did colonel parker steal from elvis

Did colonel parker steal from elvis

Potomac, was going to be salvaged. He saw the Potomac as just another snow job, as he called his art of the con. He would donate the rusting hulk to charity and put a P.

In the s, Parker tricked Presley into signing a five-year Las Vegas casino residency contract even though Presley vociferously expressed his desire to perform internationally. As portrayed in the movie, Parker, a compulsive gambler, raked up huge gambling debts and the casino executives called in these debts to pressure Parker to get Presley into an exclusive residency deal. Parker did get Presley a lucrative contract, but the performance schedule was so demanding that it left Presley mentally and physically exhausted. To keep Presley on stage, Parker enlisted the services of an ethically questionable doctor who prescribed Presley prescription drugs, to which Presley eventually became addicted. Unbeknownst to Presley, Parker negotiated a side agreement with the casino where his gambling debts were forgiven, and Parker got unlimited credit as long as Presley continued performing at the casino. However, because Parker obtained so much financial control, Parker threatened to sue Presley for all his remaining wealth. As a result, Presley was forced to continue the arduous performance schedule and forgo his dreams of touring internationally.

Did colonel parker steal from elvis

The Dutch-born carny-turned-manager plucked Elvis Presley from obscurity and turned him into one of the biggest stars in history. But the two had an often-thorny relationship, and Parker's business practices have been widely scrutinized and criticized over the years. He has been frequently accused of halting Presley's career by refusing to let him tour overseas, relegating him to B-movie purgatory for much of the '60s and sucking him dry as a Vegas lounge act rather than letting him flourish artistically. And while Hanks' bombastic performance is almost hilarious in its absurdity, his actions and motivations throughout the movie are fairly rooted in reality, according to biographers and former members of Parker and Presley's entourage. Born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in Breda, Netherlands, in , Parker illegally emigrated to the United States at age 20, whereupon he changed his name and assumed a new identity. A popular but completely unsubstantiated theory suggests Parker fled Breda after killing the wife of a greengrocer. He got his start as a carnival worker before entering the music business, taking on clients such as the crooner Gene Austin and country singers Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow and Tommy Sands. Parker also assisted Louisiana governor Jimmie Davis on his campaign, and for his efforts he received the honorary title of "Colonel. In Presley signed a contact that made Parker his sole representative. It was the beginning of a staggering run of chart-toppers that would last into the early '60s. Listen to Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel'. Parker argued that Presley was his sole client and thus the commission was well-earned. But money wasn't the only point of contention in Presley and Parker's partnership. After returning from a two-year military stint in , Presley began starring in a slew of Hollywood films that were successful at the box office but almost universally panned by critics.

Magazine Subscribe to the Luxury London print edition Buy. The Colonel outlived his sole client by 20 years and remained bullish and typically frustrating as an interview subject right until the end. He would paint sparrows yellow and sell them as canaries.

Sign up to our free newsletter and be the first to know about the latest fashion, travel and lifestyle happenings, as well as exclusive reader events and offers. With an elephant-head cane resting by his side, a cigar clamped into his mouth and a cheap baseball cap sat awkwardly on his huge bald dome, this man was, with a grim determination, seemingly going out of his way to lose incredibly large sums of money. There were more than a few men who would have roughly fitted this description in Nevada half a century ago. But this gambler was far from a day-tripper to the casino. His actual office was located on the fourth floor of the same building. Paper hats, glossy posters, souvenir programmes and gaudy key rings covered the room from top to bottom. Played by Tom Hanks in the new biopic Elvis , directed by Baz Luhrmann, Colonel Tom Parker remains, 25 years after his death, and nearly half a century after the death of his only client, the most memorable and divisive manager in the history of show business.

By Chris Willman. No one is probably expecting that ; any practiced watcher of biopics knows virtually any example will take deep liberties with the facts for dramatic purposes. Are the liberties worth it for creating an artistic picture? Does it veer off in ways that seem unnecessary? The timeline… well, what timeline? In making him such an antagonist, they have robbed him of his many accomplishments with his client. Is it true, as portrayed, that Parker was consistently trying to pressure Elvis to tone down his sex appeal? No, no, not at all. Elvis took care of what Elvis did and Colonel took care of what Colonel did.

Did colonel parker steal from elvis

Potomac, was going to be salvaged. He saw the Potomac as just another snow job, as he called his art of the con. He would donate the rusting hulk to charity and put a P. With them was actor Danny Thomas, there on behalf of St. Jude, the Memphis research hospital Thomas had founded to help find cures for catastrophic childhood diseases. As the press cameras clicked away, and the freshly painted Potomac gleamed in the background, the Colonel chuckled to himself. The other remained in its dilapidated state. Why bother to paint both sides? Just present the side you want to show.

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According to Geller, Parker saw Presley's doctor administering him drugs and dunking his head in ice water in order to get him ready to perform. This can dissipate the fraud triangle because patrons can provide information that is not readably available publicly. In his frenetic, dazzling, exhilarating mess of a movie, Elvis, Baz Luhrmann has done much the same when it comes to Colonel Parker, showing us only one side of a highly complex and intensely fascinating and mysterious character. As portrayed in the movie, Parker, a compulsive gambler, raked up huge gambling debts and the casino executives called in these debts to pressure Parker to get Presley into an exclusive residency deal. Alanna Nash. By Jordan Hoffman. Those in the throes of compulsive gambling may rationalize committing a financial crime with the thought that they will eventually win big and make the whole amount they defrauded. Nothing else matters! Most people who commit fraud are first-time offenders and consider themselves honest people. These factors are as follows:. Elvis would sleep for the day in his penthouse suite, while down on the gaming floor the Colonel would be steadily increasing his losses at the craps table and the roulette wheel.

The Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal in Elvis caused quite a stir when the film was released, both because of Hank's interpretation of the character and the relationship between Elvis and Colonel Tom in Baz Luhrmann's story.

But for Elvis, a creative artist who knew The Beatles , The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys were making him seem an archaic irrelevance by the mids, the desire to rediscover himself as a musician, not a middling actor, led to increasingly bitter disputes with his manager. Ultimately, the shrewdness of the business deals that Parker negotiated for Elvis were entirely in vain. Most Popular. The sale of his catalog was the final nail in the coffin of Presley and Parker's relationship. Though patrons that commit crimes to fund their gaming represent a fractional portion of total customers, the risk is real and must be considered in a risk-based AML program. These factors are as follows:. Pressure is what motivates a person to commit fraud, such as financial hardships, maintaining lavish lifestyles and addictions. By Judy F. But, again, only a clinician can diagnose an addiction to gambling. Why bother to paint both sides? Tom Hanks plays this villainy broadly with cartoonish gusto, veering somewhere between Snidely Whiplash and Sydney Greenstreet. Suppose the patron is unable to provide information on how they fund their gaming or provides information that appears to be false. Parker did get Presley a lucrative contract, but the performance schedule was so demanding that it left Presley mentally and physically exhausted. So it would appear that some discreet behind-the-scenes negotiations could have resolved the problem without too much fuss. AML professionals are not mind readers; they canno t confirm whether a person has to rationalize committing a crime, nor should they attempt to.

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