Caged Idol (Good Housekeeping, August 1963)

Robin Douglas-Home talks to Elvis and The Colonel on the set of It Happened At The World´s Fair.

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The last two pages...

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Note the casual reference to Parker's birthplace, Holland.

Thank you for sharing this. The story has all the familiar elements. You can't get near Elvis. Elvis is at a level of success all his own. Colonel is the master Svengali. It was all about image, back then.

This is a fairly interesting upload.

I wonder if this September 1962 interview appeared in the August 1963 U.S. edition of "Good Housekeeping'?

That Robin Douglas-Home, a British journalist and much more (see below), scored his interview thanks to a phone call made by Frank Sinatra is certainly unusual. Of course, he wrote an authorized biography of the singer that year, so it may be why a call was made in his behalf by Frank to Parker.

Robin Douglas-Home, Sinatra
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12856195-sinatra

In reading through, one may see the journalist does indulge the Presley party line ("He does not ... visit night-clubs ... date starlets .. have hobbies ..."). Interestingly, Elvis reveals a bit of the career fatigue noted in other interviews of the time ("I haven't had much of a break ... I have been rushed along a bit."), but because Parker was hovering the entire time, his replies are somewhat brief and guarded.

The "Dr. Kildare" Douglas-Home refers to, hanging out on the set, was actor Richard Chamberlain, staring in the hit NBC-TV show of the same name.

620900_Richard Chamberlain_Dr. Kildare_NBC-TV.JPG

Richard Chamberlain as Dr. James Kildare, NBC-TV, circa 1962
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Kildare#Television
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054535/


Douglas-Home lets it drop that Parker "was born in Holland" but adds that he was "adopted by American parents." It is more than amusing that he notes the money made from Parker's rip-off machinations ("snowing activities") "goes to charity and not into the Presley pocket." One imagines that "charity" in this case means Tom Parker's bank account.

The back-story on (full name) Cecil Robin Douglas-Home is also fascinating and tragic. He had affairs with many high society British women, including Princess Margret, and later committed suicide, just 6 years after this Elvis interview.

Robin Douglas-Home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Douglas-Home

'Darling Robin!' The Enigmatic Life Of Robin Douglas-Home & The Three Margarets!
http://theesotericcuriosa.blogspot.com/2011/01/darling-robin-enigmatic-life-of-robin.html

Thanks again for posting this!

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Thanks TheFool for posting the article

Many thanks! "Holland"! And yet the myth held strong . . . Hopkins dropped the ball.

I will be able to read it all when I'm not on a Kindle, but I saw a lot. Thanks again!

rjm

Brilliant post, Fool! Thanks for sharing.

This is the UK edition? The US one that month had a different cover and no mention of Elvis on it.

Many thanks! "Holland"! And yet the myth held strong . . . Hopkins dropped the ball.

Hopkins?

This is the UK edition? The US one that month had a different cover and no mention of Elvis on it.

The cover scan clearly shows British pricing, hence my question about the U.S. edition in my previous reply.

Many thanks! "Holland"! And yet the myth held strong . . . Hopkins dropped the ball.

Hopkins?

This is the UK edition? The US one that month had a different cover and no mention of Elvis on it.

The cover scan clearly shows British pricing, hence my question about the U.S. edition in my previous reply.

Ah I should have blown it up bigger. Thanks.
I think Hopkins was refering to Elvis A Biography where he said Parker was born in West Virginia.

Many thanks! "Holland"! And yet the myth held strong . . . Hopkins dropped the ball.

Hopkins?

This is the UK edition? The US one that month had a different cover and no mention of Elvis on it.

The cover scan clearly shows British pricing, hence my question about the U.S. edition in my previous reply.

Ah I should have blown it up bigger. Thanks.
I think Hopkins was referring to Elvis A Biography where he said Parker was born in West Virginia.

Yes, I was. This was published quite a bit earlier than when Hopkins did his research, and the guy didn't have too much trouble learning about "Holland." And it was published. I think the first bio, the Hopkins bio, helped to perpetuate the Col.'s own mythology of being from "West Virginia." Which clearly was demonstrably false. We'll never know what Elvis knew, I guess.

rjm

Many thanks! "Holland"! And yet the myth held strong . . . Hopkins dropped the ball.

Hopkins?

This is the UK edition? The US one that month had a different cover and no mention of Elvis on it.

The cover scan clearly shows British pricing, hence my question about the U.S. edition in my previous reply.

Ah I should have blown it up bigger. Thanks.
I think Hopkins was referring to Elvis A Biography where he said Parker was born in West Virginia.

Yes, I was. This was published quite a bit earlier than when Hopkins did his research, and the guy didn't have too much trouble learning about "Holland." And it was published. I think the first bio, the Hopkins bio, helped to perpetuate the Col.'s own mythology of being from "West Virginia." Which clearly was demonstrably false. We'll never know what Elvis knew, I guess.

rjm

Elvis didn't know about Parker.

Yes, I was. This was published quite a bit earlier than when Hopkins did his research, and the guy didn't have too much trouble learning about "Holland." And it was published. I think the first bio, the Hopkins bio, helped to perpetuate the Col.'s own mythology of being from "West Virginia." Which clearly was demonstrably false. We'll never know what Elvis knew, I guess.

According to those close to him, when Parker's brother visited in 1964, he knew something was up. But he didn't pry.

As for Hopkins, it is not impossible to imagine that he got access to certain people in the making of his 1971 biography thanks to Parker, and so kept the lid on management's Dutch beginnings.

Gread topic and enjoyable read, thanks for those who have contributed to it.

Gread topic and enjoyable read, thanks for those who have contributed to it.

Thanks, Bodie!