Elvis as portrayed in series/movies

[Cherokee]

Okay, we've probably discussed this before, but I couldn't find a thread about it.

Let's compare the way Elvis was portrayed in various series and movies, and what your
thoughts are on the different portrayals and actors who were responsible, shall we?

Of course all depends on personal tastes..... I'll start with my opinion on the most known
productions.....


I found Kurt Russel's portrayal the best acting job so far. In some shots his face really
looked like Elvis, false eyelashes and all . Down points: Russell appeared too short and
stocky as compared to Elvis' build, and moved too fast when walking and dancing, where
Elvis always swaggered/sauntered more.



Michael St. Gerard to me always resembled George Michael more than Elvis Presley,
probably due to the fact that instead of a pouty upper lip, he had this tremendous
underbite His portrayal seemed all right, although highly romantisized and later I think
they went into the "crazy tantrum Elvis" way before that actually happened in real life. He
seemed tall enough, though a bit on the scrawny side, and his overall demeanor seemed
okay. He just wasn't pretty enough, though you could see who he was supposed to be
(contrary to some others I'll refer to later).


Dale Midkiff didn't look one iota like Elvis, except for the build and posture and overall
body language. He walked the best like Elvis of all the guys mentioned so far. His dancing
sucked. His portrayal was so so, but that was possibly due to the one sided look at Elvis in
the script (very pro Pris). He's a good, solid actor in most things he played in, so I really
have to put the quality of his performance in "Elvis and Me" down to the script.



Then there was that movie, "Heartbreak Hotel" in which Charlie Slatter played a boy who
kidnapped a seventies Elvis (David Keith) for his mom (Tuesday Weld). Keith, also, didn't
look one bit like Elvis AT ALL. But then, this was sort of a fantasy project, like a modern
day fairy tale so, not to be taken too seriously as an actual Elvis portrayal.

"Elvis Meets Nixon" was kinda goofish and truly didn't know whether to be a truthful
account of what happened or just a farce. It may have started up as either one. In the end
it was a weird mix with testimonials of some who truly knew Elvis, and some who only
marginally knew him. One Rick Peters portrayed Elvis: again didn't look or act one bit like
Elvis.

"Elvis and the Colonel", hmmm, another sloppy attempt to "tell it like it was"
Rob Youngblood (not helped by the HORRIBLE make up job later on in the movie) didn't
even remotely come close to looking anything like Elvis

That's it for me Interested in what y'all think of the various Elvis portrayals. There's
more than the above, I know, I just thought I'd stop here

[tcbtigerman]

So far i have to agree with you on a lot of what you wrote here.Dale midkiff did look the best when it came to body frame and walk,but that was about it for him.Kurt Russel did do a great acting jobI dont know if he looked too short on some scenes,i mean Elvis was only 5'11 and wore lifts half the time.I think Kurt is 5'10.But Kurt looked a bit more stocky.Michael St. Gerard did a good job.I loved tose series.Don Johnson(lets not forget that one,yuck!) Rob Youngblood,the guy from Elvis and Nixon,well They were just awful!!!And when it come to Jonathan Myers from the new miniseries,well i think hes a bit short,he looks around 5'7.In an interview he says he had to wear what he called his Frankenshoes to be almost as tall as Randy Quaid.But he does resemble Elvis in his features quite a bit.Let not judge until we watch.I think its going to be ok.: T

[Sonny]

Nice topic...

I guess the one answer is: they are all bad, aren't they?

If we would have to pick one of the bad ones it would be Kurt Russell for me.
He's the only one who kinda met Elvis and got to kick our man, right?

He also did a reasonable acting job in Elvis The Movie. The script sucked and did not get the facts right at all! Russell portrayed Elvis nicely though.

Later on he played an Elvis like part in 3000 Miles To Graceland. His playback act to Such A Night over the credits is just...well, cool...

Sonny

[Jungleroom76]

GREAT TOPIC CHEROKEE!!!

I have to agree with you on 90% of your assessment of the various actors who have portrayed Elvis! I have always loved Kurt Russell's portayal of Elvis and until the Elvis TV Special in the 90's, I thought he was far and away the best actor to step into Elvis' Blue Suede Shoes!

And while I still think very highly of Kurt's portrayal of Elvis, I have to respectfully disagree with you on Michael St. Gerard. I really thought he was OUTSTANDING in his interpretation of Elvis. Of course, there was only ONE Elvis as everyone will attest to....but in terms of the overall package, I really thought Michael captured the essence of Elvis in his early years just as well as Kurt did. Now if the show had moved on to Elvis' later years (which I am truly sad it didn't make it that far), I honestly don't know how Michael would have done handling those years, in terms of his acting! But I truly enjoy watching the TV series, especially for Michael's acting! I really thought the whole show was a top-notch effort, and one that I was very sad to see go by the wayside.

In terms of bad Elvis acting, as tcbtigerman pointed out, how in the world could we ever forget Don Johnson's attempted portaryal of Elvis in "Elvis And The Beauty Queen"? I honestly laugh every time I see that movie, just because of the incredibly BAD job he did!!

TCB!
Mike

[Cherokee]

Aawww, thank you guys Thanks for participating on this thread

Mike: oh, I definitely think Michael St. Gerard did a good job acting on the series, but it's
like what I said about Dale Midkiff, and actor can only be as good as the material he gets
to work with. So, I meant that the story of the series after several episodes seemed to get
a bit more romantisized than early on, you know what I mean? I think it may have been a
ratings decision.

As far as the Johnson attempt goes: I did not see that one. Should I?

As for Kurt's build: he may not have actually been much shorter than Elvis, but his build
(stocky) made him appear shorter.... that's what I meant And you're right, Sonny,
they did get quite a few things wrong. Still I liked the way Kurt handled the scenes around
Gladys' passing, at the hospital and later with Red, true or not

T: I do believe Jonathan is the shortest Elvis actor so far, but he's also very scrawny (plus
that hairline ugh), but he does have something especially around the eyes in common with
Elvis.....

Somebody said in another thread that he made Elvis look so troubled/dark in most promo
photos, which is true. I was surprised, looking back, to see how often Dale Midkiff laughed
during the first part of "Elvis and Me".... at least they attempted to get some of Elvis' humor in there.....

Well, we won't know how this latest effort will play. You guys in the US are so lucky to see
it soon. Can't wait to pass judgement after I've seen this CBS production

[ComeBackChick]

Dale Midkiff!!!! Yummie!!!

[nabelt24]

I think Don Johnson and Dale Midkaff were the worst Elvis' that ever wore sideburns!!!!
My opinion now, is that Kurt Russell and newcomer Jonathan Rhys Meyers are the best the represent the King!!!!

[Jungleroom76]

Aawww, thank you guys Thanks for participating on this thread

Mike: oh, I definitely think Michael St. Gerard did a good job acting on the series, but it's
like what I said about Dale Midkiff, and actor can only be as good as the material he gets
to work with. So, I meant that the story of the series after several episodes seemed to get
a bit more romantisized than early on, you know what I mean? I think it may have been a
ratings decision.

As far as the Johnson attempt goes: I did not see that one. Should I?

POINT WELL TAKEN CHEROKEE!!!

As for seeing ELVIS AND THE BEAUTY QUEEN....beware!!! Only watch this one if you are in the mood for a good laugh at arguably the worst Elvis impersonation EVER!!!!!

TCB!
Mike

[rick]

How about Bruce Campbell as `old' Elvis in `Bubba Ho-Tep'. I thought it was a great protrayal.
Otherwise, Kurt Russell leads the pack, with Don Johnson bringing up the rear
rick

[Memphisgurl]

i think that michael st gerard was excellent as elvis! i think he looks like him quite a bit. he was briefly in the jerry lee lewis biopic Great Balls Of Fire. what do you guys think of all those tribute artists? in other words impersonators. some look remarably like him but some REALLY dont? whats your opinion?



REMEMBER THE KING!

[1100ccRider]

i think that michael st gerard was excellent as elvis! i think he looks like him quite a bit. he was briefly in the jerry lee lewis biopic Great Balls Of Fire.

REMEMBER THE KING!

If I remember correctly, he also played Elvis in the film Heart of Dixie (or Hearts of Dixie...can't remember).

[1100ccRider]

How about Bruce Campbell as `old' Elvis in `Bubba Ho-Tep'. I thought it was a great protrayal.
Otherwise, Kurt Russell leads the pack, with Don Johnson bringing up the rear
rick

Bruce Campbell really nailed Elvis' voice, too -- it's most apparent in the alternate commentary track where he's in charatccter as the real Elvis trying to make sense of the film. That track is a classic, affectionately hilarious and showing off how well Bruce did his homework...makes a whole new way to see the film that's funnier than the actual film itself.

I agree about Kurt Russell. He also had the voice and little mannerisms down very well (he was the uncredited vocal overdub on the Elvis character in Forrest Gump, too) and was perhaps the best actor to yet play Elvis. Kurt's always been underrated as an actor and it's still his job on John Carpenter's Elvis film that I consider the best, overall. It was great to see him in Elvis mode again for 3000 Miles to Graceland.

Apart from Michael St Gerard who, from some angles, almost doubled for a young Elvis, most of the others neither looked nor had the overall physical presence of Elvis. That's okay, if the story's good and the film's good, which was most definitely not the case for Me and Me (oops, I mean Elvis and Me), that Don Johnson atrocity (a dwarf Elvis walking around in an orange jumpsuit?), and the abysmal piece of...um...junk...that focused on Elvis and the Colonel (poor Beau Bridges...did he even read the script before he signed on?).

[PaleRider]

Another Elvis portrayal was by Jeff Yagher in an episode of the 80's version of "The Twilight Zone" called "The Once And Future King." He wasn't really anything like Elvis...but it wasn't horrible and the story was interesting. I haven't seen this episode in years, though. This is actually out on DVD now, but I only have season 1 so far, and it is on the season 2 & 3 set. Maybe Christmas...

Incidentally, Michael St. Gerard also had a two-second cameo as the reflection of Elvis in one of the last episodes of "Quantum Leap," "Memphis Melody" in which Sam leaped into Elvis' body right before his first Sun session. If I remember correctly, Red West was a consultant for this episode, but there were lots of easily fixed fact-goofs nonetheless. (But hey, since they're mucking with timelines, anyway, I suppose it's excusable.)

Michael St. Gerard on the "Elvis" series is definitely my favorite to have attempted to walk in Elvis' shoes. This one was literally produced by EPE, but they did a decent job. Sure, it was dramatized, but it was an enjoyable show that I still wish had lasted four or five years instead of half a season. Too bad it came on against the Simpsons when that show became a break-out hit (hard to believe the Simpsons is STILL on the air all these years later). Just a year or two after this show, there was a surge in Elvis popularity due to the Elvis stamp here in the US. Just a year or two off in timing as far as the release of the show.

Anyway, Ronnie McDowell also did the best vocal job on this one, in my opinion, compared to his other Elvis projects. I think his voice is best suited to the Sun material - versus, say, "The Wonder Of You" or other later songs.

Personally, I prefer it when they use Ronnie's vocals instead of someone lip-synching to the real Elvis. Something just strikes me wrong about that (The "Heartbreak Hotel" fairytale movies comes to mind, plus clips I've seen of the recent "Elvis" movie, such as "If I Can Dream.")

The worst, by far, is Rob Youngblood of "Elvis & The Colonel: The Untold Story." Too bad they didn't leave that story untold and movie unmade. As I recall, since this was also a Dick Clark production (Dick, what were you thinking???),. the soundtrack was a re-use of Ronnie McDowell's vocals from 1979's "Elvis: The Movie" along with a couple (horrible) songs sung by Youngblood himself.

I remember Youngblood wouldn't tell the media which ones he sang versus Ronnie McDowell, but it was painfully obvious. Horrible, horrible movie on every count. I've only seen it once but I still haven't been able to purge it from memory... the knee-high "ELVIS" letters that were supposed to be the multi-story ones from the Comback Special (which, in this movie, was broadcast live a la "Aloha"). The "King" logo on this side of his plane instead of "TCB." As if Elvis ever called himself a king, much less painted it on the side of his airplane.

I didn't bother to watch the recent "Elvis" mini-series on CBS. These things just churn my stomach too much. And the actor seemed like a jerk, anyway, so why support it?

I remember Entertainment Tonight asking him (in their typical fashion) why he didn't put more weight on to play Elvis in the mini-series, and his answer was "I wanted to try to make him look good." If he had said, "What are you talking about? Elvis was thin as a rail during this time!" or something like that, maybe I would've watched. But hey, I shouldn't get so worked up over this stuff.

I would like, some day, to see a decent, balanced, theatrical movie about Elvis, though. They should wait a few years, though, as to get the "Elvis" mini-series taste out of everyone's mouth.

[Wendy56]

I like Michael St. Gerard. He looks like Elvis and is (obviously ) quite handsome. I believe he did a nice job playin the "king".

Kurt Rusell is the best "impresionator" for me (he knew Elvis more than those other guys that tried to do this role... extra-help for Kurt). The movie "3000 to Graceland" was so violent but Rusell's acting gave it a cute touch. Don't know why, but he can make me feel I'm watching Elvis. And I guess Kurt still looks really great! Jumpuits fits well on him.

P.S: By the way, nice pics Cherokee (!)

[Memphisgurl]

has anyone seen bubba-hotep? i mean it was weird

[Lindnet]

I rented it and TRIED to watch it. I just couldn't. It was way too weird for me!

[joanne]

Theres only one Elvis he was a one off and nobody could ever come close to him and its an almost impossible job for any actor so they shouldn`t really bother but out of them all Kurt Russell portrayed him with the respect he deserved and although Elvis-The Movie had flaws (I`m sure if they did it today it would be a lot better) it was still a movie I enjoyed although I haven`t seen it for a few years.