Columnist John Katsilometes: Elvis items: hunka-hunka burnin’ bucks

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 1999 | 9:23 a.m.

In 1968, his career reduced to a morass of brainless sing-along films like "Clambake" and "Blue Hawaii," Elvis Presley set out to resuscitate his tattered musical reputation.

He agreed to a network television special, performing many of his classic hits with old bandmates before a small studio audience. It remains one of Elvis' most satisfying triumphs, a professional apex preceding the sad years of pounds and pills.

But before Elvis squeezed his then-fit frame into black leather for that memorable show, he was required to sign a contract. And now that document can be yours.

For a price.

The largest Elvis (no pun intended) memorabilia auction ever has been scheduled for Oct. 8-10 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

It's an event certain to stretch the Elvis marketability until, like a too-small rhinestone jumpsuit, the seams are about to burst. More than 2,000 items will be on display, all carefully extracted from his Graceland mansion in Memphis.

In auctionspeak, the 2,000 or so pieces will be packaged "lots." A lot is made up of a single item or collection of items to be sold as a single entity, and there's a lot of lots -- more than 1,000 -- up for bidding.

"We view this event as one of the most significant auctions ever to deal with 20th-century pop culture," Arlan Ettiger, Guersney's auction house president and a master of understatement, said. "Elvis is still the most popular person on Earth and we have items from a source, Graceland, that carries an importance a private collection could never have."

True, this is no cotton-scarf-worn-during-a-1971-show-at-the-Frontier collection. Items provided by Presley's estate include the publishing contract for "Heatbreak Hotel" (Elvis' first No. 1 hit and first gold record), payroll checks issued to Elvis' early band members, performance contracts from Elvis' career ranging from 1955 to 1970, Elvis' exercise bike (in mint condition, we guess), a set of Elvis' army fatigues with related Army documents, his Social Security card, many original movie scripts from Elvis' 33 films and just about every canceled check Elvis signed while living in Graceland.

That's in addition to the various jewel-encrusted capes, concert boots and one-piece stage costumes.

The Elvis collection will be broken down in three phases -- the 1950s (along with a few pieces from the '40s), the '60s and '70s. An auction preview at MGM is set for Sept. 28-Oct. 7, and the entry fee is $40 (which includes the official auction catalogue, itself a collector's item).

Guersney's has attempted to package items with a shared theme. Ettiger remembers being given a copy of an old promotional poster for a Presley concert in Detroit in the mid-'50s. Graceland officials verified it to be the only known poster of its kind in existence and would, on its own, fetch a heavy price.

But the estate picked through its voluminous files and found the actual contract Elvis signed for that very performance. Bang. Now you have potential for a lot of spirited bidding.

"It is going to be a very, very valuable collectible," Ettiger said.

What gives the whole process a powerful dose of credibility is that at least $1 million raised from the auction will be transferred to the Presley Place, a project funded through the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation (EPCF). The still-to-be-constructed mini-city of a dozen or so units will be used to temporarily house and educate homeless families in Memphis.

The commitment from the EPCF, through the auction, could climb as high as $2 million.

"The purpose is to raise capital for a charitable endeavor," Graceland spokesman Todd Morgan said. "We have never had an auction out of Graceland. We had been asked, time and time again, to do it and always resisted because we feared people would misunderstand and think we were selling everything out of Graceland. But now, the time is right."

Is $1 million, or even $2 million, an attainable goal? Morgan gave a mild chuckle and said, "We're confident we can reach it."

So is Ettiger, whose auction house sold a single item -- Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from last season -- for $3 million.

"We know there will be a high level of interest from all over the world," Ettiger said. "This material has never left Graceland. It's authentic and it belonged to a man who literally helped change history."

Graceland, and the auctioneers, are doing more than just trying to sell stuff and raise money. Within the pure volume and personal nature of the collection is an inherent attempt to do what Elvis himself pulled off in '68 -- restore his image.

Beyond the statues, virtual-reality concerts and even "tribute" slot machines is a person. It's time to be reminded what he was all about, and why he was -- and is -- famous.

John Katsilometes'

column appears Tuesdays and Sundays. Reach him at 259-2327 or kats@vegas.com.