When Elvis Met Tom Jones backstage - April 1968 (updated)

[Elvisfan10]

Thank you for posting those picture, Davide!

[For_Elvis]

We headed down to L.A. from Victoria BC Canada JUST to see Elvis (as we had done the previous year March 27/67 & met Elvis by his house while he was filming Clambake-we kinda hung out there the weekend & had lots of adventures there!)...........anyway in April '68 we went to MGM Studios for a tour (also to see if we could see Elvis there but no luck!) I got my picture taken by Elvis' bus (which was parked at MGM) the riverboat in Frankie & Johnny, we toured all around the soundstage where Elvis sings A Little Less Conversation - the pool area-that was neat to see but no Elvis!.......and I also walked on the stairs from Gone with the Wind (where Clarke Gable and Vivian Leigh also walked on)....it was a great tour but then we were off to Elvis' house to see if we could seeHIMthat evening.................after waiting awhile here comes Elvis and Joe - Elvis gets out of the car and says HI to about 10 people hanging about the gate..................we took pictures and someone asked what he's been up to................he talked about the movie he was making and also about how great Tom Jones was the previous weekend..........I remember when he signed my autograph - he was singing "Little Green Apples" the Roger Miller song.............."god didn't make little apples and it don't rain in Indianopolis in the summertime" that was KOOL!!!...............my girlfriend Brenda & I mentioned that we had come down from Canada to see him................and he said "you came all that way to see me?" and we both said "YES!" He was really very friendly to all the fans around signing autographs and posing for pictures............when it was time to take pictures of us Brenda took a picture of Elvis & I (I remember he squeezed my side when he had his arm around me and of course I had my arm around him (yikes I can still feel that squeeze!) and then I went to take Brenda's picture with Elvis and the camera jammed so I took a picture with my camera and yikes it double exposed...(remember it was '68 and I didn't have an instamatic like Brenda did)...........BUT.it's still a neat picture and you can see us clearly with Elvis....................he said he had to go in for supper and said goodnite to everyone! Of course after that happened we could hardly walk or talk - we were SO in shock after seeing our guy!!!! Our idol since we were kids...... Wow it was such a wonderful experience for us fans..........I know you want to see pictures.......I'll get them and put them on the site................don't have time right now.....................

I could have gone to the '68 Special but I was getting married Aug.3/68 and didn't have enough money to fly to L.A. again right after seeing Elvis in April...........what a disappointment for me.......missing one of the biggest events ever and a turning point in Elvis' career.........my girlfriend Brenda got to sit right by the stage for the stand up show....................I'm still so jealous....................it drives me krazy because of the lack of money I missed it!!!!!!!!!!..........................by the way my husband & I were in Vegas in Aug/69 and then I got to see many many more shows up until November '76...........................I do know that I was and am a lucky fan................................

Please Barbie share some photos

[Wibi08]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

[drjohncarpenter]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

In 1968, everyone had a mancrush on Tom Jones.

[Chris Roberts]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

In 1968, everyone had a mancrush on Tom Jones.

Not all of us!

[drjohncarpenter]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

In 1968, everyone had a mancrush on Tom Jones.

Not all of us!

Don't lie.

[Joe Car]

Elvis respected great entertainers, Tom Jones, Bobby Darin, Jackie Wilson, Sammy of course, but it was Jones who inspired him to return to live performing again. It's no coincidence that two months after seeing Tom in Vegas, he goes and and does the historic comeback special.

[a mess of polk salad]

Fascinating reading these pages - love to read a book project about the two legendary performers friendship.

Love the Tom Jones intro on the new FTD HOT AUGUST NIGHT - and has been said - Elvis admired all those people sincerely.

Great post Davide.

[JANDERBIG]

fantastic post

[Aura Lee]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

From Tom Jones?
No, he did not had a man crush on Tom Jones.

[drjohncarpenter]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

From Tom Jones?
No, he did not had a man crush on Tom Jones.

Perhaps he had one on James Garner.

[Aura Lee]

No.

[drjohncarpenter]

No.

He definitely had a man crush on Robert Mitchum.

[Aura Lee]

Do you reckon Elvis had a man crush on Tom Jones?
Read some stories.......

From Tom Jones?
No, he did not had a man crush on Tom Jones.

Perhaps he had one on James Garner.

I know that was meant tongue in cheek, but a little fun fact I found is that the only second hand connection between Garner and Elvis was: Red West.
West appeared in a non speaking "role" in season two of the original Maverick season in 1958/1959.
He was a doorman in a western hotel lobby, standing there and opened up the door while Bret Maverick (Garner) came in.

It surprised me because I never knew that Red West was that early in the movie business. Even though he was just an extra in this scene.

[drjohncarpenter]

Perhaps he had one on James Garner.

I know that was meant tongue in cheek, but a little fun fact I found is that the only second hand connection between Garner and Elvis was: Red West.
West appeared in a non speaking "role" in season two of the original Maverick season in 1958/1959.
He was a doorman in a western hotel lobby, standing there and opened up the door while Bret Maverick (Garner) came in.

It surprised me because I never knew that Red West was that early in the movie business. Even though he was just an extra in this scene.

I don't believe he was involved that early.

According to IMDb, Bobby "Red" West's uncredited appearance on ABC-TV's "Maverick" came in an episode called "Guatemala City," which aired during the third season, on Sunday, January 31, 1960.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0644453/fullcredits

This would make sense, as Bobby was with Elvis in Germany from about October 1958 until maybe May 1959.

He appeared again with James Garner in 1964's "The Americanization of Emily."

Here's a glimpse of him during the D-Day Invasion sequence:

[Aura Lee]

I was "operating" from memory from me watching my Maverick DVD 's some years ago.
Forgot about his appearance in "Americanisation of Emily" (a very recommandable movie, I might add. One of the first Anti WW 2 movies at that time).
Yes, I was very surprised to spot Red West in that scene.
Didn't know that he was somehow having his food in Hollywood (besides Elvis' movies) even as an extra at that time (saw him first in the 1964 movie and later in the Maverick series).

[drjohncarpenter]

I was "operating" from memory from me watching my Maverick DVD 's some years ago.
Forgot about his appearance in "Americanisation of Emily" (a very recommandable movie, I might add. One of the first Anti WW 2 movies at that time).
Yes, I was very surprised to spot Red West in that scene.
Didn't know that he was somehow having his food in Hollywood (besides Elvis' movies) even as an extra at that time (saw him first in the 1964 movie and later in the Maverick series).

[Aura Lee]

Yes, and?
What do you mean with that?
I immediately recognised him when I saw that movie 15 years ago.
But i forgot to mention it because it escaped my mind while mentioning him 2 days ago being an extra on "Maverick".
Red West wasn't the main attraction on that movie.

[NeverEndingLove]

I can not see any content from the original post, did it get deleted? Speaking as a woman, I did not find Tom Jones to be attractive during any stage of his career. I first heard his song in Reno when the loudspeaker blasted "It's so Unusual" during a firework show. He had very strong voice, quite good for uptempo songs. But I have never heard one tender ballad from him, certainly not a song that can move me deeply. Also his "dance" moves on stage was terrible, actually embarrassing at times. If Elvis took inspiration from Tom Jones' stage presence, I must say I prefer his version a whole lot more.