1952 - filling station helper

[Christopher]

Another document from 1952 – 24 march 1952 driver’s license till 1 january 1953.
colonel snow

the first pic looks legit.
but what about the second handwritten one??

[colonel snow]

the first pic looks legit.
but what about the second handwritten one??

The handwritten version is probably the basic for the typed version.



colonel snow

[lpa]

Poor kid, it breaks my heart to see these things.

It breaks your heart that he applied for a job?

No, it breaks my heart that the kid had something in him that was quite unique and from what I've read, in 1952 neither Memphis was precisely Zurich nor The Presleys were the picture of wealth. His immense talent could have gone unnoticed as a result of a mix of random facts, poverty being one of them.

[Jokerlola]

Poor kid, it breaks my heart to see these things.

It breaks your heart that he applied for a job?

No, it breaks my heart that the kid had something in him that was quite unique and from what I've read, in 1952 neither Memphis was precisely Zurich nor The Presleys were the picture of wealth. His immense talent could have gone unnoticed as a result of a mix of random facts, poverty being one of them.

But what does that have to do with him applying for a job? Even if Elvis was in Zurich or was the picture of wealth, it would have still been a crap shoot that he would have become famous. Even less so if he was in Zurich. I’ve never heard of any 50’s rock stars from Switzerland.

Although it has enhanced our lives and brought us joy. Elvis’ fame really became a curse for him and his family. If he had never become famous, he likely would have lived a longer, happier life.

[drjohncarpenter]

Super interesting
Thanks everyone!

Especially super-interesting when the docs get well-vetted.

[drjohncarpenter]

He lasted at the movie theater for four weeks! We know he was fired. Why? Because of a fight with another usher who snitched on him for sharing candy with a girl, without charging her. Heh.

Wasn't it the case that the usherette was giving him free sodas, candy and popcorn, and not as you have stated above? Details are important.

They sure are, Wayne, which is why I provide so many on scores and scores of topics and user queries. I love to share.

As for the usher firing, I was writing from memory. I know it involved a girl, and a guy who got mad at an interaction that she shared with Elvis. On that point we are in complete agreement.

Where can we see the source for what you wrote here? I'd really appreciate the details, thanks.

This is crucial stuff.

[drjohncarpenter]

Never you mind, Wayne, I gathered a bunch more details about this point you brought up.

It seems critic and historian Peter Guralnick's superb biography doesn't confirm much, beyond the basics we both share:

He went back to work at Loew’s State, on South Main, but that didn’t last long either, after he got into a fight with another usher who he thought had been a stool pigeon and was fired by the manager.

- Last Train To Memphis, p 44.

The desperately-flawed but still essential reading of the "bodyguard book" by West, West, Hebler as told to Dunleavy, mentions it in something closer to Wayne's query:

The following year, when money was still low, Presley insisted on going back to work at Loew’s, only to meet with disaster. The theater manager, Arthur Groom, goes on record as having fired the world’s most expensive talent. The girl who sold candy and popcorn appeared smitten with the brooding young Presley and favored him with some free samples. When another usher informed on him, Presley responded with a roundhouse swing that ended his career as an usher.

- Elvis: What Happened, p 90.

But, of course, that's Steve Dunleavy's writing, not the most trustworthy.

What about the official blog of Elvis Presley’s Graceland? The details are somewhat murky yet again.

Elvis returned to work at Loew’s State Theater as an usher in April 1952. His second stint there only lasted five weeks – he was fired due to a fight with a fellow usher. Rumor has it, the other usher started the argument because he was jealous that a female co-worker had the hots for Elvis.

Elvis Presley Takes Care of Business
https://www.graceland.com/blog/posts/elvis-presley-takes-care-of-business/

Meanwhile, biographer Jerry Hopkins offered this vignette in his 1971 book:

Elvis was working as an usher at Loew’s State Theater downtown from five to ten each night at $12.75 a week. It was a job he quit soon thereafter because he was falling behind in his studies. He resumed it the following summer, only to be fired. Arthur Groom, the theater manager, said the girl who sold candy and popcorn in the lobby was slipping Elvis some stuff on the side and the other usher snitched on Elvis, so Elvis took a punch at him and Elvis was canned.

- Elvis: A Biography, p 35.

Some inaccuracies there, and beyond the basic story the details differ.

Looking around some more, I found a first-person interview with new information. These details are important (!) and worth added weight. It's a chat with theater manager Arthur Groom's younger daughter, Cynthia Groom Miller.

Born in 1946, she grew up around her dad, older sister Mildred (aka "Mickie," born in 1941), and the theatre. She would meet Elvis in 1956 at a private screening there of "Love Me Tender."

What is the true story about Elvis getting fired?

Elvis and a fellow usher, Luther Nall were ''fired'' due to a scuffle over a candy girl . . . The one thing I have heard was that Ethel Martin, the assistant manager, actually fired the two rowdy teenagers, but historically everything that I have ever read gives my daddy credit for the ''firing."

The books say daddy was the first man to hire Elvis, and the first man to fire Elvis! After Elvis became famous, he would return to Loew's State to catch a movie now and then, and also private midnight screenings for his family, Hollywood friends, and the "Memphis Mafia," his Memphis buddies.

Elvis, Arthur Groom & the Loew's State Theater
https://50sspirit.blogspot.com/2012/01/elvis-arthur-groom-loews-state-theater.html

It appears what I originally wrote works as well as anything we know here. Nice to have the name of the other fellow, probably.

Case closed.






BO (NUS) LOEW'S


Photos of the theater and lobby where the fight happened, the manager, and the two fellows who got into it. Ironically, Luther Nall was an ROTC buddy at Humes High School. Did they ever broker a truce? Another mystery!


'

[Liverbobs]

Fascinating thread, thanks to all who have inputted.

[Alexander]

Great stuff anyone, thanks for sharing.

[drjohncarpenter]

Fascinating thread, thanks to all who have inputted.

Yes, mighty good inputting here.

[jurasic1968]

Wow! Doc, the best post of this year. Thanks a lot for your great research!!!.

[Billy Easter]

The Loew's story is mentioned in Gene Smith's book.

Capture.PNG

[drjohncarpenter]

The Loew's story is mentioned in Gene Smith's book.

Oh, yes, Gene Smith's book, Elvis' Man Friday, published in 1994.

As one may see in the Loew's example, it parrots what's been written in previous books, while adding some inaccuracies for good measure. This is not an anomaly.

I sought out this one in the hope it would yield some fresh insight for the discerning fan, even if read between the lines.

It didn't work out that way. For a guy so close to Elvis in his most important period, the teen years straight through to world-wide fame, Gene's autobiography was deeply disappointing.

[jurasic1968]

Yes, too bad Gene Smith failed to describe Elvis that way.