- Born
- Died
- Birth nameElvis Aaron Presley
- Nicknames
- Elvis the Pelvis
- The King
- The King of Rock 'n' Roll
- Height5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
- Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. In 1953, he attended the senior prom with the current girl he was courting, Regis Wilson. After graduating from high school in Memphis, Elvis took odd jobs working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for Crown Electric Company. He began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat", then signed with a local recording company, and then with RCA in 1955.
Elvis did much to establish early rock and roll music. He began his career as a performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country music and rhythm and blues, with a strong backbeat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop music. Teenage girls became hysterical over his blatantly sexual gyrations, particularly the one that got him nicknamed "Elvis the Pelvis" (television cameras were not permitted to film below his waist).
In 1956, following his six television appearances on The Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show", Elvis was cast in his first acting role, in a supporting part in Love Me Tender (1956), the first of 33 movies he starred in.
In 1958, Elvis was drafted into the military, and relocated to Bad Nauheim, Germany. There he met 14-year old army damsel Priscilla Ann Wagner (Priscilla Presley), whom he would eventually marry after an eight-year courtship, and by whom he had his only child, Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis' military service and the "British Invasion" of the 1960s reduced his concerts, though not his movie/recording income.
Through the 1960s, Elvis settled in Hollywood, where he starred in the majority of his thirty-three movies, mainly musicals, acting alongside some of the most well known actors in Hollywood. Critics panned most of his films, but they did very well at the box office, earning upwards of $150 million total. His last fiction film, Change of Habit (1969), deals with several social issues; romance within the clergy, an autistic child, almost unheard of in 1969, rape, and mob violence. It has recently received critical acclaim.
Elvis made a comeback in the 1970s with live concert appearances starting in early 1970 in Las Vegas with over 57 sold-out shows. He toured throughout the United States, appearing on-stage in over 500 live appearances, many of them sold out shows. His marriage ended in divorce, and the stress of constantly traveling as well as his increasing weight gain and dependence upon stimulants and depressants took their toll.
Elvis Presley died at age 42 on August 16, 1977 at his mansion in Graceland, near Memphis, shocking his fans worldwide. At the time of his death, he had sold more than 600 million singles and albums. Since his death, Graceland has become a shrine for millions of followers worldwide. Elvis impersonators and purported sightings have become stock subjects for humorists. To date, Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music 'Halls of Fame'. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales, and remains one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan and Chris Holland
- SpousePriscilla Presley(May 1, 1967 - October 9, 1973) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- Parents
- RelativesHarper Lockwood(Grandchild)Finley Lockwood(Grandchild)Minnie Mae Presley(Grandparent)Vester Presley(Aunt or Uncle)Patsy Presley Geranen(Cousin)Billy Smith(Cousin)Riley Keough(Grandchild)Benjamin Keough(Grandchild)Nylon Keies(Cousin)
- The famous left-sided grin
- His movements, with his pelvis, that gave him the nickname, "Elvis, the pelvis", which he strongly disliked
- Longer and slightly deeper sideburns
- White sequined jumpsuits with rhinestones
- Onstage karate moves
- When The Beatles came to America in 1965 there was only one person they wanted to meet: Elvis. On 8/27/65 they got their wish and, according to John Lennon, spent an enjoyable evening at the Presley home in Bel Air, CA, talking, singing and laughing with each other.
- Once an opera singer attended one of his 1950s concerts and met him backstage. The singer told Elvis that he sang like a hillbilly and needed singing lessons. Elvis replied, "Thanks for the advice, but how many of the thousands of people out there tonight came to hear you sing?".
- From the time they met until his death, he always sent a roomful of flowers to Ann-Margret whenever she opened a show in Las Vegas.
- His personal entourage were known as the "Memphis Mafia", and were given matching rings by Elvis. The diamond and gold rings sported a thunderbolt and the letters "TCB" (reportedly standing for "Take Care of Business"). Elvis was buried wearing one of the rings.
- Elvis owned one of the world's first mobile phones. He had to have one after seeing Sean Connery use a car phone in the James Bond movie From Russia with Love (1963). Elvis's phone was contained in a suitcase-size carrying case with his name in black letters on a gold label on the front. He would use it to talk from his limousine.
- [asked who he sounded like] I don't sound like nobody.
- [asked what kind of music he sings] I sing all kinds.
- I don't like being called Elvis The Pelvis. That's gotta be one of the most childish expressions I've ever heard coming from an adult.
- Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together, I guess.
- [his acceptance speech from the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Awards] When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times . . . I learned very early in life that "Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain't got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song". So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.
- Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii (1973) - $450,000
- Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) - $500,000 + 60% of profits
- The Trouble with Girls (1969) - $850,000 + 50% of the profits
- Charro! (1969) - $850,000 + 50% of profits
- Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) - $850,000 + 50% of the profits
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