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Stumble33 years after death, fans remember Elvis Presley at Madame Tussauds
Joe Schaffer of Columbus, Ohio, takes a photo of his wife Charlotte at an Elvis Presley display in the Madame Tussauds Las Vegas wax museum Monday, August 16, 2010. To mark the 33rd anniversary of the King’s death, the museum played Elvis records, hired Elvis impersonators and gave free admission to anyone dressed as Elvis.
Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010 | 1:50 a.m.
Special Coverage
Madame Tussauds
- Hours (through Sept. 6): 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
- Cost: Tickets are $25 for adults, $18 for students and seniors and $15 for children ages 7 to 12. Children 6 and under are free.
- Location: At the Venetian, 3377 Las Vegas Blvd. South Suite 2001, Las Vegas, NV 89109
- Contact: (702) 862-7800 or madametussauds.com
Archive
- Elvis Presley: A love affair (2-14-2010)
- The King at 75: An oral history of Elvis Presley (1-8-2010)
Richard Mitchell remembers the shock he felt Aug. 16, 1977, when he first heard Elvis Presley had died unexpectedly. Weeks passed before that reality settled into his mind.
“It was like the president of rock ‘n roll was dead,” he said. “There was a void.”
Mitchell was one of dozens of visitors Monday at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas thinking about the King on the 33rd anniversary of his death.
Madame Tussauds hosted a daylong celebration to honor Elvis’s life and music. Elvis tribute artist Paige Poole performed some of the King's greatest hits and tried to mimic the blues croon while visitors had their pictures taken with a wax likeness of Elvis. Costumed guests received free admission to the museum.
Poole said he had tickets to see Presley, who died at age 42, perform a few days after his death. He, too, recalled a numbing shock when he heard the news.
“He’s a legend. I love his sound,” said Poole, dressed in that radiant suit, fitted with the hairdo. “I think he should be remembered as a giving person. Everybody has a weakness, but he never forgot who he was.”
Crowds gathered at the museum’s entrance to watch Poole perform. Visitors riding the escalators in front of the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes sang along and shook their hips as their own small tributes.
Mitchell explained the significance that Elvis, one of the true American icons, had for his generation.
“Here was a poor country boy that was making it big,” he said. “It was a whole philosophy of getting things done and having fun.”
Carol Gill, visiting from Sydney, Australia, said she remembers a young man with all the desirable attributes.
“He had an incredible voice. His smile. Those moves. He was a king,” said Gill, whose husband, Greg, added that Elvis was “Ten times better than the Beatles.”
Larry Edwards, a local performer trying to follow in the legend’s footsteps, explained the connection between the man and this city.
“When you think of Vegas, you think of Elvis,” said Edwards, outfitted with gold-rimmed sunglasses and signature sideburns. “This is mourning for Vegas.”
Elvis first came to Las Vegas in 1956, where his performance at the New Frontier and was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid applause. He returned in 1963 for the filming of “Viva Las Vegas” — its titular ballad remains the city’s unofficial theme song, covered by countless imitators — and received a star’s welcome.
He married his wife, Priscilla Ann Beaulieu, at the Aladdin in 1967. And in 1969, at a low point in his career, he took the stage at the International (now the Las Vegas Hilton), sold out 837 consecutive shows for more than 2.5 million people and engraved his name as one of the greatest entertainers in Las Vegas history.
He headlined there for seven years. On Monday afternoon, admirers had adorned Presley’s bronze statue with Hawaiian leis and rose bouquets. Someone left a copy of Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”
Long live the King. Elvis would have been 75 this year.
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brings to mind the SNL sketch where william shatner tells the crowd at a trekkie convention: " geez, it was only a tv show, you people got to get a life."
There are events in American history which shaped it. The Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere's ride, WWI, Pearl Harbor, Sinatra, JFK's Assassination, The Beatles, and Elvis Presley. Elvis made the scene in the early conformist era of the fifties and shook everything up.He took the music created by African Americans and Hank Williams, blended it together and served it up to the world and created Rock 'N Roll music, style, attitudes, and changed the world in the process. No small accomplishment..
hard to compare jfks' assassination or the attack of pearl harbor or 9/11 to rock and roll as a major part of our nations history.
Dipstick, they may not compare on a wholly political level, but it was an event that shaped history. Elvis paved the way for musicians of color into the mainstream and that in itself changed history. When you think of the contribution - both good and bad - that the music industry has had on society, it's mindboggling. If you look simply at the amount of money the music industry has raised for charity, the numbers are staggering. And they learned that from Elvis, one of the most silent and humble but great philanthropists of his time as well as one of the most patriotic people you could want to meet. Despite his lifestyle, he was true to his fans and followers and always wanted to help others - either by bringing them happiness through his talent, or helping someone to have a better life through his philanthropy. Did you know he is the reason the USS Arizona Memorial exists today? Without his benefit concert, that project would have never been finished and those soldiers never honored as they are. Gives one pause to think.
cinderelladream:
Your comment is ridiculous! Prisilla and Lisa Marie have nothing to do with it..
cinderelladream:
So what? they certainly deserve it being his surviving family, and most definitely the only people who didn't gouge Elvis when he was alive..
Someone is a bit jealous that they didnt make anything out of their life!