157-613: Robert Gene " Red " West (March 8, 1936 – July 18, 2017) was an American actor, film stuntman and songwriter. He was known for being a close confidant and bodyguard for rock and roll singer Elvis Presley . Upon his firing, West co-wrote the controversial Elvis: What Happened? , a tell all book about Elvis co written with a Rupert Murdoch journalist; the book was published in May 1977 in UK and later in USA (just two weeks before Presley's August 1977 death). West
314-656: A Senegalese man in Winston-Salem , North Carolina . The film received positive reviews and critic Roger Ebert remarked that "West isn't playing himself, but he evokes his character so fully that he might as well be. West's face is a map of hard living". His last film role was in the 2013 film Safe Haven as Roger, an elderly store clerk in Southport , North Carolina . West died on July 18, 2017, aged 81, from an aortic aneurysm , at Baptist Memorial Hospital in his native Memphis. His death occurred less than two months after
471-533: A cover of Carl Perkins ' rockabilly anthem " Blue Suede Shoes ". In February, Presley's " I Forgot to Remember to Forget ", a Sun recording released the previous August, reached the top of the Billboard country chart . Neal's contract was terminated and Parker became Presley's manager. RCA Victor released Presley's self-titled debut album on March 23. Joined by five previously unreleased Sun recordings, its seven recently recorded tracks included two country songs,
628-755: A jury-rigged echo effect that Sam Phillips dubbed "slapback". A single was pressed with "That's All Right" on the A-side and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" on the reverse. The trio played publicly for the first time at the Bon Air club on July 17, 1954. Later that month, they appeared at the Overton Park Shell , with Slim Whitman headlining. Here Elvis pioneered " Rubber Legs ", his signature dance movement. A combination of his strong response to rhythm and nervousness led Presley to shake his legs as he performed: His wide-cut pants emphasized his movements, causing young women in
785-519: A 1946 blues number, Arthur Crudup's " That's All Right ". Moore recalled, "All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool, and then Bill picked up his bass, and he started acting the fool, too, and I started playing with them." Phillips quickly began taping; this was the sound he had been looking for. Three days later, popular Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips (no relation to Sam Phillips) played "That's All Right" on his Red, Hot, and Blue show. Listener interest
942-464: A Bond TV series. Fleming later contributed ideas to NBC 's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. . In 1955, Ratoff and Michael Garrison formed a production company to make a Casino Royale film, with Ratoff set to direct and 20th Century Fox set to distribute. Production stalled when Ratoff and Garrison could not obtain financing. In 1960, Hedda Hopper reported that Ratoff's film would star Peter Finch as Bond. But Ratoff died that December and his widow sold
1099-499: A C in music in eighth grade. When his music teacher said he had no aptitude for singing, he brought in his guitar and sang a recent hit, "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me". He was usually too shy to perform openly and was occasionally bullied by classmates for being a " mama's boy ". In 1950, Presley began practicing guitar under the tutelage of Lee Denson , a neighbor. They and three other boys, including two future rockabilly pioneers, brothers Dorsey and Johnny Burnette —formed
1256-414: A behind-the-scenes power struggle. Garrison was replaced by Phillip Leacock, the executive producer of Gunsmoke , and Freiberger was supplanted by John Mantley, an associate producer on Gunsmoke . The exchange stunned both cast and crew. Garrison, who owned 40% of The Wild Wild West , knew nothing about the changes and had not been consulted. He turned the matter over to his attorneys. Freiberger said, "I
1413-474: A billion worldwide. He was commercially successful in many genres, including pop , country, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, adult contemporary , and gospel . He won three Grammy Awards , received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame . He holds several records, including the most RIAA -certified gold and platinum albums,
1570-453: A bouncy pop tune, and what would centrally define the evolving sound of rock and roll : "Blue Suede Shoes"—"an improvement over Perkins' in almost every way", according to critic Robert Hilburn —and three R&B numbers that had been part of Presley's stage repertoire, covers of Little Richard , Ray Charles , and The Drifters . As described by Hilburn, these were the most revealing of all. Unlike many white artists ... who watered down
1727-664: A champagne party", a Newsweek critic wrote. Amid his Vegas tenure, Presley, who had acting ambitions, signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures . He began a tour of the Midwest in mid-May, covering fifteen cities in as many days. He had attended several shows by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys in Vegas and was struck by their cover of " Hound Dog ", a hit in 1953 for blues singer Big Mama Thornton by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller . It became his new closing number. After
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#17328699361681884-410: A chandelier onto the stage floor and suffered a concussion . "A little gymnastics — chandelier work," he later explained. "I didn't chalk up properly and I went 15 feet to the concrete and fractured my skull. I was in intensive care for 72 hours, with a six-inch lineal fracture of the skull and a high temporal concussion." As a result, production of the series ended two weeks early. Conrad spent weeks in
2041-676: A dance venue in Memphis. When Presley played, teenagers rushed from the pool to fill the club, then left again as the house western swing band resumed. Presley quickly grew more confident on stage. According to Moore, "His movement was a natural thing, but he was also very conscious of what got a reaction. He'd do something one time and then he would expand on it real quick." Amid these live performances, Presley returned to Sun studio for more recording sessions. Presley made what would be his only appearance on Nashville 's Grand Ole Opry on October 2; Opry manager Jim Denny told Phillips that his singer
2198-536: A different role in "The Night of the Simian Terror". Antoinette vanished after her sixth episode due to demands by Dunn's jealous real-life wife. According to the television film The Wild Wild West Revisited , Loveless eventually dies in 1880 from ulcers , brought on by the frustration of having his plans consistently foiled by West and Gordon. (His son, played by Paul Williams in the TV film, subsequently seeks revenge on
2355-654: A henchman) in the CBS TV series The Wild Wild West and was personally friendly with that show's primary star, Robert Conrad. West was one member of a group of stuntmen used frequently by the show. West was credited in S3 E14 "The Night of the Iron Fist" as playing Roy (1967). He played Klaxton in S3 E18 "The Night of the Vipers" (1968). West was severely injured in a stunt gone awry while filming
2512-455: A local vocal quartet, the Songfellows, and another for the band of Eddie Bond . Phillips, meanwhile, was always on the lookout for someone who could bring to a broader audience the sound of the black musicians on whom Sun focused. In June, he acquired a demo recording by Jimmy Sweeney of a ballad, "Without You", that he thought might suit Presley. The teenaged singer came by the studio but
2669-532: A loose musical collective. During his junior year, Presley began to stand out among his classmates, largely because of his appearance: he grew his sideburns and styled his hair. He would head down to Beale Street , the heart of Memphis' thriving blues scene, and admire the wild, flashy clothes at Lansky Brothers . By his senior year, he was wearing those clothes. He competed in Humes' Annual "Minstrel" Show in 1953, singing and playing " Till I Waltz Again with You ",
2826-403: A minute to a basset hound wearing a top hat and bowtie. As described by television historian Jake Austen, "Allen thought Presley was talentless and absurd ... [he] set things up so that Presley would show his contrition". Allen later wrote that he found Presley's "strange, gangly, country-boy charisma, his hard-to-define cuteness, and his charming eccentricity intriguing" and worked him into
2983-418: A national celebrity. Accompanying Presley's rise to fame, a cultural shift was taking place that he both helped inspire and came to symbolize. The historian Marty Jezer wrote that Presley began the "biggest pop craze" since Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra and brought rock and roll to mainstream culture: As Presley set the artistic pace, other artists followed. ... Presley, more than anyone else, gave
3140-399: A pair of bestselling singles, the ballads " It's Now or Never " and " Are You Lonesome Tonight? ", along with the rest of Elvis Is Back! The album features several songs described by Greil Marcus as full of Chicago blues "menace, driven by Presley's own super-miked acoustic guitar, brilliant playing by Scotty Moore, and demonic sax work from Boots Randolph . Elvis' singing wasn't sexy, it
3297-670: A parody of Henry Kissinger . Agnes Moorehead won an Emmy for her role as Emma Valentine in "The Night of the Vicious Valentine". Other villains were portrayed by Ed Asner , Christopher Cary , Yvonne Craig , Robert Duvall , Anthony Eisley , Boris Karloff , Harvey Korman , Martin Landau , Delphi Lawrence , Robert Loggia , Ida Lupino , Burgess Meredith , Ricardo Montalbán , Leslie Nielsen , Ramon Novarro , Carroll O'Connor , Susan Oliver , Percy Rodrigues , Jo Van Fleet , Sam Wanamaker , William Windom , and H. M. Wynant . While
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#17328699361683454-414: A pastor at the family's church. Presley recalled, "I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it." In September 1946, Presley entered a new school, Milam, for sixth grade. The following year, he began singing and playing his guitar at school. He was often teased as a "trashy" kid who played hillbilly music . Presley
3611-455: A police guard because somebody'd always try to take a crack at him." The trio became a quartet when Hayride drummer Fontana joined as a full member. In mid-October, they played a few shows in support of Bill Haley , whose " Rock Around the Clock " track had been a number-one hit the previous year. Haley observed that Presley had a natural feel for rhythm, and advised him to sing fewer ballads. At
3768-516: A popular local television show. Pressed on whether he had learned anything from the criticism of him, Presley responded, "No, I haven't... I don't see how any type of music would have any bad influence on people when it's only music. ... how would rock 'n' roll music make anyone rebel against their parents?" The next day, Presley recorded "Hound Dog", " Any Way You Want Me " and " Don't Be Cruel ". The Jordanaires sang harmony, as they had on The Steve Allen Show ; they would work with Presley through
3925-794: A recent hit for Teresa Brewer . Presley recalled that the performance did much for his reputation: I wasn't popular in school ... I failed music—only thing I ever failed. And then they entered me in this talent show ... when I came onstage, I heard people kind of rumbling and whispering and so forth, 'cause nobody knew I even sang. It was amazing how popular I became in school after that. Presley, who could not read music , played by ear and frequented record stores that provided jukeboxes and listening booths. He knew all of Hank Snow 's songs, and he loved records by other country singers such as Roy Acuff , Ernest Tubb , Ted Daffan , Jimmie Rodgers , Jimmie Davis , and Bob Wills . The Southern gospel singer Jake Hess , one of his favorite performers,
4082-534: A recording session when an engine died and the plane almost went down over Arkansas . Twelve weeks after its original release, "Heartbreak Hotel" became Presley's first number-one pop hit. In late April, Presley began a two-week residency at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip . The shows were poorly received by the conservative, middle-aged hotel guests, "like a jug of corn liquor at
4239-503: A secret agent named Jim West who would perform secret missions for President Ulysses S. Grant . Ralston later sued Warner Bros. over the 1999 theatrical film Wild Wild West , which was based on the series. As indicated by Robert Conrad on his DVD commentary, the show went through several producers in its first season. This was apparently due to conflicts between the network and Garrison, who had no experience producing for television and had trouble staying on budget. At first, Ben Brady
4396-532: A show in La Crosse, Wisconsin , an urgent message on the letterhead of the local Catholic diocese's newspaper was sent to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover . It warned that Presley is a definite danger to the security of the United States. ... [His] actions and motions were such as to rouse the sexual passions of teenaged youth. ... After the show, more than 1,000 teenagers tried to gang into Presley's room at
4553-400: A slow, grinding version accentuated with exaggerated body movements. His gyrations created a storm of controversy. Jack Gould of The New York Times wrote, Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. ... His phrasing, if it can be called that, consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginner's aria in a bathtub. ... His one specialty is an accented movement of
4710-456: A story around it. In 1954, director/producer Gregory Ratoff purchased the film rights to Ian Fleming 's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale , for $ 600. CBS, meanwhile, bought the TV rights for $ 1,000, and on October 21, 1954, the network broadcast an hour-long adaptation on its Climax! series, with Barry Nelson playing American agent "Jimmy Bond" and Peter Lorre playing the villain, Le Chiffre. CBS also approached Fleming about developing
4867-476: A stunt double. "[W]hen I came back for the fourth season, I was limited to what I could do for insurance reasons," Conrad explained. "So I agreed and gradually I did all the fights but couldn't do anything five feet off the ground and of course that went out the window." After this incident, the show began using a common stunt technique, which filmmakers refer to as "the Texas Switch", in which a stuntman would start
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5024-527: A unique way. The series' pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", was filmed in December 1964. It was produced by Garrison and, according to Robert Conrad, cost $ 685,000. The episode was scripted by Gilbert Ralston , who had written for numerous episodic TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. (Western novelist and screenwriter Clair Huffaker also worked on the concept. ) In a later deposition, Ralston explained that he
5181-520: A vein similar to what would later be called steampunk ), in one case horror ("The Night of the Man Eating House") and humor. Episodes were also inspired by Edgar Allan Poe , H. G. Wells and Jules Verne . In the tradition of James Bond , there were always beautiful women, clever gadgets and delusional arch-enemies with half-insane plots to take over the country or the world . The title of each episode begins with "The Night" (except for "Night of
5338-630: A wall-to-wall lease on the lot starting in May 1963 and produced Gunsmoke and Rawhide there, as well as Gilligan's Island . The network bought the lot from Republic in February 1967 for $ 9.5 million. Beginning in 1971, MTM Enterprises (headed by actress Mary Tyler Moore and her then-husband Grant Tinker) became the Studio Center's primary tenant. In the mid-1980s the Western streets and sets were replaced with new sound stages and urban facades, including
5495-478: A year's worth of Saturday-night appearances. Trading in his old guitar for $ 8, he purchased a Martin instrument for $ 175 (equivalent to $ 2,000 in 2023) and his trio began playing in new locales, including Houston , Texas, and Texarkana , Arkansas. Presley made his first television appearance on the KSLA-TV broadcast of Louisiana Hayride . Soon after, he failed an audition for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on
5652-456: Is an American Western , spy , and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels were made with the original stars in 1979 and 1980 and the series was adapted for a theatrical film in 1999. Developed at a time when the television Western was losing ground to
5809-621: Is no pretense, and his reputation as the foremost Secret Service agent often precedes him. According to the later TV movies, West retires from the Service by 1880 and lives on a ranch in Mexico. When he retires, Gordon, who was a captain in the Civil War, returns to show business as the head of a troupe of traveling Shakespeare players. The show incorporated classic Western elements with an espionage thriller, science fiction / alternate history ideas (in
5966-426: The CBS television network. By early 1955, Presley's regular Hayride appearances, constant touring, and well-received record releases had made him a regional star. In January, Neal signed a formal management contract with Presley and brought him to the attention of Colonel Tom Parker , whom he considered the best promoter in the music business. Having successfully managed the top country star Eddy Arnold , Parker
6123-688: The Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. The express car (No. 21) and passenger car (No. 4) are also at the museum. Another veteran V&T locomotive, the Reno (built in 1872 by Baldwin), was used in the two Wild Wild West TV movies. The Reno, which resembles the Inyo, is located at Old Tucson Studios . The 1999 Wild Wild West film adaptation used the Baltimore & Ohio 4–4–0 No. 25, one of
6280-418: The best-selling Christmas album ever in the United States , with eventual sales of over 20 million worldwide. After the session, Moore and Black—drawing only modest weekly salaries, sharing in none of Presley's massive financial success—resigned, though they were brought back on a per diem basis a few weeks later. On December 20, Presley received his draft notice, though he was granted a deferment to finish
6437-490: The "comedy fabric" of his program. Just before the final rehearsal for the show, Presley told a reporter, "I don't want to do anything to make people dislike me. I think TV is important so I'm going to go along, but I won't be able to give the kind of show I do in a personal appearance." Presley would refer back to the Allen show as the most ridiculous performance of his career. Later that night, he appeared on Hy Gardner Calling ,
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6594-430: The 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. Some of Presley's most famous films included Jailhouse Rock (1957), Blue Hawaii (1961), and Viva Las Vegas (1964). In 1968, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed NBC television comeback special Elvis , which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave
6751-541: The 1960s. A few days later, Presley made an outdoor concert appearance in Memphis, at which he announced, "You know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I'm gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight." In August, a judge in Jacksonville , Florida, ordered Presley to tame his act. Throughout the following performance, he largely kept still, except for wiggling his little finger suggestively in mockery of
6908-408: The 1970s series Switch ). Young also claimed to have added the wry second "Wild" to the series title, which had been simply "The Wild West" in its early stages of production. Young's episodes (2–4) featured a butler named Tennyson who traveled with West and Gordon, but since the episodes were not broadcast in production order, the character popped up at different times during the first season. Conrad
7065-453: The Allen and Berle shows, Sullivan had opined that Presley "got some kind of device hanging down below the crotch of his pants—so when he moves his legs back and forth you can see the outline of his cock. ... I think it's a Coke bottle. ... We just can't have this on a Sunday night. This is a family show!" Sullivan publicly told TV Guide , "As for his gyrations, the whole thing can be controlled with camera shots." In fact, Presley
7222-673: The Casual Killer" in the first season). This followed other idiosyncratic naming conventions established by shows such as Wagon Train (1957–1965), where nearly every episode was titled "The (Name) Story" or "The Story of (Name)"; Rawhide (1959–1965), in which a majority of episode titles began with "Incident"; and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968), whose episodes were titled "The (Blank) Affair". Before The Wild Wild West , Robert Conrad played private detective Tom Lopaka in ABC's Hawaiian Eye for four seasons (1959–63). In November 1964, he
7379-474: The Country Disc Jockey Convention in early November, Presley was voted the year's most promising male artist. After three major labels made offers of up to $ 25,000, Parker and Phillips struck a deal with RCA Victor on November 21 to acquire Presley's Sun contract for an unprecedented $ 40,000. Presley, aged 20, was legally still a minor, so his father signed the contract. Parker arranged with
7536-457: The Fair", aired April 27, 1966, and "Days of Wrath", aired January 8, 1968). All three series were filmed at CBS Studio Center and shared other exterior and interior sets. Additionally, the train interior was used for an episode of Get Smart ("The King Lives?", aired January 6, 1968) and the short-lived Barbary Coast ("Funny Money", aired September 8, 1975). After its run on The Wild Wild West ,
7693-582: The Grand Emir" and "The Night of the Gypsy Peril"). He finally received "theme by" credit on both of the TV movies, which were scored by Jeff Alexander rather than Markowitz (few personnel from the series were involved with the TV movies). The animated title sequence was another unique element of the series. Created by Michael Garrison Productions and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, it was directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng and animated by Ken Mundie, who designed
7850-466: The Inyo and The William Mason appeared in the Disney film The Great Locomotive Chase (1956). The main title theme was written by Richard Markowitz , who previously composed the theme for the TV series The Rebel . He was brought in after the producers rejected two attempts by film composer Dimitri Tiomkin . In an interview by Susan Kesler (for her book The Wild Wild West: The Series ) included in
8007-636: The Inyo participated in the Golden Spike Centennial at Promontory, Utah, in 1969. The following year it appeared as a replica of the Central Pacific's "Jupiter" locomotive at the Golden Spike National Historical Site. The State of Nevada purchased the Inyo in 1974; it was restored to 1895 vintage, including a wider smoke stack and a new cowcatcher (pilot) without a drop coupler. The Inyo is still operational and displayed at
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#17328699361688164-650: The New York streets seen in Seinfeld . In 1995, the lagoon set that was originally constructed for Gilligan's Island was paved over to create a parking lot. Among iconic locations used for filming were Bronson Canyon ("Night of the Returning Dead" S02 E05) and Vasquez Rocks ("Night of the Cadre" S02 E26). The TV movies used Old Tucson Studios and Apacheland Studios in Tucson, Arizona, and Gold Canyon, Arizona, respectively. For
8321-453: The Phoenix", on The Fall Guy , Simon & Simon and in " The Once and Future King ", an episode of The Twilight Zone which concerned Presley. In 1989, West appeared in the action film Road House with Patrick Swayze as Red Webster, the auto parts store owner. West played the lead role in the 2008 independent film Goodbye Solo as William, an elderly depressed man who befriends
8478-544: The President, and solved crimes. The show featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Vernean technology has led several steampunk web sites to cite the show as a pioneering influence on the genre. This aspect was accentuated even more in the 1999 film adaptation. Despite high ratings,
8635-584: The United States from all manner of dangerous threats. The agents traveled in luxury aboard their own train, the Wanderer , equipped with everything from a stable car to a laboratory. James West had served as an intelligence and cavalry officer in the American Civil War (1861–1865) on Grant's staff; his "cover", at least in the pilot episode, is that of "a dandy, a high-roller from the East". Thereafter, however, there
8792-476: The Valley ". At the end of the show, Sullivan declared Presley "a real decent, fine boy". Two days later, the Memphis draft board announced that Presley would be classified 1-A and would probably be drafted sometime that year. Each of the three Presley singles released in the first half of 1957 went to number one: " Too Much ", " All Shook Up ", and " (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear ". Already an international star, he
8949-502: The agents.) Although several actors appeared in different villainous roles, only one other character had a second encounter with West and Gordon: Count Manzeppi, played flamboyantly by Victor Buono . Manzeppi was a diabolical genius of "black magic" and crime, who—like Dr. Loveless—had an escape plan at the end. Buono played a different villain in the pilot episode, and also returned in More Wild Wild West as "Dr. Henry Messenger",
9106-669: The album's cover image, "of Elvis having the time of his life on stage with a guitar in his hands played a crucial role in positioning the guitar ... as the instrument that best captured the style and spirit of this new music." On April 3, Presley made the first of two appearances on NBC 's The Milton Berle Show . His performance, on the deck of the USS Hancock in San Diego , California, prompted cheers and screams from an audience of sailors and their dates. A few days later, Presley and his band were flying to Nashville, Tennessee for
9263-447: The audience to start screaming. Moore recalled, "During the instrumental parts, he would back off from the mic and be playing and shaking, and the crowd would just go wild." Soon after, Moore and Black left their old band to play with Presley regularly, and disc jockey/promoter Bob Neal became the trio's manager. From August through October, they played frequently at the Eagle's Nest club,
9420-508: The auditorium. ... Indications of the harm Presley did just in La Crosse were the two high school girls ... whose abdomen and thigh had Presley's autograph. Presley's second Milton Berle Show appearance came on June 5 at NBC 's Hollywood studio, amid another hectic tour. Milton Berle persuaded Presley to leave his guitar backstage. During the performance, Presley abruptly halted an up-tempo rendition of "Hound Dog" and launched into
9577-531: The base, and bought an extra set of fatigues for everyone in his outfit. Presley was promoted to sergeant on February 11, 1960. While in Bad Nauheim , Presley, aged 24, met 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu . They would marry after a seven-and-a-half-year courtship. In her autobiography, Priscilla said that Presley was concerned that his 24 months in the military would ruin his career. In Special Services , he would have been able to perform and remain in touch with
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#17328699361689734-451: The bestselling " Hard Headed Woman ", and " One Night " in 1958, and " (Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I " and the number-one " A Big Hunk o' Love " in 1959. RCA Victor also generated four albums compiling previously issued material during this period, most successfully Elvis' Golden Records (1958), which hit number three on the LP chart. Presley returned to the U.S. on March 2, 1960, and
9891-473: The bland clothes he had worn on the first two shows, he stepped out in the outlandish costume of a pasha , if not a harem girl. From the make-up over his eyes, the hair falling in his face, the overwhelmingly sexual cast of his mouth, he was playing Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik , with all stops out." To close, displaying his range and defying Sullivan's wishes, Presley sang a gentle black spiritual, " Peace in
10048-542: The body ... primarily identified with the repertoire of the blond bombshells of the burlesque runway. Ben Gross of the New York Daily News opined that popular music "has reached its lowest depths in the 'grunt and groin' antics of one Elvis Presley. ... Elvis, who rotates his pelvis ... gave an exhibition that was suggestive and vulgar, tinged with the kind of animalism that should be confined to dives and bordellos ". Ed Sullivan , whose variety show
10205-475: The cartoon art in one of the corner panels. The style of freeze-frame art changed over the course of the series. In all first-season episodes other than the pilot, the panels were live-action stills made to evoke 19th-century engravings. In season 2 (the first in color) the scenes dissolved to tinted stills; from "The Night of the Flying Pie Plate" on, however, the panels were home to Warhol -like serigraphs of
10362-680: The cartoon effects and for West's getting himself out of trouble, and the heraldic western outdoor theme over that, so that the two worked together." Session musicians who played on the theme were Tommy Morgan (harmonica); Bud Shank , Ronnie Lang , Plas Johnson and Gene Cipriano (woodwinds); Vince DeRosa and Henry Sigismonti (French horns); Uan Rasey , Ollie Mitchell and Tony Terran (trumpets); Dick Nash , Lloyd Ulyate, Chauncey Welsch and Kenny Shroyer (trombones); Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman (guitars); Carol Kaye (Fender bass); Joe Porcaro (brushes) and Gene Estes, Larry Bunker and Emil Richards (timpani, percussion). Markowitz, however,
10519-491: The country field", "but there was a curious blending of the two different musics in both". This blend of styles made it difficult for Presley's music to find radio airplay. According to Neal, many country-music disc jockeys would not play it because Presley sounded too much like a black artist and none of the R&;B stations would touch him because "he sounded too much like a hillbilly ." The blend came to be known as "rockabilly". At
10676-462: The course of the series. He sketched his ideas for his characterizations and worked with the makeup artists to execute the final look. Martin told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe , "In the three years of the show, I have run a wider gamut than even those acknowledged masters of disguise, Paul Muni and Lon Chaney . Sometimes I feel like a one man repertory company. I think I've proven to myself and to
10833-534: The death of his cousin, actor Sonny West , in May 2017. His funeral and burial at Memorial Park Cemetery was held on July 24 in Memphis. In John Carpenter 's 1979 film Elvis , West was portrayed by Robert Gray . West was also portrayed by his son John Boyd West in the 2005 Golden Globe winning CBS mini-series Elvis and in the 21st episode of the fifth season of Quantum Leap , Memphis Melody. Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), known mononymously as Elvis ,
10990-477: The episode "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary"; according to Conrad and the show's stuntman and choreographer Whitey Hughes, West had broken his skull during one incident on the show (but they do not specify during the filming of which episode that this injury occurred). The show was ultimately eventually cancelled because of pressure from President Lyndon B. Johnson , members of Congress, and concerns from
11147-466: The film rights to producer Charles K. Feldman for $ 75,000. Feldman and director Howard Hawks were interested in making Casino Royale with Cary Grant as Bond. Eventually Feldman was offered $ 500,000 and a percentage of the profits to let Harry Saltzman and Cubby Broccoli make the film with Sean Connery. Feldman turned them down, and eventually produced the spoof Casino Royale in 1967. By then, Garrison and CBS had brought James Bond to television in
11304-706: The final occasion on which Black was to perform with Presley. On March 24, 1958, Presley was drafted into the United States Army at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas. His arrival was a major media event. Hundreds of people descended on Presley as he stepped from the bus; photographers accompanied him into the installation. Presley announced that he was looking forward to his military service, saying that he did not want to be treated any differently from anyone else. Between March 28 and September 17, 1958, Presley completed basic and advanced training at Fort Hood , Texas, where he
11461-474: The final three episodes to be filmed. The show's most memorable recurring arch- villain was Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless , a brilliant but petulant and megalomaniacal dwarf portrayed by Michael Dunn . Initially he had two companions: the towering 7'2" Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel ; and the beautiful Antoinette, played by Dunn's real-life singing partner, Phoebe Dorin. Voltaire disappeared without explanation after his third episode, but Kiel returned in
11618-452: The first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii . However, years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating severely compromised his health, and Presley died unexpectedly in August 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42. Presley is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sale estimates ranging from 500 million records to over
11775-442: The first season DVD boxed set, Markowitz recalled that the original Tiomkin theme "was very, kind of, traditional, it just seemed wrong." Markowitz explained his own approach: "By combining jazz with Americana, I think that's what nailed it. That took it away from the serious kind of thing that Tiomkin was trying to do...What I did essentially was write two themes: the rhythmic, contemporary theme, Fender bass and brushes, that vamp, for
11932-612: The forthcoming film King Creole . A couple of weeks into the new year, " Don't ", another Leiber and Stoller tune, became Presley's tenth number-one seller. Recording sessions for the King Creole soundtrack were held in Hollywood in mid-January 1958. Leiber and Stoller provided three songs, but it would be the last time Presley and the duo worked closely together. As Stoller later recalled, Presley's manager and entourage sought to wall him off. A brief soundtrack session on February 11 marked
12089-441: The freeze-frames. The end credits were displayed over each episode's unique mosaic of scenes. In the final season, however, a generic design was used under the end credits. Curiously, in this design, the bank robber is unconscious, the cardsharp has no card and the lady is on the ground, but the six-shooter in the upper left-hand panel has returned. The freeze-frame graphics were shot at a facility called Format Animation. The pilot
12246-565: The gritty edges of the original R&B versions of songs in the '50s, Presley reshaped them. He not only injected the tunes with his own vocal character but also made guitar, not piano, the lead instrument in all three cases. It became the first rock and roll album to top the Billboard chart, a position it held for ten weeks. While Presley was not an innovative guitarist like Moore or contemporary African American rockers Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry , cultural historian Gilbert B. Rodman argued that
12403-452: The hospital and had a long convalescence slowed by constant dizziness. The episode was eventually completed and aired early in the fourth season, with footage of the fall left in. Conrad later told Percy Shain of the Boston Globe , "I have the whole scene on film. It's a constant reminder to be careful. It also bolstered my determination to make this my last year with the series. Four seasons are enough of this sort of thing." Thereafter, Conrad
12560-460: The industry that I am the No. 1 character lead in films today." The industry acknowledged Martin's work with an Emmy nomination in 1969. Martin broke his leg in a fourth-season episode, "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", when he dropped a rifle, stepped on it, and his foot rolled over it. Martin told Percy Shain, "In the scene where I was hurt, my stand-in tried to finish it. When the shell ejected from
12717-607: The leading figure of the newly popular rock and roll ; though his performative style and promotion of the then-marginalized sound of African Americans led to him being widely considered a threat to the moral well-being of white American youth. In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender . Drafted into military service in 1958 , he relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. Presley held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of
12874-545: The lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker , who managed him for the rest of his career. Presley's first RCA Victor single, " Heartbreak Hotel ", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the US. Within a year, RCA Victor would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became
13031-589: The man. He has a right to say what he wants to say. He is a great success and a fine actor, but I think he shouldn't have said it. ... This is a trend, just the same as he faced when he started years ago. Leiber and Stoller were again in the studio for the recording of Elvis' Christmas Album . Toward the end of the session, they wrote a song on the spot at Presley's request: " Santa Claus Is Back in Town ", an innuendo -laden blues. The holiday release stretched Presley's string of number-one albums to four and would become
13188-704: The most albums charted on the Billboard 200 , the most number-one albums by a solo artist on the UK Albums Chart , and the most number-one singles by any act on the UK Singles Chart . In 2018, Presley was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom . Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi , to Gladys Love ( née Smith ) and Vernon Presley. Elvis' twin Jesse Garon
13345-486: The new season's ninth episode, "The Night of the Ready-Made Corpse", Garrison fell down a flight of stairs in his home, fractured his skull and died. CBS assigned Bruce Lansbury , brother of actress Angela Lansbury , to produce the show for the remainder of its run. In the early 1960s Lansbury had been in charge of daytime shows at CBS Television City in Hollywood, then vice president of programming in New York. When he
13502-700: The oldest operating steam locomotives in the U.S. Built in 1856 at the Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts , it was later renamed The William Mason in honor of its manufacturer. For its role as "The Wanderer" in the film, the engine was sent to the steam shops at the Strasburg Rail Road for restoration and repainting. The locomotive is brought out for the B&;O Train Museum in Baltimore's "Steam Days". Both
13659-417: The order. The single pairing "Don't Be Cruel" with "Hound Dog" ruled the top of the charts for eleven weeks—a mark that would not be surpassed for thirty-six years. Recording sessions for Presley's second album took place in Hollywood in early September. Leiber and Stoller, the writers of "Hound Dog", contributed " Love Me ". Allen's show with Presley had, for the first time, beaten The Ed Sullivan Show in
13816-848: The owners of Hill & Range Publishing, Jean and Julian Aberbach , to create two entities, Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, to handle all the new material recorded by Presley. Songwriters were obliged to forgo one-third of their customary royalties in exchange for having Presley perform their compositions. By December, RCA had begun to heavily promote its new singer, and before month's end had reissued many of his Sun recordings. On January 10, 1956, Presley made his first recordings for RCA Victor in Nashville. Extending his by-now customary backup of Moore, Black, Fontana, and Hayride pianist Floyd Cramer —who had been performing at live club dates with Presley—RCA Victor enlisted guitarist Chet Atkins and three background singers, including Gordon Stoker of
13973-469: The passenger car was constructed on Stage 6 at CBS Studio Center . Designed by art director Albert Heschong, the set reportedly cost $ 35,000 in 1965 (over $ 290,000 in 2021 dollars). The interior was redesigned with lighter wood when the show switched to color for the 1966–67 season. The train interior was also used in at least one episode of Gunsmoke ("Death Train", aired January 27, 1967) and in at least two episodes of The Big Valley ("Last Train to
14130-737: The passenger car, originally served the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada. They were among the V&;T cars sold to Paramount Pictures in 1937–38. The Inyo appears in numerous films including High, Wide, and Handsome (1938), Union Pacific (1939), the Marx Brothers ' Go West (1940), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Red River (1948), Disney 's The Great Locomotive Chase (1956) and McLintock! (1963). For The Wild Wild West , Inyo's original number plate
14287-447: The performance, crowds in Nashville and St. Louis burned him in effigy . His first motion picture, Love Me Tender , was released on November 21. Though he was not top-billed, the film's original title— The Reno Brothers —was changed to capitalize on his latest number-one record: "Love Me Tender" had hit the top of the charts earlier that month. To further take advantage of Presley's popularity, four musical numbers were added to what
14444-686: The pilot episode, "The Night of the Inferno", the producers used Sierra Railroad No. 3 , a 4-6-0 locomotive that was, fittingly, an anachronism : Sierra No. 3 was built in 1891, 15 to 20 years after the series was set. Footage of this train, with a 5 replacing the 3 on its number plate, was shot in Jamestown, California . Best known for its role as the Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction , Sierra No. 3 probably appeared in more films and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. It
14601-584: The popular Jordanaires quartet. The session produced the moody " Heartbreak Hotel ", released as a single on January 27. Parker brought Presley to national television, booking him on CBS's Stage Show for six appearances over two months. The program, produced in New York City, was hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey . After his first appearance on January 28, Presley stayed in town to record at RCA Victor's New York studio. The sessions yielded eight songs, including
14758-458: The producers had promised to rewrite the scripts for his new character, but this simply amounted to scratching out the name "Artemus Gordon" and penciling in "Jeremy Pike" (his character's name). Pat Paulsen (one episode as Agent Bosley Cranston) is frequently thought of as a Martin substitute, but he appeared in one of Aidman's episodes, and his character would have been present even if Martin had appeared. Martin returned in mid-December to work in
14915-502: The public over violence on television, which all of whom were concerned was causing, or would cause, an increase in violence across the country. Conrad himself also suffered a concussion falling from a chandelier in "The Night of the Fugitives" (and other injuries at various points of the series' production, including a "6-inch fracture of the skull, high temporal concussion, [and] partial paralysis."; after this, CBS insisted that he defer to
15072-493: The public, but Parker had convinced him that to gain popular respect, he should serve as a regular soldier. Media reports echoed Presley's concerns about his career, but RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes and Freddy Bienstock of Hill and Range had carefully prepared: armed with a substantial amount of unreleased material, they kept up a regular stream of successful releases. Between his induction and discharge, Presley had ten top-40 hits, including " Wear My Ring Around Your Neck ",
15229-403: The ratings. Sullivan booked Presley for three appearances for an unprecedented $ 50,000. The first, on September 9, 1956, was seen by approximately 60 million viewers—a record 82.6 percent of the television audience. Actor Charles Laughton hosted the show, filling in while Sullivan was recovering from a car accident. According to legend, Presley was shot only from the waist up. Watching clips of
15386-509: The record as a birthday gift for his mother, or that he was merely interested in what he "sounded like". Biographer Peter Guralnick argued that Presley chose Sun in the hope of being discovered. In January 1954, Presley cut a second acetate at Sun—"I'll Never Stand in Your Way" and "It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You"—but again nothing came of it. Not long after, he failed an audition for
15543-460: The record industry's largest company, Presley had accounted for over fifty percent of the label's singles sales. Presley made his third and final Ed Sullivan Show appearance on January 6, 1957—on this occasion indeed shot only down to the waist. Some commentators have claimed that Parker orchestrated an appearance of censorship to generate publicity. In any event, as critic Greil Marcus describes, Presley "did not tie himself down. Leaving behind
15700-608: The rifle, it caught him in the eye and burned it. We still haven't finished that scene. It will have to wait until I can move around again." A few weeks later, after completing "The Night of Fire and Brimstone", Martin suffered a heart attack on August 17, 1968 (this was exactly two years after the show's creator, Michael Garrison, died). Martin's character was replaced temporarily by other agents played by Charles Aidman (four episodes as Jeremy Pike), Alan Hale Jr. (as Ned Brown) and William Schallert (two episodes as Frank Harper), and West worked solo in two other episodes. Aidman said
15857-497: The role of Sheriff Tanner of Alcorn County, Mississippi in the 1973 film Walking Tall . He also reprised the role in the 1975 film Walking Tall Part 2 . West played the ornery, sometimes violent Master Sergeant Andy Micklin on Black Sheep Squadron . He guest starred twice on the CBS hit detective series Magnum, P.I. as different characters, as five different ones on The A-Team , the Knight Rider pilot episode "Knight of
16014-402: The series was cancelled near the end of its fourth season as a concession to Congress over television violence. The Wild Wild West told the story of two Secret Service agents: the fearless and handsome James West (played by Robert Conrad ), and Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin ), a brilliant gadgeteer and master of disguise. Their mission was to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and
16171-428: The series. "For the first few episodes we tried stuntmen," Conrad explained, "but the setup time slowed production down, so I volunteered. Things started moving quicker when I took the jumps and the spills. We started meeting the budget." Early on, he was doubled by Louie Elias or Chuck O'Brien. On January 24, 1968, however, during filming of "The Night of the Fugitives" near the end of the third season, Conrad fell from
16328-565: The session was captured on tape. The results, none officially released for twenty-five years, became known as the " Million Dollar Quartet " recordings. The year ended with a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal reporting that Presley merchandise had brought in $ 22 million on top of his record sales, and Billboard ' s declaration that he had placed more songs in the top 100 than any other artist since records were first charted. In his first full year at RCA Victor, then
16485-462: The show as a Bond spoof laid in 1870, and we all knew where we stood. Each new producer tried to put his stamp on the show and I had a terrible struggle. I fought them line by line in every script. They knew they couldn't change the James West role very much, but it was open season on Artemus Gordon because they had never seen anything like him before." On August 17, 1966, however, during production of
16642-516: The show became noticeably campier. The Wild Wild West was filmed at CBS Studio Center on Radford Avenue in Studio City in the San Fernando Valley. The 70-acre lot was formerly the home of Republic Studios , which specialized in low-budget films, including Westerns starring Roy Rogers and Gene Autry and Saturday morning serials (which The Wild Wild West appropriately echoed). CBS had
16799-624: The show was a fantastic success. And that's how it started, because he saw the nightclub act." Loveless was introduced in "The Night the Wizard Shook The Earth", the show's sixth produced, but third televised episode. The character became an immediate hit and Dunn was contracted to appear in four episodes per season. Because of health problems, however, Dunn only appeared in 10 episodes instead of 16. After 10 episodes (5–14), Freiberger and executive producer Michael Garrison were, according to Variety , "unceremoniously dumped," reputedly due to
16956-409: The show's writers created their fair share of villains, they often started with the nefarious, stylized and sometimes anachronistic inventions of these madmen (or madwomen) and then wrote the episodes around the devices. Henry Sharp, the series' story consultant, would sketch the preliminaries of the designs (eccentrically numbering every sketch "fig. 37"), and give the sketch to a writer, who would build
17113-410: The show. In the three seasons shot in color, the overall backdrop was an abstracted wash of the flag of the United States , with the upper left panel colored blue and the others containing horizontal red stripes. The original animation sequence is: Each episode had four acts. At the end of each act, the scene, usually a cliffhanger moment, would freeze, and a sketch or photograph of the scene replaced
17270-517: The somewhat stumbling rhythm" showed "the unmistakable emotion and the equally unmistakable valuing of emotion over technique." Assessing the musical and cultural impact of Presley's recordings from "That's All Right" through Elvis , rock critic Dave Marsh wrote that "these records, more than any others, contain the seeds of what rock & roll was, has been and most likely what it may foreseeably become." Presley returned to The Ed Sullivan Show , hosted this time by its namesake, on October 28. After
17427-594: The song " Separate Ways " with Richard Mainegra for Elvis in 1972, and " If You Talk in Your Sleep " with Johnny Christopher for Presley's 1975 album Promised Land . Red wrote " If Every Day Was Like Christmas ", recorded by Presley in 1966. In addition to writing for Elvis, Red had songs recorded by Pat Boone , Rick Nelson , Johnny Burnette , Johnny Rivers , Dino, Desi & Billy , Petula Clark , Gary Puckett & The Union Gap , Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra, and Little Milton , among others. In 1976, West
17584-399: The spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison , as " James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877), the series followed Secret Service agents James West ( Robert Conrad ) and Artemus Gordon ( Ross Martin ) as they foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over part or all of the United States, protected
17741-410: The star's films. During this time, West became good friends with actor Nick Adams and his physical abilities got him hired on as a stuntman on Adams' television series , The Rebel . From there, West went on to do more stunt work in film as well as developing a career as an actor in a number of motion pictures and on television. He frequently served as a stuntman and occasional actor (often playing
17898-409: The stunt before the main star appeared at its end to continue the show., was often used by Ross Martin and his double, Bob Herron. Conrad criticized congressional pressure for years afterwards, but in other interviews he admitted that it probably was time to cancel the series because he felt that he and the stuntmen were pushing their luck. He also believed the role had hurt his craft. West also played
18055-406: The swooning and screaming of teenage girls in the 1940s, decried rock and roll as "brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious. ... It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people. It smells phoney and false. It is sung, played and written, for the most part, by cretinous goons. ... This rancid-smelling aphrodisiac I deplore." Asked for a response, Presley said: I admire
18212-578: The time, Presley was billed as "The King of Western Bop", "The Hillbilly Cat", and "The Memphis Flash". Presley renewed Neal's management contract in August 1955, simultaneously appointing Parker as his special adviser. The group maintained an extensive touring schedule. Neal recalled, "It was almost frightening, the reaction that came to Elvis from the teenaged boys. So many of them, through some sort of jealousy, would practically hate him. There were occasions in some towns in Texas when we'd have to be sure to have
18369-420: The titles for the film The Great Race and the TV series Secret Agent , I Spy , Rawhide and Death Valley Days . The screen was divided into four corner panels abutting a narrow central panel that contained a cartoon "hero". The hero looked more like a traditional cowboy than either West or Gordon, and from each corner panel encountered cliché western characters and situations that never appeared in
18526-641: The two concerts he performed in September at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, fifty National Guardsmen were added to the police detail to prevent a ruckus. Elvis , Presley's second RCA Victor album, was released in October and quickly rose to number one. The album includes "Old Shep", which he sang at the talent show in 1945, and which now marked the first time he played piano on an RCA Victor session. According to Guralnick, "the halting chords and
18683-449: The young a belief in themselves as a distinct and somehow unified generation—the first in America ever to feel the power of an integrated youth culture. The audience response at Presley's live shows became increasingly fevered. Moore recalled, "He'd start out, 'You ain't nothin' but a Hound Dog,' and they'd just go to pieces. They'd always react the same way. There'd be a riot every time." At
18840-454: Was honorably discharged three days later. The train that carried him from New Jersey to Tennessee was mobbed all the way, and Presley was called upon to appear at scheduled stops to please his fans. On the night of March 20, he entered RCA's Nashville studio to cut tracks for a new album along with a single, " Stuck on You ", which was rushed into release and swiftly became a number-one hit. Another Nashville session two weeks later yielded
18997-494: Was "not bad" but did not suit the program. In November 1954, Presley performed on Louisiana Hayride —the Opry ' s chief, and more adventurous, rival. The show was broadcast to 198 radio stations in 28 states. His nervous first set drew a muted reaction. A more composed and energetic second set inspired an enthusiastic response. Soon after the show, the Hayride engaged Presley for
19154-468: Was a boxer in the Golden Gloves championships. In 1961, West married his wife Pat Boyd who was Elvis' secretary. Together, they had two children. West collaborated with Elvis Presley on two songs in 1961 and 1962, which Elvis got a token credit on, " That's Someone You Never Forget " and " You'll Be Gone ". "That's Someone You Never Forget" is the final track on the 1962 album Pot Luck . The song
19311-465: Was a devotee of Mississippi Slim 's radio show. He was described as "crazy about music" by Slim's younger brother, one of Presley's classmates. Slim showed Presley chord techniques. When his protégé was 12, Slim scheduled him for two on-air performances. Presley was overcome by stage fright the first time but performed the following week. In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee . Enrolled at L. C. Humes High School , Presley received
19468-743: Was a significant influence on his ballad -singing style. Presley was a regular audience member at the monthly All-Night Singings downtown, where many of the white gospel groups that performed reflected the influence of African American spirituals . Presley listened to regional radio stations, such as WDIA , that played what were then called "race records": spirituals, blues, and the modern, backbeat -heavy rhythm and blues . Like some of his peers, he may have attended blues venues only on nights designated for exclusively white audiences . Many of his future recordings were inspired by local African-American musicians such as Arthur Crudup and Rufus Thomas . B.B. King recalled that he had known Presley before he
19625-697: Was also known to American film audiences for his role as Red in Road House , alongside Patrick Swayze . West appeared to critical acclaim in the 2008 independent film Goodbye Solo as William. West was born in Memphis, Tennessee , to Lois and Newton Thomas West. West was the cousin of actor 'Sonny' West . While attending high school in Tennessee, West and Sonny met Elvis Presley . An excellent athlete and U.S. Marine , West played football for his high school and junior college at Jones County Junior College teams and
19782-448: Was an American singer and actor. Known as the " King of Rock and Roll ", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century . Presley's energized performances and interpretations of songs, and sexually provocative dance moves , combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations , brought both great success and initial controversy . Presley
19939-467: Was approached by Michael Garrison, who "said he had an idea for a series, good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could glue the idea of a western hero and a James Bond type together in the same show." Ralston said he then created the Civil War characters, the format, the story outline and nine drafts of the pilot script that was the basis for the television series. It was his idea, for example, to have
20096-546: Was attracting fans even where his music was not officially released: The New York Times reported that pressings of his music on discarded X-ray plates were commanding high prices in Leningrad . Presley purchased his 18-room mansion, Graceland , on March 19, 1957. Before the purchase, Elvis recorded Loving You —the soundtrack to his second film , which was released in July. It was his third straight number-one album. The title track
20253-517: Was born in Tupelo, Mississippi ; his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee , when he was 13. His music career began there in 1954, at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips , who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on guitar and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black , was a pioneer of rockabilly , an uptempo, backbeat -driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues . In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete
20410-685: Was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works in Paterson, New Jersey . When The Wild Wild West went into series production, however, an entirely different train was employed. The locomotive, a 4-4-0 named the Inyo, was built in 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. Originally a wood-burner, the Inyo was converted to oil in 1910. The Inyo, as well as the express car and
20567-562: Was criticized in the media for his involvement in a series of heavy-handed incidents with fans in Las Vegas . Elvis's father fired West, his cousin Sonny , and bodyguard David Hebler. The three subsequently looked for publishers to make money by writing the tell all book Elvis: What Happened? When Presley was making films in the 1960s in Hollywood , Red West appeared in small roles in sixteen of
20724-411: Was delivered 35 minutes before, stillborn . Presley became close to both parents, especially his mother. The family attended an Assembly of God church, where he found his initial musical inspiration. Vernon moved from one odd job to the next, and the family often relied on neighbors and government food assistance. In 1938, they lost their home after Vernon was found guilty of altering a check and
20881-416: Was devastated and never the same; their relationship had remained extremely close—even into his adulthood, they would use baby talk with each other and Presley would address her with pet names. On October 1, 1958, Presley was assigned to the 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32d Armor , 3d Armored Division , at Ray Barracks , West Germany, where he served as an armor intelligence specialist. On November 27, he
21038-610: Was doubled for the dangerous stunts, but still participated in fight scenes. Prior to The Wild Wild West, Ross Martin co-starred in the CBS series Mr. Lucky from 1959 to 1960, portraying Mr. Lucky's sidekick, Andamo. The series was created by Blake Edwards , who also cast Martin as villains in his films Experiment in Terror (1962) and The Great Race (1964). Martin once called his role as Artemus Gordon "a show-off's showcase" because it allowed him to portray over 100 different characters and perform dozens of different dialects during
21195-515: Was fired for accomplishing what I had been hired to do. I was hired to pull the show together when it was in chaos." Conrad said, "I was totally shocked by it. Let's face it, the show is healthy. I think Fred Freiberger is totally correct in his concept of the show. It's an administrative change, for what reason I don't know." Mantley produced seven (15–21) episodes, then returned to his former position on Gunsmoke and Gene L. Coon took over as associate producer. By then, Garrison's conflict with CBS
21352-546: Was in New York. Garrison said to himself, 'Michael Dunn would make the most extraordinary villain. People have never seen anything like him before, and he's a fabulous little actor and he's funny as hell.' And, Garrison felt, if Michael Dunn sang on every show, with the girl, it would be an extraordinary running villain. He came backstage and he told us who he was and he said he was going to do a television show called The Wild Wild West and we would be called. We thought, 'Yeah, yeah, we've heard all that before.' But he did call us and
21509-457: Was jailed for eight months. In September 1941, Presley entered first grade at East Tupelo Consolidated, where his teachers regarded him as "average". His first public performance was a singing contest at the Mississippi–Alabama Fair and Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, when he was 10; he sang "Old Shep" and recalled placing fifth. A few months later, Presley received his first guitar for his birthday; he received guitar lessons from two uncles and
21666-525: Was making the film Young Dillinger (1965) with Nick Adams , Victor Buono and John Ashley (all of whom would later guest star on The Wild Wild West ) when his agent sent him to CBS to audition for the West role. Conrad claimed to be the 17th actor to test for the part. Others tested included Robert Horton , Ray Danton and James "Skip" Ward. Conrad also claimed that John Derek left the audition without testing. Conrad performed nearly all of his own stunts in
21823-421: Was named producer, but he was shifted to Rawhide , which had its own crisis when star Eric Fleming quit at the end of the 1964–65 season. Rawhide lasted another 13 episodes before it was cancelled by CBS. The network then hired Collier Young . In an interview, Young said he saw the series as The Rogues set in 1870 ( The Rogues , which he had produced, was about con men who swindled swindlers, much like
21980-502: Was never credited for his theme in any episode; it is believed that this was due to legal difficulties between CBS and Tiomkin over the rejection of the latter's work. Markowitz did receive "music composed and conducted by" credits for episodes he had scored (such as "The Night of the Bars of Hell" and "The Night of the Raven") or where he supplied the majority of tracked-in cues (such as "The Night of
22137-558: Was not sorry to see Young go: "I don't mind. All that guy did creatively was put the second 'wild' in the title. CBS did the right thing." Young's replacement, Fred Freiberger , returned the series to its original concept. It was on his watch that writer John Kneubuhl , inspired by a magazine article about Michael Dunn , created the arch-villain Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless . Phoebe Dorin, who played Loveless' assistant, Antoinette, recalled: "Michael Garrison came to see [our] nightclub act when he
22294-436: Was originally a straight acting role. The film was panned by critics but did very well at the box office. Presley would receive top billing on every subsequent film he made. On December 4, Presley dropped into Sun Records, where Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis were recording, and had an impromptu jam session along with Johnny Cash . Though Phillips no longer had the right to release any Presley material, he made sure that
22451-502: Was popular when they both used to frequent Beale Street. By the time he graduated high school in June 1953, Presley had singled out music as his future. In August 1953, Presley checked into Memphis Recording Service , the company run by Sam Phillips before he started Sun Records . He aimed to pay for studio time to record a two-sided acetate disc : " My Happiness " and " That's When Your Heartaches Begin ". He later claimed that he intended
22608-453: Was pornographic." The record "conjured up the vision of a performer who could be all things", according to music historian John Robertson: "a flirtatious teenage idol with a heart of gold; a tempestuous, dangerous lover; a gutbucket blues singer; a sophisticated nightclub entertainer; [a] raucous rocker". Released only days after recording was complete, it reached number two on the album chart. The Wild Wild West The Wild Wild West
22765-581: Was promoted to private first class and on June 1, 1959, to specialist fourth class . While on maneuvers, Presley was introduced to amphetamines and became "practically evangelical about their benefits", not only for energy but for "strength" and weight loss. Karate became a lifelong interest: he studied with Jürgen Seydel , and later included it in his live performances. Fellow soldiers have attested to Presley's wish to be seen as an able, ordinary soldier despite his fame, and to his generosity. He donated his Army pay to charity, purchased television sets for
22922-673: Was released as a 45-rpm B-side single in 1967 and features on the Artist of the Century compilation. "You'll Be Gone" is a bonus track on the Girl Happy soundtrack LP. West co-wrote "If You Think I Don't Need You" with Joey Cooper for the motion picture Viva Las Vegas . He teamed up with Joey Cooper again on "I'm A Fool", which Ricky Nelson recorded, and which was later a hit for Dino, Desi and Billy (the partnership of Dean-Paul "Dino" Martin , Desi Arnaz Jr. , and William "Billy" Hinsche). West cowrote
23079-502: Was resolved and he returned to the executive producer role. Coon left after six episodes (22–27) to write First to Fight (1967), a Warner Bros. film about the Marines. Garrison produced the last episode of season 1 and the initial episodes of season 2. Garrison's return was much to the relief of Ross Martin, who once revealed that he was so disenchanted during the first season that he tried to quit three times. He explained that Garrison "saw
23236-416: Was shown head-to-toe. Though the camerawork was relatively discreet during his debut, with leg-concealing closeups when he danced, the studio audience reacted with screams. Presley's performance of his forthcoming single, the ballad " Love Me Tender ", prompted a record-shattering million advance orders. More than any other single event, it was this first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that made Presley
23393-400: Was such that Phillips played the record repeatedly during the remaining two hours of his show. Interviewing Presley on-air, Phillips asked him what high school he attended to clarify his color for the many callers who had assumed that he was black. During the next few days, the trio recorded a bluegrass song, Bill Monroe 's " Blue Moon of Kentucky ", again in a distinctive style and employing
23550-464: Was tapped for The Wild Wild West , Lansbury was working with his twin brother, Edgar , producing legitimate theater on Broadway. The first season's episodes were filmed in black and white and they were darker in tone. Cinematographer Ted Voightlander was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on one of these episodes, "The Night of the Howling Light". Subsequent seasons were filmed in color and
23707-450: Was temporarily assigned to Company A, 2d Medium Tank Battalion, 37th Armor . During the two weeks' leave between his basic and advanced training in early June, he recorded five songs in Nashville. In early August, Presley's mother was diagnosed with hepatitis , and her condition rapidly worsened. Presley was granted emergency leave to visit her and arrived in Memphis on August 12. Two days later, she died of heart failure at age 46. Presley
23864-400: Was temporarily changed from No. 22 to No. 8 so that footage of the train could be flopped horizontally without the number appearing reversed. Footage of the Inyo in motion and idling was shot around Menifee, California , and reused in virtually every episode. Stock footage of Sierra No. 3 occasionally resurfaced as well. These trains were used only for exterior shots. The luxurious interior of
24021-603: Was the Jailhouse Rock EP . Presley undertook three brief tours during the year, continuing to generate a crazed audience response. A Detroit newspaper suggested that "the trouble with going to see Elvis Presley is that you're liable to get killed". Villanova students pelted the singer with eggs in Philadelphia , and in Vancouver the crowd rioted after the show ended, destroying the stage. Frank Sinatra, who had inspired
24178-512: Was the nation's most popular, declared Presley "unfit for family viewing". To Presley's displeasure, he soon found himself being referred to as "Elvis the Pelvis", which he called "childish". The Berle shows drew such high ratings that Presley was booked for a July 1 appearance on NBC's The Steve Allen Show in New York. Allen , no fan of rock and roll, introduced a "new Elvis" in a white bowtie and black tails. Presley sang "Hound Dog" for less than
24335-444: Was unable to do it justice. Despite this, Phillips asked Presley to sing other numbers and was sufficiently affected by what he heard to invite two local musicians, guitarist Winfield "Scotty" Moore and upright bass player Bill Black , to work with Presley for a recording session. The session, held the evening of July 5, proved entirely unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to abort and go home, Presley launched into
24492-427: Was working with the new number-one country singer, Hank Snow . Parker booked Presley on Snow's February tour. By August, Sun had released ten sides credited to "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill"; the latest recordings included a drummer. Some of the songs, like "That's All Right", were in what one Memphis journalist described as the "R&B idiom of negro field jazz"; others, like "Blue Moon of Kentucky", were "more in
24649-524: Was written by Leiber and Stoller, who were then retained to write four of the six songs recorded at the sessions for Jailhouse Rock , Presley's next film. The songwriting team effectively produced the Jailhouse sessions and developed a close working relationship with Presley, who came to regard them as his "good-luck charm". "He was fast," said Leiber. "Any demo you gave him he knew by heart in ten minutes." The title track became another number-one hit , as
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