The Jewish World of Elvis Presley

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Parker was born as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands, [4] the seventh of eleven children, [6] to Maria Elisabeth (Marie) Ponsie and Adam van Kuijk. [7] His father was employed in the military for twelve years and by the time Parker had been born, he worked as a liveryman. [8] Parker had French heritage through his great-great-grandfather Petri Ponci who arrived from Val-d'Oise to the Netherlands in the late eighteenth century. [9] As a boy, he worked as a barker at carnivals in his hometown, learning many of the skills he would later use working in the entertainment industry. [1] [4] A young singer, Tommy Sands, caught Parker's eye in 1952, and Parker immediately set about promoting him. [19] He arranged live appearances and became a father figure to the then-15-year-old Sands. [19] Parker had intended to mold Sands into the next Roy Rogers, but Sands had no interest in such a plan. Instead, Parker sent demonstration recordings to record producer Steve Sholes at RCA Victor. [19] Sholes showed little interest in Sands but promised that he would attempt to find songs Sands might be able to record. [19] Others had doubts about whether they were legally married. [72] According to interviews given by Parker to the Associated Press many years later, he and Marie were married in Tampa, Florida, during the winter of 1932 but the Florida Office of Vital Statistics has no record of such a marriage between a couple with those names at any time between 1927 and 1946. It is also recorded that Marie did not divorce her second husband until 1936, and her brother, Bitsy, recalled no ceremony of marriage between Parker and Marie. Author Alanna Nash has suggested that the couple may have simply placed their hands on a Bible and given themselves a "carny wedding". [72] The claim of Parker's Dutch heritage was publicly confirmed when Parker failed to avert a lawsuit brought against him in 1982 by asserting in open court that he was a Dutch citizen. The opposing counsel responded by presenting into evidence a copy of Parker's U.S. Army enlistment form which stated, through a legal loophole, that because Parker signed his enlistment papers under his alias "Thomas Andrew Parker" and swore allegiance to the United States, that he had renounced his Dutch citizenship. [67] [a] In 1993, in one of Parker's last media appearances, he was interviewed by Dutch TV director Jorrit van der Kooi. The two spoke in Dutch about the Netherlands and about Elvis Presley's life and career and Parker said he was not aware that another of his sisters, Adriana van Kuijk, had died in the Netherlands a few years earlier.

The menorah was originally owned by the family of George Copen, who moved to Tupelo from New York in 1953. Copen, now 75, told me that his childhood best friend in Tupelo was a boy who lived across the street named Jim Hill. Jim’s mother, Janelle McComb, was a close family friend of the Presleys. She first met Elvis when he was just a two-year-old, beginning a friendship that would last until Presley died in 1977 at his Graceland mansion in Memphis.window, document, "script", "https://95662602.adoric-om.com/adoric.js", "Adoric_Script", "adoric","9cc40a7455aa779b8031bd738f77ccf1", "data-key"); Dash, Mike (February 24, 2012). "Colonel Parker Managed Elvis' Career, but Was He a Killer on the Lam?". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved February 15, 2023.

Through the fundraising, Parker headed to Tennessee to find acts to perform at his charity events, [17] among them stars such as Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold. [18] Eventually, he began getting more involved in music promotion again, this time for himself rather than the Society. [17] In 1945, Parker became Arnold's full-time manager, signing a contract for 25% of his earnings. [18] Over the next few years, he helped Arnold secure hit songs, television appearances, and live tours. [18] Copen says he’s honored that so many people have the chance to see a family heirloom, which he believes sends an important message of tolerance that Elvis embraced. My parents never had even an inkling that Elvis may have been Jewish,” says Harold. “If they would, they would never have considered asking him to be a ‘Shabbos Goy.’” Doesn’t fit the context of the article??? What are you saying? We are talking about ancestry and we bring up Elvis’s Cherokee descent in the Early Life section and so to bring up Jewish ancestry as well in a follow up sentence absolutely fits the “context.” All this talk now about Elvis being Jewish — that’s really disturbing,” Judy Fruchter said. “Because if he was Jewish, my father was making him desecrate Shabbat. He’s probably turning in his grave.”According to the biography “ Elvis and Gladys” written by Elaine Dundy, a journalist and author, the connection came from his maternal side. The book — described as a “ definitive” biography of the icon —recounted Elvis’ early life and his relationship with his mother Gladys, and also dove into her family origins. This travelogue of sorts is a seemingly pointless documentary as the only people who is interested in Elvis's religion is only the film director and Schmelvis, a not so good Elvis impersonator who performs Elvis's songs with Jewish twist in an unspectacular fashion. The crew interviews several people around Graceland and people generally think that this is a non-issue that only the film crew is interested in. The accompanying rabbi steals the show with his edgy and down to earth views - he thinks the trip is delightful but useless as the film makers haven't prepared the trip at all with any sort of research. I agree. The article contains a lot of pictures, but none of them show Presley in his later years (after 1972). We are told that he gained a lot of weight and his health dramatically deteriorated after 1973 and especially by early 1977, but we are not shown his appearance. The commons category "Category:Elvis Presley by year" ends in 1973. I'm sure there must be a lot of pictures of him from 1975–1977 somewhere – he was a very famous, frequently photographed person and he continued to appear in public. It would be nice to have such a picture in the article. —⁠ ⁠ BarrelProof ( talk) 21:45, 3 June 2023 (UTC)

From 1974 onward, Presley's weight gain and prescription drug abuse became too much to be controlled. [55] In Las Vegas, he was starting to appear drugged on stage, slurring his words and forgetting song lyrics. [55] 1975–1977 [ edit ] For what it’s worth, the film has it right when Elvis gets suggestive with a plaster Nipper, the RCA dog, in concert. But it’s said to have happened at the Pan-Pacific show. He Only Took Credit for Elvis’s Success, Not Blame for His DemiseIt is estimated that more than one billion Elvis Presley records have been sold worldwide. From his early sessions at Sun Records to the end of his career and beyond, Elvis albums and singles enjoyed strong sales across every format–vinyl, cassette, CD and digital. In America alone, Elvis has had 150 different albums and singles that have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with more certifications expected as research into his past record sales continues and as current sales go on. It is estimated that 40% of Elvis Presley records have been sold outside the United States. For Presley's return in March 1960, Parker had arranged for a train to take him from Washington, D.C., to Memphis, with stops for fans to see their idol in person. [39] If Parker had doubts about his return, they were soon gone when he witnessed the turnout along the route.

Not done: This suggestion does not fit into the context of the article. "This belief" refers to Cherokee ancestry, not Jewish ancestry. Please also be aware that, even if it fit into the context, your suggestion would be excessively detailed (why do we need to know how Nancy and Abnder met?) and not entirely supported by reliable sources. Actualcpscm ( talk) 11:57, 18 November 2022 (UTC) Tools and services JPost Premium Ulpan Online JPost Newsletter Our Magazines Learn Hebrew RSS feed JPost.com Archive Digital Library Lists of Jewish holidays Law לוחחגיםומועדים 2023 זמניכניסתשבתAs the war against Hamas unfolds, our unwavering newsroom remains committed to covering Israel's most profound crisis.