Why didn't Elvis go back into acting.

[MissyM]

I've always wondered that. He was pretty much out of all his contracts right?? So rather than tour, why not look for some good acting gigs??? Maybe others have more info on this. Personally I loved his acting abilities and saw some during the 70's that weren't as good as he was. I would think that he would have been a very good draw.

[ehollier]

Missy, I thought you would have realized that his career was controlled by Col. Parker. Additionally, I think he was so inspired by performing live again, that he was happy to put those terrible acting years behind him. Perfomring in front of a live audience was like a like nurishment for his soul because, as much as he wanted to be an actor, it was always about the music from the time he was singing in church as a child until he drew his last breath -- his always about the music. And he said time and time again that he was inspired by the audience.

[franny]

Most of Elvis' movies were the same roles and the same storyline, with exception of a few...I don't think he wanted to continue with that, unless he was given the parts he wanted to play...

He was under contract and didn't have control over that..

I also think he just preferred performing before a live audience, he always said he missed it after the 9 yrs. of making movies...

franny

[Diane]

I totally agree with you Franny. He just plain missed performing for an audience and that's where he really belonged.

Diane

[epmoodyblue]

prob because of col parker that addictive gambler .....i agree elvis could of made movies like in 75 i think it was .with barbara striesand a movie...cant remember the title of movie--instead of waisting his time performing in vegas in 75 it got boring for him nothing new to do ;;;;;;HAD ELVIS CHANGED MANAGER IT WOULD OF BEEN BETTER FOR HIS CAREER... i bet elvis would of done just fine with barbara..

[presley31]

Most of Elvis' movies were the same roles and the same storyline, with exception of a few...I don't think he wanted to continue with that, unless he was given the parts he wanted to play...

He was under contract and didn't have control over that..

I also think he just preferred performing before a live audience, he always said he missed it after the 9 yrs. of making movies...

franny

agreed franny

Elvis really enjoyed being on stage and more so than he was making movies and lets not forgot the col always seemed to have a say regradles of how elvis felt

[SleepyJack]

I think his experiences with the whole movie industry in the `60s killed off his his acting ambitions,and it doesn`t really surprise me that he was in no great hurry to get involved in it again,much as he would have liked to have proven his acting ability,it is obvious that it meant a lot to him right from the beginning. It must have been like being handed a new life when he took to the stage again in `69...there was never any question of his ability there.

[MissyM]

I just don't see why he couldn't do both. I mean scheduling shows around making movies. And why couldn't he have just tried some serious rolls. See that's what I don't get about Parker. It could have possibly been a vehicle to make good money.
Yeh, I know Elvis loved the music, but no one can say he didn't love acting too. (he didn't like the roles he had at once time) But I think Parker was really stupid to not encourage that avenue for revenue.

[KPM]

ambitionsI think his experiences with the whole movie industry in the `60s killed off his his acting ,and it doesn`t really surprise me that he was in no great hurry to get involved in it again,much as he would have liked to have proven his acting ability,it is obvious that it meant a lot to him right from the beginning. It must have been like being handed a new life when he took to the stage again in `69...there was never any question of his ability there.

I think theres a lot to be said for that idea. He probably would have eventually done some more acting had he lived. Jerry Lewis quit acting for quite a while (his movies in the late 60s were less well received than even Elvis's last films) then he started taking more serious character driven roles and he was well received for it.

[Elvislives72]

In an interview on Elvis Express Nancy Rooks said that Elvis had planned to return to Hollywood to acting in 77 or 78. Maybe it's a good thing he didn't get to considering the horrible shape he was in at the time of his death.

[presley31]

I remember billy smith saying that elvis would say things but sometimes put them off so who knows what elvis would of done.

[shelley.m.]

I'm sure had Elvis been given the chance to make some great movies,he would have returned to making movies in the '70's.Elvis could have been a great actor,had it not been for Col.Parker.He stood in Elvis' way of making great movies.

[KPM]

I remember billy smith saying that elvis would say things but sometimes put them off so who knows what elvis would of done.

I'm sure if Elvis had real plans to return to acting someone other than Nancy Rooks would have heard it from him perhaps The COl. or Joe, or Charlie but none have ever hinted he had those plans.
I think if he did say something to her it was a random thought at the moment.
I mean 77 was 8 months gone when he died and there was no return to acting plans in the works.

[ehollier]

I just don't see why he couldn't do both. I mean scheduling shows around making movies. And why couldn't he have just tried some serious rolls. See that's what I don't get about Parker. It could have possibly been a vehicle to make good money.
Yeh, I know Elvis loved the music, but no one can say he didn't love acting too. (he didn't like the roles he had at once time) But I think Parker was really stupid to not encourage that avenue for revenue.

Missy, I think you seem to forget or don't fully grasp that "ELVIS" wasn't in charge of making those decisions in his career. It wasn't like he could just decide each day what HE wanted to do professionally. Col. Parker was completely in charge of his movie deals and when moved unto touring, Col Parker again was in charge.

[renapap05]

IMO he didn't go back into acting because he just wanted to make live concerts and he didn't want to make bad quality movies any more.

[Dino78]

Well it was Col. Parker who was in charge for every business decision. In the mid-sixties Elvis was the highest paid actor in Hollywood but when the earnings decreased Parker tried to find something new. Trough the '68 Special and encouraged by ELvis' wish to perform live again the concerts became the cash cow for him. In the same way he concentrated on movies in the sixties his focus was on the concerts in the seventies.
There were opportunities to act again. Barbra Streisand offered a role in "A Star Is Born" (later did by Kris Kristofferson) but for Parker the concerts promised a higher income.
It's Parker who has to take the blame but on the other hand Elvis never understood that it was his job to demand or insist on good roles. If he had done it he maybe had made such a singer and actor career as Sinatra (Academy Award winner, roles in "From Here to eternity" and "The Man With The Golden Arm"...).

[rickb]

but of course his 60s movies made money, so the ol' Colonel thought they were good.
After Aloha Elvis should have broadened his horizons and found new challenges but, while he did enjoy the live contact, there is no doubt that toil took a mighty toll on his health and his management was blind to it

[SleepyJack]

I can understand why a certain amount of the run-of-the-mill Presley movies continued to be made...profit is hard to ignore in any industry...what always surprises me is just how many ended up being made,despite their lack of artistic merit.....Do you think Elvis would have gone along with it had the contracts been for one or two films at a time and he hadn`t felt so obligated to make them?....Surely at some point it must have been glaringly obvious that they were doing more harm than good career-wise.

[Brian]

I think the reason was when Elvis started performing again he did it because he was tired of playing in the bad films and then in the 70's he wasn't offered any film projects except A Star is Born which wasn't a good film imo.

so his acting projects in the 70's were really slim.

p.s. speaking of A Star is Born I wish the Memphis mafia guys would stop talking about how the role would have been on par with Sinatra's in Eternity and actually sit down and watch the film.

[KPM]

I think the reason was when Elvis started performing again he did it because he was tired of playing in the bad films and then in the 70's he wasn't offered any film projects except A Star is Born which wasn't a good film imo.

so his acting projects in the 70's were really slim.

p.s. speaking of A Star is Born I wish the Memphis mafia guys would stop talking about how the role would have been on par with Sinatra's in Eternity and actually sit down and watch the film.

We have discussed this before-this film was a box office hit Grossing to date near $161 million (about $500 million when adjusted for inflation)
The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Evergreen" with the award shared by its songwriters, Streisand and Paul Williams, and was also nominated in the categories of Best Cinematography (Robert Surtees), Best Sound (Robert Knudson, Dan Wallin, Robert Glass and Tom Overton) and Original Music Score (Roger Kellaway). It won five Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Streisand), Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Kristofferson), Best Original Score (Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher) and Best Original Song, (
It was critically- fairly well received. So I'm not sure how it can be called a bad film.