presley31
11-01-2008, 06:24 PM
Book Excerpts from Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business
Elvis' co-star in G.I. Blues was the lovely Juliet Prowse. The native South African actress-dancer played a sexy nightclub dancer and Elvis' love interest in the film, but there were no sparks between them right off the bat.
"Man, I'll tell you, that is one cold chick," Elvis told me one day on the set.
Miss Prowse's icy veneer could have had something to do with the fact that at the time she was engaged to be married to a pretty well-known operator by the name of Frank Sinatra.
Although the two superstars had recently filmed a successful television special together, the Chairman of the Board was on record in the 1950s as disapproving of the music that made Elvis Sinatra's successor at the top of the charts.
Frank was nothing but cordial to Elvis in person and I truly feel he liked him; but I've always felt Ol' Blue Eyes was just a little jealous of Elvis because he dared to steal the mantle of teen idol and usurp Frank's popularity. While Sinatra was the idol of millions of bobby-soxers in the forties, Elvis became the gold standard by which every entertainer was measured.
Whatever her initial reservations about Elvis, the Presley charm, charisma and wit worked their magic on Juliet Prowse, and she loosened up after a while. We even discovered she had a great guffaw-like laugh. In no time she warmed up to everyone and we ended up having a lot of fun.
Exactly how much fun Juliet and Elvis were having together off the set has long been a matter of speculation. I know they were greatly attracted to one another and they spent an inordinate amount of time in Elvis' trailer on the set. I don't know if they were just going over their lines or if they were acting out their love scenes in private; but I did notice that Elvis got quite antsy the first time he heard Sinatra was on the set looking for his girl. He and Juliet were ensconced in Elvis' trailer, and with Red in the lead; we decided to have a little fun.
"Elvis! Elvis!" Red rasped outside the trailer door. "Don't try anything, Elvis! Frank's coming around the corner!"
There was the sound of frantic scrambling from inside the trailer, and then Elvis appeared at the door looking very concerned.
When he asked where Frank was, we laughed and said we were just kidding. "You sons of *****es," Elvis said. At least he was smiling.
Juliet laughed, too. Everybody enjoyed our little prank so much that we repeated it several times. Predictably, as in the case of the boy who cried wolf, nobody took us seriously anymore.
Then one day during a lunch break, this little dapper figure appeared on the horizon strolling through the big soundstage doors with that pork pie hat and silhouette. It wasn't Mickey Rooney. I remember thinking, Man, I hope there isn't anything going on behind closed doors.
"Yes, Mr. Sinatra. How are you, sir?" I said, trying to stall.
"I'm fine, thank you. Do you happen to know where I can find Juliet Prowse?"
"Yes sir, she and Elvis are going over their lines right now," I answered, trying to knock on the door. I'd have tried to stall Sinatra a little longer, but he just didn't look like he was in the mood to shoot the bull right then.
Luckily, Elvis and Juliet heard Frank's voice from inside the trailer. Whatever was going on in there stopped, and when Elvis opened the door, Juliet was sitting on the couch with the script on her lap.
We never repeated that prank again, but it didn't put an end to our worries about keeping Elvis in one piece if Frank ever found him and his fiancée in a tryst.
It almost happened again, according to Lamar, when Elvis decided to have a "reading" with Juliet in his bedroom at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Lamar was there, and Elvis asked him to go gas up Juliet's car.
Frank had given Juliet a Dual-Ghia, a rare, fabulously expensive American-Italian hybrid car. Frank and Dean Martin each had one of their own, and I'm sure you could count on one hand all the Ghias (only 125 were made over an eight-year period) in Los Angeles.
As Lamar was filling up the tank with gas, ****ed if a limousine didn't pull right up next to him. And double-****ed if Frank Sinatra didn't pop out of the rear door.
"Where's Juliet?" Frank inquired, and not in a very positive tone I might add.
"She's back at the hotel with Elvis rehearsing their lines," Lamar said.
Frank's limo almost did a wheelie peeling out of there, and as soon as the smoke cleared, Lamar took off in the Ghia in the same direction. Their destinations were the same: the Beverly Wilshire.
Sinatra got there first, and as Frank strode toward the elevator, Lamar ran for the house phone.
"Frank's coming up!" Lamar yelled when Elvis answered.
"Oh not this again!" Elvis groaned.
"No, Elvis, it's the truth!" Lamar screamed. "He's on his way up! The man is getting on the elevator and he's coming up."
Elvis and Juliet were fully dressed when they greeted Sinatra at the door a minute later. The first time they weren't caught was pure luck. The second time, I'm fully convinced, was divine intervention.
Source:http://www.rockandrolltours.com/elvis.htm
Elvis' co-star in G.I. Blues was the lovely Juliet Prowse. The native South African actress-dancer played a sexy nightclub dancer and Elvis' love interest in the film, but there were no sparks between them right off the bat.
"Man, I'll tell you, that is one cold chick," Elvis told me one day on the set.
Miss Prowse's icy veneer could have had something to do with the fact that at the time she was engaged to be married to a pretty well-known operator by the name of Frank Sinatra.
Although the two superstars had recently filmed a successful television special together, the Chairman of the Board was on record in the 1950s as disapproving of the music that made Elvis Sinatra's successor at the top of the charts.
Frank was nothing but cordial to Elvis in person and I truly feel he liked him; but I've always felt Ol' Blue Eyes was just a little jealous of Elvis because he dared to steal the mantle of teen idol and usurp Frank's popularity. While Sinatra was the idol of millions of bobby-soxers in the forties, Elvis became the gold standard by which every entertainer was measured.
Whatever her initial reservations about Elvis, the Presley charm, charisma and wit worked their magic on Juliet Prowse, and she loosened up after a while. We even discovered she had a great guffaw-like laugh. In no time she warmed up to everyone and we ended up having a lot of fun.
Exactly how much fun Juliet and Elvis were having together off the set has long been a matter of speculation. I know they were greatly attracted to one another and they spent an inordinate amount of time in Elvis' trailer on the set. I don't know if they were just going over their lines or if they were acting out their love scenes in private; but I did notice that Elvis got quite antsy the first time he heard Sinatra was on the set looking for his girl. He and Juliet were ensconced in Elvis' trailer, and with Red in the lead; we decided to have a little fun.
"Elvis! Elvis!" Red rasped outside the trailer door. "Don't try anything, Elvis! Frank's coming around the corner!"
There was the sound of frantic scrambling from inside the trailer, and then Elvis appeared at the door looking very concerned.
When he asked where Frank was, we laughed and said we were just kidding. "You sons of *****es," Elvis said. At least he was smiling.
Juliet laughed, too. Everybody enjoyed our little prank so much that we repeated it several times. Predictably, as in the case of the boy who cried wolf, nobody took us seriously anymore.
Then one day during a lunch break, this little dapper figure appeared on the horizon strolling through the big soundstage doors with that pork pie hat and silhouette. It wasn't Mickey Rooney. I remember thinking, Man, I hope there isn't anything going on behind closed doors.
"Yes, Mr. Sinatra. How are you, sir?" I said, trying to stall.
"I'm fine, thank you. Do you happen to know where I can find Juliet Prowse?"
"Yes sir, she and Elvis are going over their lines right now," I answered, trying to knock on the door. I'd have tried to stall Sinatra a little longer, but he just didn't look like he was in the mood to shoot the bull right then.
Luckily, Elvis and Juliet heard Frank's voice from inside the trailer. Whatever was going on in there stopped, and when Elvis opened the door, Juliet was sitting on the couch with the script on her lap.
We never repeated that prank again, but it didn't put an end to our worries about keeping Elvis in one piece if Frank ever found him and his fiancée in a tryst.
It almost happened again, according to Lamar, when Elvis decided to have a "reading" with Juliet in his bedroom at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Lamar was there, and Elvis asked him to go gas up Juliet's car.
Frank had given Juliet a Dual-Ghia, a rare, fabulously expensive American-Italian hybrid car. Frank and Dean Martin each had one of their own, and I'm sure you could count on one hand all the Ghias (only 125 were made over an eight-year period) in Los Angeles.
As Lamar was filling up the tank with gas, ****ed if a limousine didn't pull right up next to him. And double-****ed if Frank Sinatra didn't pop out of the rear door.
"Where's Juliet?" Frank inquired, and not in a very positive tone I might add.
"She's back at the hotel with Elvis rehearsing their lines," Lamar said.
Frank's limo almost did a wheelie peeling out of there, and as soon as the smoke cleared, Lamar took off in the Ghia in the same direction. Their destinations were the same: the Beverly Wilshire.
Sinatra got there first, and as Frank strode toward the elevator, Lamar ran for the house phone.
"Frank's coming up!" Lamar yelled when Elvis answered.
"Oh not this again!" Elvis groaned.
"No, Elvis, it's the truth!" Lamar screamed. "He's on his way up! The man is getting on the elevator and he's coming up."
Elvis and Juliet were fully dressed when they greeted Sinatra at the door a minute later. The first time they weren't caught was pure luck. The second time, I'm fully convinced, was divine intervention.
Source:http://www.rockandrolltours.com/elvis.htm