Elvis and terminated his involvement in any Elvis-related earnings for five years. Parker's net worth when he died was $1 million. Despite Parker's troubling exploitation of Presley, though,. [53] Hulett's company had managed tours for Presley, and he had worked with artists such as Led Zeppelin. The Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal is certainly one of the highlights of the movie, giving audiences something they aren't used to seeing from the actor. Andreas Cornelius Van Kuijk ("Colonel Tom Parker"), manager and promoter: born Breda, Holland 26 June 1909; twice married; died Las Vegas 21 January 1997. [15] Over the next few years, he helped Arnold secure hit songs, television appearances, and live tours. [5] During a second, more detailed investigation, Tual discovered that all earnings were paid directly to the Trust instead of Parker. [15] However, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes was convinced that Presley's style of music would be a huge hit with the right label, and he began talks with Parker. [4] At age 17, he first displayed signs of wanting to run away to the United States to "make his fortune". The Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal was a shocking one. [52] Parker was furious, and he stormed into Presley's dressing room after the show to confront him. [10] Parker later said that at times they had had to live on as little as $1 a week (US$20 in 2021 dollars). [17] In the beginning, Presley, Moore, and the bassist Bill Black were a trio, the Blue Moon Boys. [5] Parker countersued. Colonel Tom Parker was Elvis Presley's manager for more than 20 years, and was with him when he died on August 16, 1977. [4] From about 1931 until 1938, he worked as a "carny" with Royal American Shows. Parker suffered a stroke on Jan. 20, 1997 and died the next morning at a hospital in Las Vegas. Parker was also afraid that any attempt to block Presley from being drafted would result in a more detailed look into his own service record. [57], Parker set out to protect his future income. Related: The Darkest Moments In Oscars History. [14], Through the fundraising, Parker headed to Tennessee to find acts to perform at his charity events,[14] among them stars such as Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold. Before getting into the relationship between the King and his manager, a quick crash course in the pre-Elvis life of Colonel Tom Parker is in order and hoo boy, what a life it was. [45], By 1972, Parker had managed to increase Presley's weekly wage in Las Vegas to $150,000 ($971,718 in 2021 dollars[11]), and secured $50,000 a year ($323,906 in 2021 dollars[11]) for himself as a "consultant to the hotel chain". With this the fake Americanisation of Dries van Kuijk was complete. Stories appeared in the press regularly about Presley, including that he would do a live CCTV broadcast when he returned and that he had signed a deal for a series of annual television spectaculars to be broadcast across the country. Parker, who was born in the Netherlands, entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. Despite the court controversy, Parker continued to appear at Elvis-themed events, from anniversaries to special events, etc. The Colonel (Tom Hanks) first sees Elvis (Austin Butler) backstage at the Louisiana Hayride. The premises had been ransacked in search of money. He died in 1997 at the age of 87. However, other friends and members of Presley's entourage have stood by the suggestion that Parker didn't want to admit there was such a problem because he didn't know how to deal with it, and he was also worried about any negative publicity it would create. I wanted to punch him in the face. Presley had been living with Priscilla Beaulieu, ten years his junior, for the past four years, but it had not been public knowledge. A proud father, a combat veteran, dog lover, gym rat, coffee enthusiast and all around equal opportunity doughnut devourer, you can follow his daily exploits on Twitter and Instagram, as well as YouTube Videos on The Arctic Ninja Network. The contract, dated July 12, 1954, eight days after their first recording session, was signed by Presley and his parents. Tom Hanks has built a reputation for disappearing into his roles. However, as he always does, Hanks shone as Tom Parker in Elvis, and the Colonel proved to the world that he could play a complex villain. And when he said that, I said, 'Oh, well, okay, now that's brand new.". He said 'Did I really?' Parker hoped that marriage would not only boost Presley's career but also possibly tame him. [53] Yet, despite Presley's eagerness to do the shows, Parker again turned them down. His death certificate lists his birth name as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, his country of birth as the Netherlands, and his citizenship as American. Stories of managerial terrorism abound in music history. The talks had included details about European tours, and buying out Presley's contract would not have been a problem for Hulett and his company. However, Parker claimed that his issue with overseas performances was over security issues, as well as poor venues not suitable for the star's stature. . In an interview (via Entertainment Weekly), Hanks broke down why he took the part, "Baz said, 'There would've been no Colonel Tom Parker without Elvis. Colonel Tom is credited as being the man who made Elvis Presley a star. [40] These deals were sometimes so harsh on the studios that it led producer Hal Wallis to state: "I'd rather try and close a deal with the Devil. He said 'Well then there ain't no doubt about it. The document that was signed on November 21 pertained to the record label transfer. Played by Tom Hanks in the new biopic Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann, Colonel Tom Parker remains, 25 years after his death, and nearly half a century after the death of his only client, the most memorable and divisive manager in the history of show business.It was the Colonel who propelled his "boy", as he would refer to him, from being a local celebrity in Memphis to being the most . "[40], Presley had to do no more than provide RCA Victor with three albums a year,[37] and his film soundtracks did that for him. [12] He was a successful promoter, but he wanted to move into management.[12]. What Elvis Gets RightAnd WrongAbout the Real Colonel Tom Parker His accent wasn't so theatrical, and he was way funnier than Baz Luhrmann gives him credit for. [53] Parker, who had always dealt with Presley's film contracts and viewed the offer as a starting bid to earning more money, instead asked for a salary $1 million ($5,035,869 in 2021 dollars[11]), 50% of the profits, plus another $100,000 ($503,587 in 2021 dollars[11]) for expenses, and spoke of needing to arrange details of a soundtrack deal. Most notably, in Colonel Tom Parker, the mysterious manager portrayed by Tom Hanks in Elvis. [34] He was upset about the possibility that would affect his career, but Parker was secretly overjoyed. More than 40 years after his death, Elvis Presley remains one of the most famous and most easily recognized people in history. [7] As a boy, he worked as a barker at carnivals in his hometown, learning many of the skills that he would require later while working in the entertainment industry. He made him join the Army after Elvis was offered an out by the Memphis draft board. This was, with hindsight, a mistake on his part; if he had negotiated each deal separately based on the profits of the previous film, he could have received more money. Imagine owing anyone $146.6 million dollars. [41], On January 2, 1967, Parker re-negotiated his managerial/agent contract with Presley, persuading him to increase Parker's share from 25% to 50% on certain transactions. Following his discharge, Parker worked at a number of jobs, including food concessions and gaming carnivals. His accent wasn't so theatrical, and he was way funnier than Baz Luhrmann gives him credit for. [56], In September 1978, shortly after the first anniversary of Presley's death, Parker arranged a fan festival, Always Elvis, where he, Vernon, and Presley's ex-wife Priscilla, dedicated a bronze statue of him in the lobby of the Las Vegas Hilton. [4] Fans and biographers alike believe that one of the main reasons Parker signed Presley to a Vegas hotel in 1969 for his live comeback was to help cover losses he experienced in their casino. [65], Others, however, had doubts about whether they were legally married at all. [72] By this point, he was stricken with diabetes, gout, and other health problems such that he could barely leave his own house. He had expressed interest in making films when he first met Parker, and now Parker was working to make that happen. [53] Parker later claimed that Presley had asked him to make the contract so demanding so that they would not offer him the part, although many of Presley's friends have contradicted Parker's statement because they had said Presley was furious at losing the role.[53]. He died of complications from the stroke[72] the following morning at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 87. Colonel Tom Parker's home (former), 409 Park Ridge Avenue, Temple Terrace, Fl. [33] Parker, on the other hand, was fully aware that any special treatment given to Presley would instantly be used against him in the media and by those who disliked his style of music. [8], In May 1929, Van Kuijk returned to the United States at age 19, finding work with carnivals due to his previous experience in the Netherlands. [4], In The Colonel, her 2003 biography of Parker, Alanna Nash wrote that Parker may have been a suspect or a person of interest in an unsolved murder case in Breda. Dolly admitted: "I cried all night. [44] These live performances, as well as being financially satisfying, also allowed Parker to fulfill Presley's recording contract with RCA Victor.
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what happened to colonel tom parker after elvis died