Related: Why Elvis' Reviews Are So Positive. Born as Andreas Cornelis Dries van Kuijk in the Netherlands, the Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal saw him illegally immigrate to the United States, finding employment as a carnival worker before joining the Army, where he was eventually discharged after going AWOL. In February of 1957, historian Michael T. Bertrand writes, Edward R. Murrow invited Elvis to appear on his prestigious evening news program. The film Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann, is about a king and a kingmaker. It's one of only a very few villainous roles that Hanks has taken in his long career in movies, making it a relatively rare departure for the actor. On July 26th, 1977, the King of rock and roll performed for the last time before finally resting on peace. Sun Records, a label owned by Sam Philips, had signed this brooding musician. When [Presleys family and associates have] done all they can with him, then they start picking on me I dont think I exploited Elvis as much as hes being exploited today.. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Elvis' movie fact check: What's true, what's fiction in new biopic? Those steps mostly involved eating. Related: Elvis Cast Guide: What The Characters Look Like In Real Life. Colonel Parker died on January 26, 1997, at the age of 87. The other five nominations were for technical (Editing, Sound, Cinematography) and design (Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling). This took a mental toll on Parker. In Las Vegas, he worked as an adviser for Hilton Hotels, consulting on entertainment. But towardthe end of the evening, DJ Rufus Thomas brought Elvis out for a leg gyration and the crowd went wild. Backstage, King and Presley posed together for a picture. desertion and a his being diagnosed as a psychopath. Meet Colonel Tom Parker, a complex man who was not all bad but certainly not all good. (He once famously quipped that a multimillion-dollar offer was fine for him and then inquired how much Presley would get.) Presley died in 1977; his official cause of death was heart failure, although tests showed high levels of drugs in his . Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis' long time manager was also there. Parker, ever the carny, knew what brought people in the big tent.. He came on stage, and it felt like he would faint because of anxiety and stage fright. Presley, however, was confident in the song, and Heartbreak Hotel was soon at the top of the Billboard Charts. All rights Reserved. He was 87. In 1948, he wangled the honorary colonel's title from Louisiana's Governor, Jimmie Davis, and henceforth asked to be addressed as ''Colonel.'' Among his many early jobs, he spent time as a dog catcher in Tampa, and he founded a pet cemetery. Business as usual. Second, for a movie about a musician, Elvis also didn't receive any music nominations at the Oscars. He allegedly took a 50% commission on his earnings and exploited him to support his gambling and betting addiction. He was 87. Despite Parkers troubling exploitation of Presley, though, he undeniably succeeded in catapulting him into a new echelon of fame and, now, legend. She says in her book Elvis and Me that she would occasionally hear that he had checked into the hospital, and that she would then call to see if he was all right, Nash says. AsThe Washington Postnotes, in 1973, Parker sold the rights to Presley's recording catalog to RCA for a measly $5.4 million and earned $1.5 million more than Presley in the deal. A rough-spoken, imposing, cigar-chomping businessman, Mr. Parker rarely gave interviews and was known for fabricating his background. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He attended Elvis funeral dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and baseball cap, avoiding any display of emotion. All in all, the manager was known for some appalling behavior towards his star client, and Elvis tries its best to portray that accurately. Elvis was given a spot in the Louisiana Hayride, a radio show, and Colonel Parker knew that this young lad could prove to be a dark horse. First, Baz Luhrmann joined a list of directors including Joe Wright, Frank Darabont, and Lawrence Kasdan as someone who had two Best Picture nominations but didn't get a Best Director nomination either time. Over the course of their long relationship, he exerted a remarkable level of control over the star, who put up with him until his death in 1977. Everybody wanted a piece of Elvis Presley, and Tom Parker knew that this dopey-eyed singer would help him earn a fortune. The very next morning, Tom died in a renowned hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada due to stroke-related complications. Elvis' decline during this period is obvious. Jimmie Davis of Louisiana. AKA Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. Read more to discover the real story behind the man who made Elvis. Given the inevitable event compression required of any movie. Sayen Ending Explained: Does Sayen Protect Her Community And Prove Her Innocence? "Mob involvement is suggested in the film. Elvis finally brought the pink Cadillac and a huge mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. After Parker's death in 1997, the home was used as a law office. He sold programs and counted tickets at his shows. He is survived by his wife, Loanne, of Las Vegas. After a lifetime of earning well over $100 million managing Elvis, The Colonel's estate was barely worth $1 million upon his death. Tom Parker's Cause of Death. Col. Tom Parker rescues an injured dog in Tampa in the early 1940s. Stop reading if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to know. To settle litigation with RCA, he sold his Presley master recordings to the company for $2 million. This is because Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had previously arranged a deal to sell those to RCA for $5.4 million, out of which only $1.35 million went to Elvis after Parker's 50% fee and income taxes. Tom Hanks' portrayal of Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker in the 2022 biopic created controversy - here's the true story behind Hanks' Tom Parker. The Colonel's Greed Killed Elvis Either he went to Germany and served in the army, or he would have to serve a sentence in prison. The Washington Post also reminds us that this cost Presley whose estate was worth just $7 million when he died a great deal of money. On January 20, 1997, Parker's wife heard a crashing sound from the living room, and found him slumped over in his chair after having a stroke. According to Norman Taurog, a film director who worked with Presley, the powers that be at MGM and Colonel Parker always wanted [Presley] in lighter films surrounded by pretty girls so those were the films he made. He couldnt break the association he had with Parker, but eventually, his body couldnt take the physical exhaustion and the mental fatigue. See the article in its original context from. Nash says Powell told her that he and Presleywere out in a field in the woods in Germany, and he just looked like every other pimple-faced (soldier), doing what other soldiers were doing and trying to get along. The Elvis Presley manager did a lot of controversial things during his time in show business, and the Baz Luhrmann movie reveals just how much of a monster he really was. AsThe Washington Postnotes, Parker took home a hefty fee for managing Presley's career. He was a heavier-set man with balding hair and frequently wore a fedora and a suit of some type, sometimes made of gaudy designs to help promote something. He was 87 years old. One of the most surprising things about Colonel Tom Parker is that he wasn't an American, he never held American citizenship, and his real name wasn't Tom Parker. The actor has proven time and again that he's up to the challenge of playing a real-world personality and the role of Elvis and the Colonel is no different. Despite his unpopularity with Presleys relatives at this time, he refused to write a tell-all book about his years with the singer. The theory was never tested. Colonel Parker lay on the hospital bed, overlooking the International Hotel of Las Vegas, and all over the media, there was news that he was responsible for the death of Elvis Presley. AsCMT Newsreports, in order to slow down any attempt to bring criminal charges against him, Parker officially claimed that he was a citizen of no nation a man without a country and thus not subject to any country's laws. In 1953, Mr. Arnold fired him, and Mr. Parker went on to start his own promotion company and to manage the singer Hank Snow. Priscilla left Elvis in 1973, as she felt that the only time he was alive was when he was performing on stage. Parker was still adamant about churning out every ounce of energy the man had. Possibly because he was a murderer. Mr. Parker was widely reported to have come to the United States as an illegal immigrant from the Netherlands and to have feared that he would not be allowed back into the country if he went abroad with Presley. Parker quickly set out to turn Presley into more than just a successful musician. Parker returned to the U.S . Then again, existing evidence suggests there was confusion as to the proper spelling of his middle name prior to his death. One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Colonel Tom Parker is his extreme paranoia and secrecy. Into his late 80s, Colonel Tom Parker began to struggle with various illnesses including diabetes and gout. According to biographer Alanna Nash, Parker was diagnosed as a psychopath and discharged. It was said that his real name was Andreas Van Kuijk. While it sometimes borders on cartoonish parody, with Hanks seemingly becoming a supervillain of sorts, it fits the overall style and narrative of Director Baz Luhrmann's movie. His real name was Andreas van Kuijk. As noted byThe Washington Post, in 1981, Albert Goldman published a biography of Elvis Presley that was pretty scathing in its portrayal of Parker and exposed his true identity to the world. As per reports, Colonel Tom Parker's Cause of Death was revealed that he died of stroke. AsBillboardnotes, the physical and mental strain drove him to abuse several prescription medications. In August 1987, he held a rare news conference as the 10th anniversary of Presley's death approached. When they've done all they can with him, then they start picking on me.". The RCA record label signed Elvis and Sam Philips was duly compensation for letting the artist go. He was a scoundrel in his way.. The Elvis manager certainly had some unethical practices when it came to the King of Rock n Roll, and many were shocked upon viewing the film to find out that this was the case. In the early 1940s, he was a dogcatcher in Tampa. He served two years without incident and then re-enlisted in 1931. Tax bills and other expenses were eating up every dollar The King had left behind, and there were no more tours, records, or films to bring in more cash. But what he didnt know was that he was about to enter a swamp, and there was no way out of it. He also managed pop singer Gene Austin, who recorded the hit "My Blue Heaven." For the entirety of Presley's nearly 25-year career as "The King," his manager,"Colonel" Tom Parker, was the man who made all the career decisions. 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. And, notably, Parker did not accompany Presley on the trip, fearing being exposed as an illegal immigrant with an assumed name. Andreas van Kuijk kept up his false identity for decades, but eventually, at least part of the truth caught up with him. 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. He thought it might be a little too Broadway. He was quickly arrested and spent a few months in military prison. The cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia. Tom told Elvis that for International tours, a lot of investment would have to be made from his pocket, whereas for performing in the International hotel, he wouldnt have to spend a single penny. The film is an ode to the King of Rock n Roll. Robert Kennedy, too, met his fateful end in 1968. Date of death: 21 January 1997 Las Vegas: Manner of death: natural causes; Cause of death: stroke; Place of burial: Palm Downtown Mortuary And Cemetery; Country of citizenship: Kingdom of the Netherlands; . Managing the world's biggest musical act isn't the most difficult job: Elvis Presley was one of the most in-demand artists in the world, and the offers literally came to Colonel Tom Parker no matter what he did. "I had the luxury of essentially recreating somebody who no one really knew. Parker quickly set to work promoting Presley, arranging tour dates and television appearances (including Presleys famous performances on The Ed Sullivan Show), and by the end of 1956, he and Presley had signed a contract making Parker the musicians sole and exclusive adviser, personal representative and manager.. Parker always stood by his arguments in which he said that he did what was best for the singer. He was tired of the shiny lights, of the big stage, and most of all, of playing the host to all those parasites who had made him hollow from the inside. Toward the end of his life, Parker began to lose control of both Elvis Presley's legacy and his own story, however, and today, we know the truth about Elvis Presley's manager. Parker died on January 21, 1997, of complications from a stroke. Doctors told Tom Parker that he had stage 4 . Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Michael Ochs Archives/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, granted him an honorary colonelcy in 1948, sold Presleys contract to RCA Victor for $35,000, restricted Presley from touring internationally. Tom Parker entered into a 5-year contract and, for the subsequent years, kept Elvis under the impression that his safety would be compromised in a foreign country. Known for his keen promotion and merchandising savvy, Parker, or "the Snowman," would help to make Elvis a household name, putting the singer on everything from lunch boxes to board games to trading cards and beyond. Elvis would no more have responded to an intervention than a demand to give up singing. Colonel Tom Parker was astonished to hear that Elvis Presley was a white man. But it was not so. Throughout his life, Parker claimed that he had been born Thomas Andrew Parker in Huntington, West Virginia, shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Parker became known as a shrewd, showy, and manipulative businessman who was able to work out lucrative deals at minimal overhead while making sure his pockets were lined healthily along the way. He would sniff out talent and attempt to milk them for all they were worth, including Elvis, whom he initially saw as an act that wouldn't last more than a few years. Some people, though, didnt appreciate his wiggly gyrations and considered them obscene and against public morality. One reason Parker needed all that money was his gambling and as theDailyExpressreports, he may have contributed to Presley's early death by pushing the singer to perform two shows a night, seven days a week, for his Las Vegas residencies in order to keep the cash coming. They gave him a choice. He claimed to be a native of West Virginia and said he ran away from an orphanage to join the Great Parker Pony Circus, which he said was run by his uncle. He was 87 years old at the age of his death. 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. Adds Nash:Priscilla was not as involved with Elvis after their divorce as she would now have people believe.. Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm, SoCal in for cool start to weekend, butlight showers make brief return, Woman called 911 before being shot in double murder-suicide, HPD says, Nick Lachey confuses Netflix viewers with relationships comments while presenting Perfect Match. The politicians were in support of the segregation laws, and they didnt want even a driblet of black culture to cast a shadow upon their fragile system. the King was down to his last $1million and prior to his death The Colonel was forced to negotiate a $750,000 deal with a Las Vegas hotel, in which . Alanna Nash's biography of Parker, The Colonel, claims he may have been trying to avoid passport scrutiny because he might have been a suspect in a murder in Breda. More: Does Elvis Have An After Credits Scene? In 1953 Parker bought a house in Madison, Tennessee, where Presley would visit and stay while recording. But it certainly would explain Parker's hurried exit from his home country and his fevered secrecy and worry over his true identity. Elvis could have played the lead in West Side Story, for example, or the role that made Jon Voight a star in Midnight Cowboy. Mr. Parker began his management career with the singer Eddy Arnold, establishing a reputation as an all-consuming patriarch by moving in with the singer and his family in Nashville. Colonel Parker had never witnessed such an electrifying presence of any artist in his life till then. Add in the soundtrack royalties and the free publicity for Elvis' records, and it's easy to see why Parker ignored his client's pleas for better scripts. He became Presley's manager in 1955. The next morning he died from complications of the stroke at a hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 87. The immigrant Colonel Tom Parker, manager of musician Elvis Presley, pictured smoking a cigar, circa 1955. What's truly remarkable about van Kuijk's deception is how long it lasted. The colonel was said to be worth $1 million a year to the International because of his gambling, according to onetime International executive Alex Shoofey, Nash says. Even so, he continued to sell out shows and hit the Top 10 charts. More than his popularity, politicians were terrified of his inspirations, preferences, and role models. No, he never would have done that, Nash says. Yet Parker soaked Elvis for an enormous amount of money. One inescapable conclusion from even a cursory examination of the way Colonel Tom Parker handled Elvis Presley's career is that the Colonel robbed his client blind over the course of two and a half decades. Parker was livid. Parker sent Elvis all over the United States, but he would never let him out of North America, leaving Canada as the only other nation to host The King in his long career.