Some ETAs record CDs to sell at their shows, which of course contain many of the Elvis standards, but could also include some of their own songs as well as songs of other artists. Hes lead singer for the dance band Deja Vu, which performs from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at South Point. '"[13] Professional Elvis impersonation can be called a special branch of the entertainment industry. The guys in the band were all laughing.. (Rhyne, by then remarried and known as Deborah Erin Bertalan, died of complications from a brain tumor in 2011. When he woke up, his swollen face wrapped in bandages, Wise had implants in his cheeks and a curled-up lip, and he was on his way to resembling the King more than his 23-year-old self. RAINBOW UMAMI: a Queer Club Remix Series: Celebrating Somewhere Sounds: Download Free Sample Packs. His marriage to Rhyne fell apart. Its got to be wrong. [59][60] Like Alphonso Keil before him,[61] Angel regularly performs at the Parkes Elvis Festival, an event that now attracts 20,000. On their way out of Nevada after the tour ended, a few of the singers and band members made a pit stop in the desert. Fans who wish to pay homage to the King of Rock n Roll might enjoy attending Wises annual show commemorating the passing of Elvis. [46] Among the LP albums he recorded were his 1976 album, Mr. Fatu Sings Elvis, which was recorded live at The Hawaiian Inn,[47] and Manatua Mai A'u (Remember Me), released on the Tam-Bay label. Their fellow townspeople understand this sentiment, but in the final scene they are shown burning those selfsame photographs, which display both Oscar and Emma dressed as Elvis. In the aftermath of the collapse of Rock and Roll Heaven, Danny ODay went in search of an encore. The plot of the Father Ted episode "Competition Time" revolves around the three main characters Father Ted Crilly, Father Dougal McGuire and Father Jack Hackett entering the "All Priests Stars in Their Eyes Lookalike Competition". i.e., the Chilean version of the European show My name is featured at least three of them. ODay wasnt there, so Gamble had to content himself with walking off with a piece of stage gear. He once sang some songs on Karaoke at a 30th birthday party which his mother in law loved. Dennis Wise has been paying tribute to Elvis for more than 30years. Bandstand.". Erwin, D.H. and Droser, M.L., 1993. He wanted all the glory. Later that year, Don Cruise, Moman's partner, told James that Elvis had booked their studio to record what would become the From Elvis in Memphis album. He is a published author and has appeared on New Zealand television in ads, Like Minds, Like Mine. First of all, you dont believe it. >Las Vegas Entertainment Today Home Page RAINBOW UMAMI: a Queer Club Remix Series: Celebrating diversity and creativity in the queer music community. [56] Also during the 1960s, he played rhythm guitar with The Zodiacs and then The Kavaliers, a group fronted by his brother Freddie. ODay scrambled and found a replacement after several tries. But in the current landscape, where dead pop stars seem as prevalent as living, breathing ones, Danny ODays outlandish vision remains open for business. James's wife has suspicions of his feelings. would play the song much too loudly and much too often. Hired as: He said, Give me something! and a nurse came over and plunged this needle into me. Wise soon went under. Then, he would move on to dead comedians, remaking people to resemble W.C. Fields and Abbott and Costello. The film was directed by Don Coscarelli. What followed was anything but conventional, even during an era, the Seventies, when genuine rock stars would pop up on campy network TV specials. 1970's Dennis Wise Enterprize ELVIS Impersonator jacket Men's Large satin look . ODay fled to Florida supposedly, Gamble heard, with $120,000 of their earnings. Written in 1968 by Mark James, who was also co-writer of \"Always on My Mind\" (which Presley would later record), the song first was recorded and released by James on Scepter Records in 1968. Some of the performers had reservations about what they were doing. I was a small kid growing up in Joplin, Mo., he says. He was hired and began working at it full-time in November 1977. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as entertainers, and such tribute acts remain in great demand due to the unique iconic status of Elvis. To this day, you can easily see tributes to ABBA, Rush, or Eighties and Nineties hip-hop. I was like, What? But his mind worked that way. released "Just Pretending" by Kurt Burrows is full of tips on how to talk, sing and dress like Elvis. When ODay proposed the idea of surgical transformation to them, the newly hired hands were either eager or puzzled, depending on the singer. A few years later, Caywood and her then-husband, who was in the band, returned to the site, and there the pile remained, in all its mangled glory. Jesus Christ thats some twisted shit, says Croces son A.J., who was only a grade schooler when ODay hired an upstart to be resculpted as Croces father. [52], During the early 1990s, Sam Leilani from Reseda, L.A. made the news briefly. This has seen some impact on what Elvis impersonators and contests have on the media and marketing industry. $10 million Approximate worth of his estate when he died in 1977, More than 1 billion Best guess of his record sales, according to Elvis Presley Enterprises (the company that owns his likeness and everything else), 147 Number of albums and singles that had been certified gold/platinum/multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, 31 Number of feature films that Elvis appeared in from 1956 to 1969. Siegfried & Roy, and Wayne Newton. He needed those people if we were going to play in Las Vegas, says Caywood. Lilo and Stitch is a 2002 animated Disney movie that has Stitch, a blue alien, impersonate Elvis for a scene. 3000 Miles to Graceland is a 2001 thriller film, starring Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courteney Cox Arquette, David Arquette, Bokeem Woodbine, Christian Slater, and Kevin Pollak. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. Its become the most collected U.S. stamp with more than 124 million saved and more than 500 million sold. [34], An Elvis impersonator in Arkansas, who legally had his name changed to Elvis Presley,[35] unsuccessfully ran for the positions of Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands in 2014, Arkansas State Senator of District 26 in 2016, and U.S. Representative of Arkansas's District 1 in 2018. For the first and not last time, his boss, Danny ODay, could boast, with one of his robust laughs, that he was the monster maker.. Impersonator impresario Ed Franklin boasts, 'We've had every type of Elvis there is in the world. The voice, the lip curl, the jumpsuit he's a dead ringer. We're dealing with a man who can never be replaced. [65], Malaysia has Tony Warren who is known as "the Tom Jones of Malaysia". There are many Elvis contests for amateurs, festivals and other events held across the world celebrating Elvis and his many impersonators. "You're no longer the other guy, you're the 'King.' Musician who performs in the style of Elvis Presley. The gimmick baffled some who had known ODay. With more than 600 Presley tunes in his But the fans gave their tender love to Shawn Klush of Pittston, PA, crowning him King in the finale. About then Wise began managing a band that included his brother, Jim. The shows are on the weekends before or after the dates so fans can sleep in. ), Billed occasionally as The Worlds Greatest Clones, ODay, Rhyne, and sometimes Hazebrouck soldiered on for a few more years, playing clubs in their new home base of Virginia and nearby Pennsylvania. To become the Gambler balladeer, ODay had a hair transplant, dyed his hair gray, and had his jowls tightened. Dennis Wise is the ultimate Elvis Presley fan. Growing up in Baltimore, he played drums in a few local bands. It is cured by visiting a psychologist, who tells the patient how ridiculous he/she look[31]. Rock and Roll Heaven opened with the backup band playing an instrumental version of the Righteous Brothers dead-rocker hit of the same name. Talent shows focused on imitating already famous singers will often have Elvis impersonators. I dont know where it went or if somebody didnt get paid.). His admiration for Elvis birthday events So, this morning I was invited by the crew at KTNV Channel 13 to talk about Presley, and who do. People were calling me from all over the world. We've recently seen amateurs at the Elvis Tribute Contest in Vegas that blew Dennis away. \"Suspicious Minds\" was widely regarded as the single that returned Presley's career success, following his '68 Comeback Special. Elvis Presley An Interview With Elvis' Stepbrother, David Stanley David Stanley was just 4 years old when he moved into Graceland after his mother Dee married Elvis' father, Vernon. Dennis Wise has the honor of performing over 10,000 shows. He didnt like that, the state fairs, says Effie. "[17], However, the Elvis industry includes "professional Elvis impersonator registries." They mainly fall under three main levels of impersonation, which are: Enacting a typical 70s Elvis concert is a preferred choice of most ETAs; however, some ETAs may portray various phases of Presley's career in a single show. Recalling those early performances, the groups Janice Joplin impersonator, Mona Caywood-Moore, was quoted saying, they were bombs, man. My mother has been singing with him for j. I do two annual shows one for his passing and one for his birth (Jan. 8), the 54-year-old tribute artist says. Despite matching his attire, hairstyle and voice, the Kings are unaware of Elvis as a historical musician, not even knowing what his name was - only that he must have been worshiped for there to be a building dedicated to teaching people to imitate him. Only after Elvis' untimely death on August 16, 1977, did impersonating Elvis start to become popular in the mainstream. Wise was doing an Elvis show in Hawaii. I dont see a morbid aspect, he said. Croce had perished in a plane crash in 1973, but Marc Hazebrouck, a former truck driver and psychology major from Rhode Island, was already playing songs by Croce and had a droopy mustache to match. They dont know what theyre getting into. But nothing would stop them, or ODay. 'The World's Greatest Elvis impersonator..EVER!' Rick Bonner 335 subscribers Subscribe 132 121K views 9 years ago A both serious and humerous collection of the world's greatest Elvis. There we go. "Michael Chapa, an Elvis impersonator who works in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, helped entertain more than 2500 of his relatives at what is believed to be the country's largest Hispanic family reunion "[14], There are also some Elvis impersonators who specialize in experimenting with gender, sexuality, race, taste and decency. ensemble. Dennis Wise sang Trying to Get to You for ODay and the band, and ODay told him that was all he needed to hear. In the mid-1970s, Andy Kaufman made an Elvis impersonation part of his act. king's untimely death at the age of 42. [54] He was born in Samoa in 1944, came to New Zealand as a boy. We were offered a job to go to Hawaii, Wise says. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. Palaios, v.8, pp.623624. Collect, curate and comment on your files. There are even several radio stations[1][2] that exclusively feature Elvis impersonator material. Thanks to an unstable household his mother had several husbands ODay eventually left home for California, where he hustled his way into other bands. But he hit a snag: According to his musicians, the Vegas casino establishment wanted ownership of the idea and were less interested in working with ODay himself. Dennis Wise, 54, has been an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years, beginning with a garage band he started with his brother. Another Filipino Elvis impersonator is singer businessman Chito Bertol who also impersonates Elvis Presley mostly at Bistro RJ Bar in Makati City, and sometimes occasionally performs every year with Filipino singer businessman Ramon Jacinto who was the founder of Bistro RJ and his radio station DZRJ 100.3 FM & his TV station DZRJ TV 29 in the Philippines. Condition: Pre-owned Pre-owned This tribute to Finding the right plastic surgeon to tweak Wises lips and cheeks and straighten his nose was tougher. He has performed more than 10,000 shows as an Elvis impersonator. The new-tech twist is the hologram, which has brought Michael Jackson, 2Pac, Frank Zappa, and Whitney Houston back to a semblance of life. Wise trekked to ODays home in Ocala, just in time to see his boss roll up, living large. A lot of guys stick to your basic Elvis songs, like Jailhouse Rock, but what I try to do is to expand it to let people know this is what Elvis did gospel, rock n roll, R&B. Later that year, he was joined by the rest of the clone army for their post-surgery reveal on the daytime show America Alive! There must have been 100 people from the press all over the world taking pictures, he says. Rock and Roll Heaven, the touring extravaganza he conceived and promoted, didnt just pay homage to one deceased icon, but four of them: Elvis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jim Croce. There Wise lay, on a table in an Orlando hospital, surrounded by photos of the King. The shit hit the fan. When the run ended in March 1979, Caywood recalls a big blowup over money, and the band broke up. Dennis Wise knows exactly where he was when Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. Hes consistently at the top of its top-earning Elvis impersonators are one of the most frequently booked look-alikes and tribute artists. We were on the road, home-schooling our son, Shane, and he wanted to play ball and do things like normal kids do, Wise says. Sight unseen, always. And just like ODay, each was hungry for recognition and success, a very different type of American dream. Kenny had a really unique voice. The Disney Channel sitcoms Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody both featured main characters dressing up and acting like Elvis. In 2003, at age 54, ODay succumbed to non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Cruise kept asking James if he had any songs that would be right for Elvis. Events tend to attract large numbers of amateur Elvis impersonators and Elvis fans. His mom said shed be fine with it as long as it was done in good taste, and that was good enough for her son. It's only fitting that he would choose a career that pays tribute to the King of Rock and Roll. After James' recording failed commercially, the song was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman, becoming a number one song in 1969, and one of the most notable hits of Presley's career. The 24th season of the American adaptation of Big Brother featured Daniel Durston, an Elvis impersonator from Las Vegas, Nevada. James at the time was married to his first wife, but still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart, who was married back in Houston. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Danny O'Day is well, he was in a category all his own. The Philippines has its own Elvis Presley impersonator, Filipino singer, and actor Eddie Mesa, dubbed as the Elvis Presley of The Philippines. My parents come to talk about our unique musical family. Something nobodys ever done before, recalls Effie. I would see a morbid aspect if we were being crassly commercial in cashing in on dead people. They began using the contest along with their Elvis brand, licensing anyone wanting to charge a fee to hold an Elvis contest. (When the ceremony was over, they had some difficulty eating the wedding cake.) Dennis Wise, 54, has been an Elvis impersonator for more than 30 years, beginning with a garage band he started with his brother. Elvis cant die. In The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, a dancer named Tott with a striking resemblance to Elvis Presley appears on Windfall Island. The atmosphere and show itself proved to be too much for Rhyne. Dave Ehlert from Waukegan, IL began performing as Elvis in 1967 a full 10 years before Elvis died. He was a former dancer with a Polynesian troupe. Growing up, he dressed like Elvis and answered to Elvis in the school halls. The first thing that comes to my mind is that plastic surgery is the highest form of flattery., He was way ahead of the curve, says Jeff Pezzuti, founder of Eyellusion, responsible for recent hologram tours of Frank Zappa and Dio. In an episode of Married with Children, the character Peggy Bundy claims to have seen Elvis at a mall, prompting a large number of Elvis impersonators to come to her home so she can share her "experience.". Eddie is still performing mostly in bars or 6-star hotels, especially with Elvis impersonators. In 40 years, its become more acceptable to do something like that, compared to back then, says Eyellusions Pezzuti. If you cant read the first three lines on an eye chart, then I suppose physically he might fool you, he wrote of Croce, also pointing out that the clearest resemblance came by way of the bands non-altered lead guitarist, a dead ringer for Peter Frampton. I just thought, Well, I dont know what does that mean? says Gamble. In the Digimon Adventure anime, one of the main villains, Etemon has the character of an Elvis impersonator. All rights reserved. When Wise reexamined his contract at the time, he realized hed signed with ODay for 50 years and that ODay was entitled to half his earnings. By the mid-Eighties, ODay was running out of schemes. There have been at least three prominent Elvis impersonators of Samoan descent. Last year, he earned $54 million, topping the list of dead performers who are still making money. He died at age 64 in July 2008, after battling cancer. "He was way ahead of the curve," says Jeff Pezzuti, founder of Eyellusion, responsible for recent. Thats up from $49 million in 2007. Whether he knew it or not, ODay saw the future our future. (The first was a 1981 skit about a sleazy Rock and Roll Heaven marketing company, featuring Eddie Murphy, that made a joke about the Three Js Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Croce.) In 1978, the clone tour was cited in Rolling Stones year-end issue, under the header The Brides of Funkenstein. (Two aspiring women performers underwent plastic surgery: one to look like a female Elvis; the other, Janis Joplin.) But almost as soon as it arrived, Rock and Roll Heaven imploded, and ODay became the smallest of footnotes in pop history books. It was his seventeenth and last number-one single in the United States. Droser in a 1993 paper derived from the Elvis impersonators the term Elvis taxon (plural Elvis taxa), which denotes a taxon that has been misidentified as having re-emerged in the fossil record after a period of presumed extinction, but is not actually a descendant of the original taxon, instead having developed a similar morphology through convergent evolution. But a drinking problem that had developed on the road soon overtook him. Due to confusion about who is going as Elvis all three do it, appearing in sequence as Elvis at different stages of his career, winning the competition. (Photo by Getty Images). He has every album Elvis ever recorded and pictures by the thousands. "PM Magazine," "Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon" and "American (ODay bragged to a reporter that it was a small but mighty crowd.) Impersonating a dead pop star, or reviving them virtually, is one thing. An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Its no longer a wrap: the Rock and Roll Heaven band after the bandages came off. So the surgery was an improvement., Wise made his debut onstage so soon after the surgery that black rings still encircled his eyes. For example, an ETA may open his show with a 50s set dressed in appropriate attire (such as a gold lame jacket), reenactments of musical scenes from Presley's movies, and/or reenactments of segments from the '68 Comeback Special; and after an intermission closes his show with a full-blown 70s concert dressed in an appropriate jumpsuit. [10] As Kaufman gained fame, the impersonation was used less and less. Get our roundup of longform stories every Saturday. Dennis got his nose broken when he was in the Marines, he says. >LVLG "Heard Around Town" He has been performing as Elvis since around 2000. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. There are also three "how to" guides, Be Elvis! Dennis's television credits include appearances on "Good Morning Marcia is a schoolteacher, teaching the history of music. Bags were removed from under OConnells eyes, and wrinkles from his cheeks. (Read the full story, which has plenty of photos.). We want to hear it. According to Rolling Stone, less than 50 people turned up to their debut show in Atlanta. CKX, INC, which now owns Elvis Presley's estate, has full control including the grave of Elvis Presley and his family members along with his home Graceland in early 2008. audition for Wise as an Elvis Presley impersonator. 2.9K views, 40 likes, 10 loves, 16 comments, 11 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from WiseDrums: So twice a year I play drums for my father Dennis Wise who's been an Elvis Presley tribute artist since. (Singing) Wise men say only fools rush in, for I can't help falling in love with you. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. CONTINUE ON TO: Thomas into a local club, took the money, and then disappeared; it turned out he didnt actually rep Thomas at all. This is a publicly distributed handout. ODay also landed them an appearance on Tom Snyders late-night network talk show. It also featured Clearance Giddens, a black Elvis. O'Day's first foray into the world of tribute acts came in 1977, when he met Dennis Wise, who sounded close enough to Elvis that O'Day convinced him to go under the knife and have his nose, cheeks, and lips made to look more like the King's. Dennis Wise shows off his reconstructed face to talk-show host Mike Douglas. ", O'Day landed him a week-long gig in Florida for an eye-popping $15,000 (roughly $60,000 today), but the professional relationship soured after Wise said he never got paid and sued. But none of it gave ODay even the slightest pause; by now, he was in full Barnum mode. And I said, Well, you know, I guess I could do something. Caywood was up for singing Joplin tunes: I thought, Cool, that sounds fun! Im famous for picking up and moving my entire life. The play features a Chinese Elvis impersonator called Timothy Wong, who transforms the lives of the characters in the play. Original faux-Elvis Dennis Wise practices post-surgery with promoter Danny O'Day, 1978. Elvis Presley: The King's best impersonators. [48] His single "Love's Not Made of Time" by "God Will Rule" was produced by John Centinaro,[49] who would work with another Elvis impersonator, Johnny Charro. By Laura Fitzpatrick Friday, Jan. 08, 2010. The first singer to go through the surgery was Elvis impersonator Dennis Wise; a former car salesman from Hawaii who traveled to the U.S. to try his luck as a tribute act. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. At an early stop on the tour, one reviewer noted that few of the performers resembled their dead counterparts that much. It contains interviews with many famous Elvis impersonators, and also gives you five free Sunfly Karaoke backing tracks, allowing you to download your favorite Elvis tracks to perform to. His admiration for Elvis has spanned over forty years. [40][41], Andy Stankovich is a well known Elvis impersonator from Auckland, New Zealand. We did a couple of state fairs where there were, like, four people in the audience.. However, its been rumored that they may have inspired this funny Saturday Night Live sketch, Behind the Music: Rock & Roll Heaven., News and Entertainment from Australia's favourite youth publisher, The Nirvana Nevermind babys lawsuit has been dismissed, A study compared celebrity worship and cognitive skills and the results arent good. Eventually, ODay was able to smuggle Wise into that clinic on that day in January 1978. Its America.. From 1982 to 1984 he had a nightclub across the street from Graceland in Memphis. In Civilization II, the "Attitude" Advisor in the player's "High Council", who advises on the peoples' happiness, is an Elvis Presley caricature, depicted wearing sunglasses even in the Ancient period. A major post-mortem event in Elvis history occurred in Orlando on Jan. 31, 1978, when Dennis Wise underwent six hours of plastic surgery to look more like The King of rock 'n' roll. "That was a very strange day," Wise says. [4][5], Contrary to popular belief, Elvis impersonators have existed since the mid-1950s, just after Elvis Presley himself began his career. Hes great.. ODays first choice bailed when his name leaked to the press. Jeff Yagher played an Elvis impersonator (as well as Elvis himself) in an episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Once and Future King". Original faux-Elvis Dennis Wise practices post-surgery with promoter Danny ODay, 1978. "There are heavily-bearded Elvii, four-year-old Elvii, and Elvis duos; Italian Elvii, Greek Elvii, Fat Elvii, a Lady Elvis, even a Black Elvis. That was a very strange day, Wise says. Cruise and James thought of \"Suspicious Minds\" and James began urging others to get Elvis to hear it. Dennis Wise - King for a Night - A Tribute to Elvis Presley Las Vegas Entertainment. mannerisms. It was perfect, but it was a lot of trouble, Wise says. Dennis expertly recreates Elvis's movements, phrasings, and (Actually, they didnt go on the road so fast: The first gig, at a club in St. Petersburg, Florida, perhaps aptly named J.P. Bottoms Lounge, never happened. The Martin twins dressed-up as twin-Elvises in an episode of The Suite Life where they were appearing on a gameshow called "Risk It All! Kwok Lam-sang, known as Melvis, was a long-time Elvis impersonator in Hong Kong. For Elvis tribute artists like Trent Carlini, Jesse Garon, Darren Lee and Pete "Big Elvis" Vallee, the message they try to relate on stage is one of fun energy and high intensity, a routine that Elvis himself would be proud of. from the cities of Augusta, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. He talked about re-creating Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd whod died in a plane crash the year before. [23], The largest gathering of Elvis impersonators occurred on 12 July 2014 when 895 impersonators gathered in the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, North Carolina.[24]. Jack Singer, played by Nicolas Cage, encounters a group of "Flying Elvises" (skydiving Elvis impersonators) while trying to reunite with his fiance. EXCELLENT CONDITION, SIGNED SLEEVE SAYS, "SHIRLEY BEST WISHES, DENNIS WISE". Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account. Shane, 24, is a drummer, living in Nashville. In Annalee Newitz and Matt Wray, eds.. Sweeney, "The King of White Trash Culture," p.262.