The Colonel

by Alanna Nash

  pagelink “seeming not to care”: Quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen, Elvis Day by Day.

  pagelink “He stunk the joint out”: Quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen, Elvis Day by Day.

  pagelink “absolutely no plans”: Laura Eipper, “Manager Denies Presley or Sale,” Tennessean, April 30, 1977.

  pagelink “he was pale, swollen—he had no stamina”: Quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen, Elvis Day by Day.

  pagelink “At the finale”: Variety quoted in Guralnick and Jorgensen, Elvis Day by Day.

  pagelink “I’m going to look fat”: Elvis Presley quoted by Kathy Westmoreland to author, 1997.

  pagelink “I’m so tired”: Elvis Presley quoted by Kathy Westmoreland to author, 1997.

  pagelink “He’ll never see”: Lamar Fike to author, 1994

  pagelink “Parker and Presley”: Richard Harrington, Washington Post, January 24, 1997.

  pagelink a staggering $30 million: People, March 5, 1984.

  CHAPTER 19: “WE THINK HE OD’D”: THE DEATH OF ELVIS

  pagelink “in a very good mood”: Larry Geller to author, 2001.

  pagelink “Ain’t no problem”: Elvis Presley quoted by Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink “They’ve never beat me before”: Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink “It’s okay”: Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink “Billy . . . son . . . this is going to be my best tour ever”: Elvis Presley quoted by Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink “I’m going to go in the bathroom”: Elvis Presley quoted by Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink No, if they ain’t heard from him: Billy Smith to author, 1994.

  pagelink “Who’s on duty?” Ginger Alden quoted in Esposito and Oumano, Good Rockin’ Tonight.

  pagelink “What happened to him?”: Ulysses Jones quoted by Marty Lacker to author, 1994.

  pagelink “He’s gone”: Dr. George Nichopoulos quoted in Esposito and Oumano, Good Rockin’ Tonight.

  pagelink “It’s Lisa”: Lisa Marie Presley quoted by Linda Thompson, Life, February 10, 1995.

  pagelink “I have something terrible to tell you”: Esposito and Oumano, Good Rockin’ Tonight. Loanne Miller Parker says the news came in two phone calls, the first alerting the Colonel that something awful had happened, and it was unclear whether Elvis was dead or alive.

  pagelink “Okay, Joe”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Esposito, Good Rockin’ Tonight.

  pagelink “The Colonel wants to see you right now”: Tom Hulett quoted by Lamar Fike to author, 1994.

  pagelink “I don’t want”: Colonel Tom Parker as quoted by Loanne Miller Parker to Ken Vrana, 2002.

  pagelink “Bob, I hope to hell”: Bruce Banke to Karen Schoemer, raw interview transcript, 1997.

  pagelink “I must have been”: Bruce Banke to Karen Schoemer, raw interview transcript, 1997.

  pagelink “Would everybody get off the plane?”: Marty Harrell quoted by Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “The operator was crying”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “I can’t waste time mourning”: Colonel Tom Parker to Chris Hutchins, The People, January 26, 1997.

  pagelink “He knew exactly what was going to transpire”: Joe Shane to author, 1998.

  pagelink “He was like, ‘The boy’s dead”: Joe Shane to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary Looking for Colonel Parker 1999.

  pagelink The estate would eventually be valued at $7.6 million: Sources differ as to the estimate. See People, December 1, 1980, Tennessean, December 7, 1990; and Woody Baird, “Graceland Earns Millions for Heir,” Associated Press, August 14, 2002.

  pagelink The Colonel could advance the estate: At his death, Elvis had $1.4 million in a non-interest-bearing checking account and about $750,000 in savings, though sources close to Presley believe that Parker advanced the bulk of the money to the estate.

  pagelink “Elvis didn’t die”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Jerry Hopkins, “Playing the Elvis Presley Game,” unpublished manuscript, JHC/UM.

  pagelink “It don’t mean a damned thing”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Tosches, Country.

  pagelink “This changes nothing”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Irish Times, January 24, 1997.

  pagelink “I am deeply grateful that you have offered”: Vernon Presley in letter to Colonel Tom Parker, August 23, 1977.

  pagelink “If Elvis looks down”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Jerry Hopkins, “Playing the Elvis Presley Game,” unpublished manuscript, JHC/UM.

  pagelink “every time he would go past the coffin”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “He didn’t talk to many people”: Larry Geller to author, 2001.

  pagelink “I could see there was pain”: Kathy Westmoreland to author, 1997.

  pagelink “No sir”: Colonel Tom Parker to Chris Hutchins, The People, January 26, 1997.

  pagelink “Elvis committed suicide”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “When I joined the TCB group”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “I can’t straighten it out by telling another lie”: Vernon Presley to author, 1977.

  pagelink “hypertensive heart disease”: Dr. Jerry Francisco, press conference, Memphis, 1977, quoted in Thompson and Cole, The Death of Elvis.

  pagelink “not that it specially concerned me”: Colonel Tom Parker to Larry Hutchinson, chief investigator to the district attorney general, Memphis, 1980.

  pagelink “It was just like”: Robin Rosaaen in e-mail to author, 2001.

  pagelink “We made a hell of a team”: Colonel Tom Parker to Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times, 1978, quoted in “Colonel Tom Parker,” Journal of Country Music, vol. 19 (no. 1).

  pagelink “I sat with him there”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “You could say the Colonel killed him”: Sandra Polk Ross to author, 1998.

  pagelink “I thought I would die”: Sandra Polk Ross to author, 1998.

  pagelink “I said, ‘You know I made 488 pairs’ ”: Dennis Roberts to author, 2000.

  pagelink “It cost me about $135,000”: Dennis Roberts to author, 2000.

  pagelink “it was a shock to all of us”: Priscilla Presley to Katie Couric, Dateline, August 13, 2002.

  pagelink “We weren’t aware”: D. Beecher Smith II, in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  CHAPTER 20: LIVING TOO LONG: LITIGATION AND LONELINESS

  pagelink “represent and defend the interests of Lisa Marie Presley”: Amended Report of Guardian ad litem, July 31, 1981.

  pagelink “all agreements with Elvis Presley terminated on his death”: Amended Report of Guardian ad litem, September 30, 1980.

  pagelink “I’m sure a lot of people see him”: Mike Crowley to author, 1998.

  pagelink “You can’t paint Parker as an angel”: Stan Soocher to author, 1999.

  pagelink “Most people would say”: David Skepner to author, 1997.

  pagelink “While he kept getting a higher proportion”: Joe Galante to author, 1998.

  pagelink “How can you argue”: Barry Coburn to author, 1997.

  pagelink “When he was working for Elvis”: D. Beecher Smith II quoted in People February 3, 1997.

  pagelink “contractual barriers”: D. Beecher Smith II quoted in Tennessean, December 11, 1980.

  pagelink “I’m not prepared to paint Parker black”: D. Beecher Smith II quoted in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink “I got the feeling”: Blanchard E. Tual quoted in Tennessean, December 11, 1980.

  pagelink $7 or $8 million: Blanchard E. Tual in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink “He had it from the eyebrows up”: Blanchard E. Tual to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary Looking for Colonel P
arker, 1999.

  pagelink “the worst decision ever made in the history of rock ’n’ roll”: Blanchard E. Tual quoted in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink “the conscious decision to make as much money”: Amended Report of Guardian ad litem, July 31, 1981.

  pagelink “Elvis had thirty-three songs”: Joe Moscheo to Beverly Keel for author, 1998.

  pagelink “collusion, conspiracy, fraud”: Amended Report of Guardian ad litem, July 31, 1981.

  pagelink “the compensation received by Colonel Parker”: Judge Joseph W. Evans quoted in People, August 31, 1981.

  pagelink “enter into any future agreements with Parker”: Randell Beck and Richard Powelson, “Judge Halts Payments to Col. Parker,” Memphis Press-Scimitar, August 14, 1981.

  pagelink $25,000 for small talk, $100,000 for a long conversation: Richard Harrington, “One for the Money: Elvis Presley Paid a High Price for His Fame,” Washington Post, January 24, 1997.

  pagelink “every effort to honor [Elvis’s] name”: “Elvis’s Manager Promises Defense of Fraud Charges,” Nashville Banner, August 17, 1981.

  pagelink “but also are unfair and insulting”: “Col. Tom Parker Denies He Ever Cheated Elvis,” Tennessean, August 16, 1981.

  pagelink “Elvis knew that I provided services”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in People, August 31, 1981.

  pagelink “nervous energy”: “Parker Calls Elvis Headstrong Client,” Memphis Press-Scimitar, September 9, 1981.

  pagelink “moody” and “headstrong”: Quotations in this and the next two paragraphs from “Parker Calls Elvis Headstrong Client.”

  pagelink “weren’t selling”: “Parker Calls Elvis Headstrong Client.”

  pagelink “really pushed”: “Parker Says Elvis Accusations ‘Insulting,’ ” Nashville Banner, August 31, 1981.

  pagelink “Elvis’s decisions in 1973 were correct”: “Parker Says Elvis Accusations ‘Insulting,’ ” Nashville Banner, August 31, 1981.

  pagelink “I never saw anything to indicate it was a partnership”: Blanchard E. Tual to author, 1998.

  pagelink “I am advised by my attorneys”: Affidavit of Thomas A. Parker, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

  pagelink “Yes, I am a man without a country”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Variety, June 24, 1983.

  pagelink “I did not receive more than Elvis did”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Baird, - “Couldn’t Have Saved Elvis.”

  pagelink “We figured the Colonel might die”: Blanchard E. Tual to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary Looking for Colonel Parker, 1999.

  pagelink “if Elvis had lived”: Blanchard E. Tual quoted in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink “Bitsy, if I was doing something wrong”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Bitsy Mott to Dirk Vellenga, raw interview transcript, 1983.

  pagelink “A couple of weeks after we opened Graceland”: Jack Soden quoted in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink sales of all things Elvis: Baird, “Graceland Earns Millions for Heir,” citing Forbes.

  pagelink “I didn’t hear from them”: Colonel Tom Parker to Ralph Emery, raw interview transcript, 1993.

  pagelink the Colonel’s $30-million tab: People, March 5, 1984.

  pagelink “I’ve had offers”: Colonel Tom Parker to Ralph Emery, raw interview transcripts, 1993.

  pagelink “Any time the Colonel came into view”: Bill Willard to author, 1998.

  pagelink “chronic brain syndrome”: Marie Parker, certificate of death, November 25, 1986.

  pagelink “To me, that’s not a real tribute”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Pat Embry, “The Colonel: In a Rare Interview, Elvis’ Promoter More Teddy Bear Than All Shook Up,” Nashville Banner, June 12, 1987.

  pagelink a black-hearted villain: A 1994 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune noted that Elvis purists view Parker as “the devil who traded the singer’s rock ’n’ roll soul for the demon Hollywood dollar.”

  pagelink “He wanted me to come to New York”: Colonel Tom Parker to author, 1993.

  pagelink “If they know so much”: Colonel Tom Parker to Ted Koppel, Nightline, August 16, 1987.

  pagelink “I’ll never manage anyone again”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted by Ed Koch, “Where Do You Go After Elvis? Parker Won’t Manage Again,” Las Vegas Sun, August 15, 1987.

  pagelink “We may have had dinner”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Las Vegas Sun, August 11, 1987.

  pagelink “We’re here to honor his memory”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 22, 1997.

  pagelink estrangement from the estate weighed heavily: “He never recovered.” Gordon Stoker to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary Looking for Colonel Parker, 1999.

  pagelink “He thought”: Joan Shoofey Richardson to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

  pagelink “None of ’em are memories for me”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Nashville Banner, June 12, 1987.

  pagelink “Well, it’s been too long”: Colonel Tom Parker, private videotape recording of press conference, January 8, 1988.

  pagelink “I don’t think there was any producer”: Colonel Tom Parker on private audiotape recording of Elvis Presley Birthday Banquet, Memphis, January 8, 1988.

  pagelink “I think”: Jack Soden quoted in Soocher, They Fought the Law.

  pagelink “special hello to an old friend of ours”: Priscilla Presley on private audiotape recording of Elvis Presley Birthday Banquet, Memphis, January 8, 1988.

  pagelink “shared an abiding friendship”: Jack Soden quoted in Memphis Commercial-Appeal, December 25, 1993.

  pagelink “As I recall”: Chet Flippo in e-mail to author, 1998.

  pagelink “They window-dressed it pretty nicely”: Joe Delaney to author, 1997.

  pagelink “He wouldn’t answer certain questions”: Merilyn Potters in e-mail to author, 1997.

  pagelink “I think the Colonel was sharp enough”: Joe Delaney to author, 1997.

  pagelink “Loanne hoarded money”: Jackie Kahane to Peter Whitmer, raw interview transcript, 1994.

  pagelink “He said, ‘Without her, I wouldn’t be living”: Author’s anonymous source, 1997.

  pagelink “When his sister walked into that room”: Lamar Fike to author, 2001.

  pagelink “The Colonel said he doesn’t wish”: Loanne Miller Parker to Mieke Dons-Maas, 1990, quoted to author, 1997.

  pagelink “I suppose he just wanted”: Mieke Dons-Maas to author, 1997.

  pagelink “spoke with great love and affection”: Loanne Miller Parker to Constant Meijers, raw interview transcript from the documentary Looking for Colonel Parker, 1999.

  pagelink “He talked a little bit of Dutch to me”: Constant Meijers to author, 1997.

  pagelink “He continued to gamble until the day he died”: Nick Naff to Art Nadler for author, 1997.

  pagelink “Now, when they’ve done all they could with [Elvis]”: Colonel Tom Parker to Craig Rivera, Inside Edition, January 1993.

  pagelink “Every once in a while”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Mike Weatherford, “Colonel Recalls King,” Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 8, 1995.

  pagelink “It’s hard to convince people”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Woody Baird, “Col. Tom Speaks Out on Elvis’ Drugs, Rock ’n’ Roll,” Associated Press, December 7, 1990.

  pagelink “Do you miss him?”: Chris Hutchins conversation with Colonel Tom Parker quoted in The People, January 25, 1997.

  pagelink “I’ve turned down more books for big money”: Colonel Tom Parker to Craig Rivera, Inside Edition, January 1993. See also The People, January 25, 1997.

  pagelink “seemed designed more to intimidate a number”: Michael Gray, “25 Percent of the King,” Guardian, January 23, 1997.

  pagelink “I got the book right up here”: Colonel Tom Parker to author, 1994.

  pagelink “I don’t know if a guy should put out a book”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Embry, “The Colo
nel.”

  pagelink “if I were to expire before completing it”: The People, January 25, 1997.

  pagelink “He freezes”: Loanne Miller Parker to author, 1994.

  pagelink “I teased him about it a couple of times”: Bill Willard to author, 1998.

  pagelink “I’ve got plenty to do”: Colonel Tom Parker to Ralph Emery, raw interview transcript, 1993.

  pagelink “People take up exercise, you know”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Embry, “The Colonel.”

  pagelink “Eddy [Arnold] calls me”: Colonel Tom Parker to Ralph Emery, raw interview transcript, 1993.

  pagelink “He was a lonely old man”: Author’s anonymous source, 1997.

  pagelink “very nice”: Tony Brown quoted in Rob Tannenbaum, “Rock and Roll to Colonel Tom: Tom Parker, 1909–1997,” Village Voice, February 4, 1997.

  pagelink “like a king would banish you from the court”: Lamar Fike to author, 2001.

  pagelink “warned them about what to say”: Peter Whitmer in e-mail to author, 2001.

  pagelink “shouting very loudly”: Chris Hutchins to author, 1998.

  pagelink “I’m healthy up in my mind”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in Weathersford, “Colonel Recalls King.”

  pagelink “exploited Elvis as much as he’s being exploited today”: Colonel Tom Parker to Craig Rivera, Inside Edition, January 1993.

  pagelink “I’m still working for you, Elvis”: Colonel Tom Parker quoted in James Kingsley, “Col. Parker Honored in Nevada,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 27, 1994.

  pagelink “he knew he was dyin’ ”: Gabe Tucker to author, 1997.

  pagelink “He said Elvis was as hard a worker”: Jimmie Dale Gilmore quoted in Tannenbaum, “Rock and Roll to Colonel Tom.”

  pagelink “In the last years”: Freddy Bienstock to author, 1997.

  pagelink “Loanne had to talk for him”: Author’s anonymous source, 1997.

  pagelink “He was my mentor, my teacher”: Jerry Weintraub quoted in Michael Fleming, “Weintraub, Shelton Team,” Variety, December 2, 1997.

  pagelink “He told me he loved me”: Jerry Weintraub at Colonel Tom Parker’s Memorial Service, Las Vegas, January 25, 1997.

  pagelink “Colonel, it’s Bruce”: Bruce Banke to Karen Schoemer, raw interview transcript, 1997.

  pagelink $913,000 in savings bonds, securities, and memorabilia: Petition for probate of will and codicils and for letters testamentary for the estate of Tom Parker, Las Vegas, February 5, 1997.