THE COLONEL

like the Barker and a circus you know the bark and a circus a step right up folks the big shows on the inside puts a dime in and go inside he was that way he was like the circus barker not just now and then but constantly Colonel was a the shrewdest most brilliant businessman and con artist ever met in my entire life I did not like the colonel and I'm sorry what he did there was and actually you know I could I loved the guy I have no dirt to throw it to Colonel well he was a jerk man you know Parker sense of humor never stopped Colonel had a great sense of humor but when he came to business it was hard core business he was much more interesting men than Elvis was I found him absolutely fascinating and I wouldn't trust him across the room he had style he knew it and he flaunted it the colonel just cashed in didn't care about all this dream you had a bead there to understand so I don't care what everybody tells me I was there I saw what I what I saw it's it just was meant to be that way [Music] [Applause] [Music] Colonel Tom Parker wasn't really a colonel his first name wasn't really Tom and his last name wasn't really Parker other than that much of what you've heard about this colorful character is also shrouded in mystery he never really talked too much about his early years I never knew he changed his name till I read in the Booker I saw in a newspaper someplace um he said you know he was von something I don't even know the name I just know it's Colonel Tom Parker although he claimed to have been born in Huntington West Virginia ondrea's Cornelius Van koushik came into this world on June 26 1909 in Breda Holland when the colonel was a young man he was always big for his age he said I'm a tall he was the six feet tall although in later years he became a bit stooped but he was about six feet tall and when he was a young man in Holland one of his jobs was carrying big rounds of cheese from the factory onto the barges when he was 20 andreas stowed away on board an ocean liner and entered the United States an illegal alien he immediately joined the US Army and set aside his Dutch heritage to take the name of his commanding officer Thomas Parker it all seemed you know it all seemed kind of a you know strange that you know that he felt the way he did that maybe somehow he didn't belong here or somehow in the end he wasn't you know it wasn't totally legal for him to be here I never understood that part of it but that was part of the kernel I asked a kernel of a time after that was passed away so I didn't never knew you were a non citizen he said well Joe I served to serve I was in the Army for two years he says and to be at that I mean that made me a citizen because I served in the army of the United States Army and he says nobody ever asked me he said somebody to ask me if I was a US citizen I would have said no after leaving the Army in 1932 Parker was hired as a barker with a traveling carnival called the Johnny Jay Jones exposition it was a job that would have a far-reaching influence on the rest of his life he was like the Barker in a circus you know the Barkin Serkis a step right up folks the big shows on the inside colonel own talk about the carnies he felt very proud about that I mean he was more or less a PR guy for the carnivals that he worked with and but he did everything was a barker he did the games he sold hot dogs and it's a famous story about the Canaries he had these they give these sparrows and it was spray him yellow and sell them as Canaries if Canaries were too expensive as sparrows were free so they they that's what they do it he'd spray him and sell him then - dancing chickens a Tanner famous story they would throw down some chicken feed on this hot plate and the chickens were you know we'd like it was hot if we're trying to eat the chicken at the same time maybe Jub uh-huh but those were funny to us he was a con man he was a man who wasn't even here legally in this country he was a man who did a carny show by putting it he had a dancing chicken act he put this chicken on a hot stove and made it jumped around and he called it the dancing chicken what else can you say by now Parker had married Marie Mott Ross whom he'd met while working with the carnival in Florida one legend that dogged Parker all his life had to do with a patent medicine of questionable repute known as had a call we first became aware of Carl Parker when we were touring Texas and we looked on the billboards and throughout Texas there were these huge signs drink had a call my uncle who was an ordained minister said to my mother you know I feel so much better lately because I have started drinking how to call it really makes me feel great so we found out later that had a call had a high percentage of alcohol [Music] but Oh Colonel Parker was at my house with his lovely wife and I said oh here we go guy said I have to tell you I always think of you as the how to call and you know something he didn't really want to hear that he bristled a bit after sullen had a call I guess he figured he could sell anything Colonel far got nothing whatsoever dude had a call he told me many times said Joe I don't know where they come up with these stories I know nothing about had a car never it had a bottle of my hand he had nothing to do with had a car the reason I'm Ted of saying that they tried to hire me he wouldn't let him have me as a performer by the early forties Parker had begun a new career as a manager for up-and-coming singers another job that would have far-reaching consequences he managed Jean Austen country singer very famous country singer back in the 40s and then he handle Eddie Arnold and they managed him when he'd be in the town and there'd be a circus or whatever the it happened to be he take me and introduce me to these people I met people that I never thought about meeting with that was in the circus business because he was an old carny and [Music] they help one another they ready to they help one another and he did in 1948 the governor of Louisiana bestowed on Parker an honorary military title Parker immediately announced to his assistant from now on see to it that everyone addresses me as the colonel in 1953 Eddie Arnold in a move still shrouded in mystery sent the colonel a telegram informing him that his services were no longer required I don't know how Eddie and the colonel all know there he remained friends till Colonel passed away yes I did the eulogy for him and and would do it again today around this time a young singer from Tupelo Mississippi was just starting to make a name for himself down south his manager was a young disc jockey named Bob Neal Bob Neal was still managing all of us at that time he was a Memphis disc jockey and he got Elvis on these shows because Elvis was making some noise in the south now I think Bob knew though not to he couldn't handle him because he didn't Oh what do with him he know where to go with him and I think he realized Colonel Parker could take him too far better places than he could have in 1955 the Colonel's assistant Oscar Davis informed his boss that this Presley fellow was worth taking a look at when Elvis came along Turner was not imagine anybody okay he more or less had shows who put country shows around Hank snow and stuff like that he was booking shows around the United States and I found my mistake and somebody mentioned to him I Cathy who it was but I saw this kit at this club one time you got to see this kid you should book him on one of your shows so Carl okay we'll try him out so he booked up and Colonel did him no it didn't you see him and then he went to the show and he saw the reaction Elvis sometimes said he come back for two and three encores because they just wouldn't leave finally at the end of those tours they put Elvis on last I mean he saw there's something pretty good here and he booked him more and more and eventually he had to be the closing act because even Hank Snow got mad about that when I was had to open the show before I had for him then not eventually he was open to show for Elvis but he knew that the reaction from the audiences was was pretty strong so he did his homework did his research and found out that Elvis's contract was uh pretty soon he worked at Elvis to about becoming his manager and that's basically what happened by early 1956 the colonel who wasn't even Elvis's official manager yet had succeeded in switching Presley from the relatively obscure Sun Records label to more prestigious RCA and arranged for him to make his national television debut on the Ides of March 1956 Colonel Tom Parker signed Elvis Presley as his one and only client although signed might not be the right word there was never a contract sign between the two men it was a conversation a gentlemen's agreement and a handshake and throughout all the years that they were together they both honored that contract it was more much more than manager and artist it was a like surrogate father best best big brother uncle or something to that effect Colonel Parker actually got pretty close to Elvis and so Elvis really went along with almost everything Colonel Parker suggested because Colonel Parker had gotten him to the top kept Elvis on top so he more or less follow the direction of Colonel Tom Parker and they were very good friends in addition to being a colonel Parker Bing his manager having conquered records radio and television for which he received 25 percent of Elvis's earnings Parker arranged for Presley to take on Hollywood once again using his persuasive managerial style to swing an unprecedented deal with the studios before Elvis Presley nobody ever got to see a piece of a movie they got a salary that was it colonel was the only way on started her artist got a piece of the picture so that changed how a lot of other managers and agents started doing that with other stars colonel was always very tough on us as to come to the money money upfront because he knows by the end there when he goes through all the bookkeeping in Hollywood you never get a dime on the percentage you got coming so you always said I wanted upfront that's why Elvis Presley was the first man to get a million dollars a picture plus a piece of the movie if I ever saw the colonel and I saw a lot of the colonel in Palm Springs I would always ask him about something and he'd say ma'am god I don't know anything about other side of Elvis's life talk to me a little bit about the business life I can tell you everything about the business life and please know that I have 50% of everything he makes the deal is outrageous the deal is outrageous in fact it's outrageous back when Elvis is getting 50% of the profits for his movies because Elvis of course is not really getting 50% of the profits for those pictures because of the way his deal is structured with the colonel the colonel is becoming fabulously wealthy Colonel Parker never took 50% of Elvis earnings never the colonel always was bringing him movies in which there was a great deal of music and singing and I'm quite sure it was all for financial reasons because it was either publishing that they could own or there were records that they that they were involved with that they could make money from and and the colonel was always interested on one level from the financial point of view well you know everybody blames everything up and everybody else but ultimately it's Elvis Elvis Presley he makes the decisions you know I mean I'm sure he did not make a lot of right decisions in his life either but he's the one that could have made the change nobody else could make the changes even Colonel Park could make changes because of Elvis stood his ground Colonel had no choice he shouldn't have Elvis knew what else wanted to do because he always knew what he wanted to do that was a play in saying should always let Elvis make the creative decisions it he would presented with opportunities and Elvis would say yes they would say no you this movie do you want to do this script you want to do these songs all those creative choices were our Elvis Elvis it finished a picture and I said what do you do next notice he said I don't know the colonel hasn't told me yet he never interfered with the creative part of Elvis he said Elvis is a star he knows exactly what he's doing I'm not going to tell him what to sing or how to dress or how to act he knows how to do those things I just do the business part the colonel was Elvis if you wanted to pay respects to Elvis you paid respects to the colonel and that was it the colonel was a great buffer if the colonel approved of you everything was cool oh yeah there were always people that wanted to be delvis all these dignitaries and politicians that wanted to meet Elvis Colonel just had a simple answer no the guy was you know he yeah he played the homespun party was so far from that of course as we know they were brilliant he was one of the sharpest con men that I've ever wanted to run across every time you'd see Colonel Parker he'd be reaching in his pocket and sticking things in your pocket he'd be putting a button on your lapel I noticed that on one side of the ground fairground it's I like Elvis buttons and the other side is I hate Elvis button and what do you think of that the Elvis he said well everyone's got an opinion but did you look at the back and then one of the guys turned over so oh for crying out loud Elvis Presley Enterprises on both of them by the late sixties Elvis's popularity as a box-office draw was slipping causing the studio brass to rethink his contract no he said you're absolutely right my boy I may not be around too much longer therefore I think we oughta since Fisk is probably going to be his last friendly film we ought to double the price and he got it he he said you started the negotiation as I understand it by Colonel Parker walked out of that meeting getting twice as much as Elvis would have gotten to stay just some of the normal contract I I was there yes with some of the deals that the colonel made he was a very shrewd bargainer you know he paid a lot of dues that kind of came up you know in the old carny days when you really had to be on your toes every second men did like colonel because he was a strong individual and he did great business deals and he was very smart he did a lot of things and and women Colonel was not real warm with women yeah he was not an approachable person he I didn't care for him I guess because he wasn't dumb he was just different than everybody else on that you know connected with the movie he was very standoffish all of us had a dream and the colonel just cashed in didn't care about all of us his dream cared about the cat cared about the colonel and if a man's dream dies then so does the man I was worried also about the colonel and he said oh my personal life is my own the colonel just directs my career and of course now we see that's not true at all he was behind everything he liked to Bluff people see how scared you you'd be of it but then when you weren't then you know he said well this is one that won't take leg yeah but once you got know he loved kids he loved you know he was very funny to all our wives and girlfriends once he got to know them animals loved animals so any person that loves animals and kids there's got to be you know have a good heart I mean it's true and Elvis loved animals and kids - they loved women - no Parker play practical jokes but never to hurt a person I've never known him to do a joke that was harmful to the person he he was very sensitive about people's feelings colonel was a moon child they have a great sensitivity there were a number of cases when we're in the office and somebody would call and he would answer the phone not as Colonel Parker but as an anonymous assistant is this Colonel Parker's office houses yes who who is it this is Sam Ferguson and he could hear her in the background talking to her friends saying I got a Colonel Parker's office on the phone Sam Ferguson answered the phone is Elvis there no no but he just left hold on and I'll see if I can catch him before he gets to the elevator and he puts the phone down and we're all sitting there just her mouth are open they picked up the phone says I'm so sorry I just missed him but I tried try later hi this is girdle I said Colonel it's Rhett Robinson of Vancouver oh yeah how are ya I said well Tom Moffatt told me to call I was in room you just missed him I'll never know but to this day I think Elvis was in the room but I recorded my conversation with the colonel you know I was wondering it would be possible to talk to Elvis maybe not but he said you're the man to call one of the more amusing manifestations of Parker's sense of humor was a rather exclusive club he founded himself for those that don't know the snowman's club was a fictitious club that the colonel was president of or chief potentate I think he called himself and he was strictly for anybody who was great knowing how to BS you became a member of the Colonel Parker's no man's club colonel was the most hype potentate of the snow men's league of america and our slogan was let it snow let it snow let it snow you've heard of snow jobs so people that he thought were that were a good snowman he would invite in and he was the he was the chief potentate of the snow snow ones League of America so there was a long period in there we didn't even call him colonel he called him potentate there was so much fun to see new members get their book because they were excited about it and they would start and they would look at the first part and they would read a few basic rules and then they've come to this section that was all blank pages he was promoting when he panted you a book with nothing written down on the page he took it you know when you can read everything on every page you're a real member and then they would you know they would give him this look what is this about and then he would say a real snowman reads between the lines in 1967 Elvis married Priscilla in Las Vegas a city that would have great significance for both Elvis and the colonel the colonel said come on nudged me he said come on boy where was he going he loved her on that and well that was his game and we went out he bought about $50,000 worth of chips what you needed at that time I think was about 1967 it was and $50,000 was a big buy and while he was playing he said this is the luckiest casino for me so I always suspected that that's why he selected that one to have the wedding at because it was a good chance for him to get out and by the way he lost the 50,000 although gambling would prove to be a worrisome vice Parker had no problem avoiding other temptations I should drive him sometimes from LA to Palm Springs was home we'd stopped halfway Donner I said Joe stop and get a beer well I never did the colonel ever to drink so I said okay so let's split a beer we'd split a beer apparently he never ever said it maybe he was one of those guys no he's younger than when he drank he was completely different person I had feeling about it so he knew that he couldn't drink and that was the only time I ever saw him ever anything would alcohol you know I don't recall that the colonel ever drank but he did enjoy a great cigar and we always had cigars on tour in 1969 Elvis began performing at the International Hotel signifying the official start of his Vegas years I first met Colonel Parker in 1969 in the spring of 1969 when he came into Las Vegas to sign a contract for the opening at the International Hotel and the hotel wasn't even opened at that time it was still under construction romance bloomed because colonel and I were kindred spirits we had a personal relationship before we had a working relationship at that time his wife was suffering from what they know would call Alzheimer's she didn't always even know crew his life was it was a sad life at home you could go to Vegas with him when Elvis was there and he might stay up all night in the casino just at the hotel and go get two hours sleep and the rest of us who are a lot younger than the colonel would just be draggy and he would be full of fat when they were filming that's the way it is at the International Hotel the fans from the back had started to move forward and he was about to be mobbed and Colonel jumped up ran up picked up Elvis and put him on the other side of a barrier and i sat there I just I absolutely could not believe it he came back sat down like nothing had happened and I said Colonel you're back are you all right and he said I had help with Vegas now his center of operations the colonel was able to indulge his vice with even more passion than in earlier years colonel liked to gamble we started first started playing Las Vegas I mean we didn't know this to to went to Vegas we started playing there and I'd see him to roulette wheel I need say Johnson a play we play some roulette you know and and little by little I think he got hooked you know whose gambling and when you gamble gamble you'll sell your mother I did sell my mother for too long just two days I sold my mother she sure came that Colonel Parker was a tremendous gambler he went all of us was working at the Hilton Hotel he lost literally millions of dollars and that's why he booked Elvis in there a lot of times and I don't think Elvis ever really knew how much money that was being taken for my manager Colonel Tom Parker where is he is it colonel Errani where well he's out you know he's out playing roulette don't kid me I know he's dead Tilman calls me out there talking man she drinking Tresor whatever despite Elvis's kidding there may have been some genuine frustration behind those words the colonel would come in the room I mean it was like yeah anything you know whatever you want and then as the years wore on and as their relationship deteriorated would be in Vegas seeing Elvis and he would for spite seeing the songs that the colonel hated the most just to make the colonel you know upset and the colonel would be outside gambling Elvis's next paycheck I I think the colonel kind of boxed him in Elvis the feeling I had about Elvis is he wanted more of a life and he was having less of a life I know from many conversations with Elvis that he was adamant about letting go of Colonel Parker finding a new manager and he wanted to have a different lifestyle than what he was reading they were a great match but like all good matches there came a time when the colonel should have eased and I don't think he to him colonel Nova's had a big fight one time and Colonel walked out he stopped through I'm out of here it was in Vegas at one time and he said you know you get somebody else and that went out for about a week ten days and I think the colonel you know obviously we got to get somebody else to manage me and let's talk to Tom youlet see if Tom will handle me Tom was a concert promoters he was Jerry Weintraub's partner and conscience west and almost like Tom tremendously and he wanted you know but I was even talked to Tom you learn about be taken Colonels place and Tom said you know you can't you can't do that Colonels your best manager and he knows you and he's with you stuck with you all those years and he's the best guy for you some members of Elvis's backup band were treated to the Colonel's special brand of eccentricity I was down the dressing rooms there was that long hallway and the current we were the only two down there and the colonel was walking this way and I'm walking this way and he did one of these numbers just passed me like this didn't even acknowledge I was alive I thought yeah what did i do what did I say you know so I asked I think it was read west ask somebody I said when I told him what happened the red star laughs and he said oh he said they had a meeting last night and the colonel found out how much you were making and he told Elvis he said boy I could put chimpanzees on the stage with you and the people still love you and he never said a word that as far as I know I know he didn't say a word to me for five years one up-and-coming singer songwriter got a first-hand taste of the Colonel's peculiar ways somebody said the colonel wants to meet you and I said you're kidding you know okay you're not went over there and he says it's you you the boy I wrote this song and I said yes sir what's your name I said Mac Davis he says bend over here let the colonel rub my curly head of yours and I said excuse me and all the Memphis poor says hey yeah let him do it so I did it and he rubbed my head and he said now you can tell they're embedded at Colonel Parker rubbed your head you gonna be a star he was constantly calling me on the telephone and giving me advice at the Golden Nugget and at the Mirage and at Treasure Island did it and then never made it to Bellagio but picked the Mirage and he always knew what was going on he once called me up and said Dave I want you to take out a pencil now you know I don't give you any bad stares you know I can spot somebody when they're coming sure I know that Colonel here's what I'm gonna tell you one now you mark us down it's a girl first names Celine CEO Li any last name da la di o n like the singer now this girl's from Canada she's got a voice inside the Empire State Building it's gonna be a giant star you figure out how to make a connection get this girl to work at the Mirage I never could quite convince him than I had Siegfried and Roy there you know and I couldn't just about ever the savvy businessman Parker understood the value of keeping the fans happy put your butt in the seat and what he was saying is is look at this from the perspective of the fan what does that fan what why does that fan expect that's what I want you guys thinking about and that's what I want you guys doing so many times he would see a fan standing in line and maybe recognize the fan as being a hardcore loyal fan and he would walk them through the line and say to the maitre d where are you going to put these people and the maitre d couldn't let's say anything but the best seat Colonel Colonel would wait and to make sure they got a good seat so he says I got an idea we got 500 sticks left 400 sticks and no penance so we got the big teddy bear don't we I said yup he says have a sign made in Japanese so we used to have the Japanese you know the story the Japanese bear the Japanese Elvis junkets Elvis special teddy bear Pearl Harbor Day special bear toothpicks get all the penet stick sharpened which I did sell him for 25 cents apiece we sold all the pennant sticks in one day I don't know politically correct let's put a cure that was funny yeah I remember Colonel Parker started you know selling programs pictures hats different things of Elvis at the concerts well a lot of other groups manners were saying ah how could he do that so tacky and all that and all of a sudden they realized there's a lot of money in that situation and all of a sudden everybody every cottage you go to now you got t-shirts sweatshirts and programs everything you can think of and the prices are big you know a t-shirt you can buy for a dollar Tucson for 20 bucks Elvis's talent and the Colonel's promotional magic succeeded in conquering Vegas but how to bring that powerhouse combo to the rest of America [Music] there is this manager named Jerry Weintraub who lived in New York that had this desire to promote Elvis Presley and he he it took him several years he kept hounding Colonel Parker it's too cold every morning the morning Colonel is Jerry Weintraub yeah I want to take Elvis on tour and every morning he said to me what do you you're crazy well why do you keep calling you you're wasting your money this went off for one year and finally one morning he said to me I called him and he said to me you still want to take my boy on to her I said yes he said ok you be in Vegas tomorrow at 11 o'clock with a million dollars and we'll talk I hung up and I said to my wife you see I told you I was gonna get that was Presley and she said well you got one little obstacle here you know you know the bank $65,000 as it is you know where are you gonna get a million dollars there was a gentleman named Steve Weiss that knew concerts West and also knew Jerry Weintraub and he was the one that put Jerry Weintraub together with concierge West and again we had the two elements he didn't have we had the experience we had the money I spoke to the guy and I said can you please send me the million dollars right away he said what am I gonna get for it and I said I'll give you half of the money I make in the concert business for ever my boss Lester Smith and I went to the US National Bank in Portland Oregon and and got the used our line of credit to wire the funds to to Las Vegas about an hour later I now called the kernel and and pushed the my meeting to two o'clock he said I'll give it till 2:00 I said just need it's on the way the money is on the way I just stayed a little longer and he said he said okay I'll give it till 2:00 so the money came in and this fella came out from the back the president he's coming can you come in my office I wanted to his office and he said to me there's a check here for you for a million dollars made out to Elvis Presley that can't believe this I said well I said that's what I'm waiting for like can I have it so he said yes he hasn't we said what are you gonna do with this I said I'm gonna take Elvis Presley on tour due to her and he said to me can you use an accountant I'd like to leave here and go with you so I got the money went to the International Hotel got a that Tom Parker and I said and I found he couldn't miss him you guys he was sitting with a cigar and his cane and his hat on he was he had more chips on the table any whales and I said I'm ready I have I have the million dollars so I knew at that moment in time and I was only a young boy you know I was in my 20s I knew that my life had changed that my life was never going to be the same because I was now and now it was gonna be in business with the biggest star that had ever been the only thing Elvis Presley ever cared about they have his fans in the first 20 rows he said don't put those big shots on the front he put him in the back after they had been doing the concert tour and Jerry had gone from being penniless to being a wealthy guy he met the colonel out west and the shed that the tour had been going on for about six months or five months and Jerry had a million dollars in the bank after it for his part and a colonel had two briefcases he opened him up and they were filled with money money jammed with money one's mine and Elvis's the other one's yours which one do you want Jerry says but Colonel I'm already been treated generously on the concert tour the tour operators usually having to do with the with the sales of the knowledge system partners a partner Jerry which one do you want he says you decide colonel took his cane and hit one of them clothes the other one this is that yours Jerry Weintraub says that's a single greatest it's life Elvis Elvis Elvis live you know Bloomington Indiana live Elvis Elvis Elvis it was like it was the strangest thing didn't you know it's just a guy pressing really hard and he bought he bought spots all the way across the board so everybody in town knew about it he was the guy who really sort of invented the that were the way of putting shows on sale now where you put everything out front or you put a big punch out front so people know it goes on when it's going on sale colonel was totally dynamic colonel didn't stop thinking he was 24/7 for Elvis he was a perfectionist he was a man that expected a lot of things from you but he was also a very very fair man somewhere in the mid 70s when Elvis came back on another road tour I went to Seattle again to see and he never came back to Vancouver and while I was there there's a you know warm-up acts and then there's an intermission and I looked down and who's out there selling programs who's out there Hawking stuff on the front of the stage but Colonel Parker so I go down and the doctor he said how you doing right I said I'll be very happy if you buy something he was always trying to get me to do something for him for free he said if you do my biographies they're gonna make a lot of money this is going to be a mattock bestseller he said immediately gonna be a best-seller I said how do you know that you said because I'm going to sell advertising in the book I said what he said yeah the book was gonna he said I'm already sold the back cover to RCA and this is I'll sell the front the front cover to Paramount Pictures he said so the book is paid for immediately so every diamond comes in now is pure profit and he said now also he said I've got a I've got a title for it I said what's the title is it is the title is how much does it cost if it's for free and I said pretty good title and I said I think let's talk about making a movie out of your life he says all right do that I said I got the ideal guy to play the player part is it was that I said WC Fields he said thank you very much and never mentioned the subject again but the colonel was very generous we always got a tour bonus at the end of the tour and even if we didn't work on that tour didn't do much or whatever we always got a bonus at the end of every Tori the lowest guy for to the top guys he made sure that everybody was taken care of well he was a jerk man you know he never let Elvis go out of the country I mean you don't want to talk about people just these people but you know he couldn't go with Elvis to England he can go with Elvis hours of the United States cause he didn't have a visa he was he was here illegally and he is why I always pressed in everyone I the United States as far as Elvis touring in Europe a lot of people have you know if said something about you know that that Colonel didn't want to go because he was an evil alien and everything like that well if they would just understand Colonel had some very very powerful people in government Lyndon Baines Johnson the senator from Texas was a close friend of Colonel Parker's Lyndon Baines Johnson when he became president whatever could have taken care of that illegal alien thing and there would have been no paper trail of any kind Colonel said there's no stadium big enough for Elvis to play there endorsed his idea which was toward the end of Elvis's you know before I was passed away there was talk about them going over there and doing one stadium but do it for 30 stay in England and he figures there be people from all over Europe would fly in to see I was there I see the show there so there was talk about that and and he also said Joey says I didn't have to go with him Tom youlet and all those guys I don't have to go if I was a worried about leaving the country I would have send them over I think Parker he's he really had a tremendous concern at the beginning about Elvis but I think later on it just became a piece of meat he had to be there to understand the whole situation it was a very unusual situation we were in Louisville Kentucky a few months before Elvis passed away and Elvis had a very very difficult night but nothing would stop him from performing that night in his room he had a fever he was nauseous he couldn't sleep he felt like he was gonna pass out the next afternoon is about four o'clock his doctor was in the bedroom with him trying to revive Elvis because he took some sleeping pills and he couldn't wake up and I was waiting in the suite in the in the front room of the suite I was watching television it was a pounding on the front door which startled me because no one is allowed on our floor we have a lot of security policemen out there I ran to the door and I looked through the people in it was Colonel Parker which was unusual because he usually never came to Elvis's room ever I opened the door I said colonel he said where is he he's in his bedroom on let me tell him you're here he said no I'm gonna go right in he walked right by me open the door and I saw the doctor dunking Elvis's head into a bucket of ice water that was his embed bending over like this he was semi-conscious and then the door closed my very first thought was perfect good good now Colonel Parker is going to see Elvis in the shape that he's in he's the reality of what's going on here in terms of Elvis's health it's going to hit him these tours are going to stop like they should approximately a minute and a half later Colonel Parker walks up to me and well I stanton we stand toe-to-toe to one another he holds his cane up and he says you listen to me the only thing that's important is that that man is on the stage tonight do you hear me nothing else matters nothing you walked out we were touring and he came back to the room one night and he was crying he said I've lost him by friend it's gone it was because you went to have a meeting with Elvis and Elvis couldn't be roused for the meeting we all have weaknesses we all have families and Colonel understood those in Elvis he tried every way he could they all failed us overcome it but it was not possible I would want the fans to know that he cared about Elvis always I'm sure was very frustrating to the colonel too at times you know seeing what was happening to help us and not looking as well as he should not take care of himself and he tried he tried and people don't give colonel part and credit for that but Colonel never talked to anybody about that what colonel and Elvis talked about was between the two of them I will get into a controversy here about Colonel Parker who was not one of my favorite people I thought he was the epitome of a bad manager I did not like the colonel and I'm sorry when he did the Elvis on August 16 1977 the Colonel's only client died at the age of 42 the victim of his own excesses Parker like everyone else was devastated by the news but rebounded in the days and weeks following Elvis's passing well I mean the whole world changed for a lot of people Colonel Parker - when I was passed away you know he just I think he figured Elvis was his one and only big star and he'll never imagine otherone ever again I mean to him to ask if he would handle them and now he didn't he wouldn't do it but he gave advice to a lot of people you know I mean there's a lot of stars and different celebrities that became friends with the colonel I need to give them advice you know and there was no you don't want to manage anybody and and he was good about that but I mean Colonel Everett you know I talked about Elvis's being around actually after he passed away you know we got to make sure hopefuls to take care of make sure to positive things about him and I don't think he really discussed him leaving too much after he left Kyle I said you okay he said no no really this is I have an idea he said you know he says now if you ever watched CBN I said sure well you see that's a big thing you know without you would be great on CBN and I said Colonel are you asking me to become Reverend Tony Orlando is that something am i hearing this correctly they said you got it precisely I went cases closed lunch is over you need a doctor out of here I had leave he said no no no really I could see it we'll open a church you'll be I said I said colonel he's we will sell more Bibles know Tony stores a great story and I could see the colonel doing that but he wouldn't managed him this was advice he was giving Tony what he sees Tony because Tony's a great speaker and at stage he's up practically preaching up there anyhow so I mean I could see him doing that but you know Colonel that's that's an idea had in his head saying this would be good for you but he would never manage him no never happened you know I have a lot of fond memories of Colonel Parker he was he was very interested in in in me as an individual and concerned and you know so he is somebody I really cared for and in and and actually you know I could I love the guy he played Santa Claus for the chart the Christmas parties many times we would be eating in the restaurant and he'd see an old couple eating a very meager meal and he would call the waitress over and say tell those people I'd like to buy their dinner maybe they could order a little more he was always doing things like that he gave he gave hundreds and thousands of dollars to charities always with the stipulation no publicity I guess the most pointed story that I can talk about to do with you know the sensitive side of the colonel is about two years before he died and you have to understand that at that time it was very difficult for the colonel to walk and everything he calls me up one day and he says come on Kenny what going to the circus because I got great seats and he went down this 150 or so odd steps a great great deal pain and suffering to himself to get to our seats and watch this whole thing and then coming back up I thought he was gonna collapse I mean his face was filled with beads of sweat and he just did that out of his concern and his caring for my kids my brother became very close to Colonel Parker and stayed that way as you know until his death Kenny was one of the guys that did a eulogy for Tom when he died a lot of times I think he felt misunderstood particularly you know in the later years when he would see some of these things that were written about in things that were written about his relationship with Alvis and you know the way the business of Elvis was handled well I'll put this way if Colonel Parker heard all those stories about you know about Colonel screwing I was on this and make that decision as far as career goes he never mentioned to me I could see the colonel hearing about but never do anything about he just he just let it go because he knew he'd been around business long enough they're gonna say something about you no matter what if it's good or bad or they're always gonna talk about he can't let you can't let that bother you colonel was always hurt by the way the tabloids talked about him in his later years he he was around with the guys around the casinos and we'd sit and have coffee and just talk he was at the end he seemed very lonely and despondent colonel once told me he said you know he was thankful that he lived as long as he did and he did say one thing though he said if it wasn't for Luanne my wife LuAnn he said would never last this long because she really took care of him real well and she had inspired him and kept him happy and always took care of well and I think he really felt great about that and and I mean I missed the colonel too I mean he was a character one of the smartest people in the world nice human being people don't realize that very considerate he loved people and he always you know I wish people could really have met him instead of what they read about it On January 21st 1997 ondrea's Cornelius Van kucik alias Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker died of a stroke he was 87 years of age and had outlived his legendary client by two decades I don't think you'll have a partnership like Colonel Parker and Elvis ever again the world's changed it's totally different I mean the artists today they burned through managers about every two weeks that was a special Association you know they changed the world and normal people can't do that you had to be there to understand Elvis was not easy to handle and Colonel Parker was the only man that could have handled it another manager could have handled him but it would not have done a good job as Colonel Parker did but I'm not saying like I said before colonel made a lot of mistakes too but overall nobody could have handled Elvis Presley better than Colonel Parker Elvis was Elvis in capital letters with an exclamation point because of Colonel Parker he had obviously the great talent but the colonel made it happen and he made it happen the right way and he made it happen big and it it was because of the colonel I mean some of the people that I see that manage artists today if they were managing Elvis Presley Elvis Presley wouldn't have been Elvis it was like they were meant to be it was just Elvis and the colonel and it's I just can't see anything else happening I can see another manager well more about him we'll talk about more about him some other time after the after the cameras are shut down [Music]

Channel: ajgherts2

Views: 65,692

Rating: 4.6951933 out of 5

Keywords: elvis presley, col tom parker

Id: Ik7HAqR1AmY

Length: 51min 28sec (3088 seconds)

Published: Sat May 02 2020