Cultural depictions of Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley has inspired artistic and cultural works since he entered the national consciousness. From that point, interest in his personal and public life has never stopped. Some scholars have even studied many aspects of his profound cultural influence.^[1] Billboard historian Joel Whitburn declared Presley the "#1 act of the Rock era".

The following lists cover various media which include items of historic interest, enduring works of high art, and recent representations in popular culture. Only people and works with Wikipedia articles are included.

For purposes of classification, popular culture music is a separate section from operas and oratorios. Television covers live action series, TV movies, miniseries, and North American animation but not Japanese anime, which appears with manga and graphic novels.

Advertising

2001 Audi Wackel-Elvis campaign ^[2]^[3]^[4]
2015 State Farm "Magic Jingle Elvis" commercial, directed by Roman Coppola ^[5]

Art

Guy Peellaert: Elvis Presley's Last Supper, Rock Dreams (1970-1973)
24 Hour Church of Elvis
Velvet Elvis
Andy Warhol: i) Red Elvis, sold in February 2000, privately, for US$2.9 million ii) Elvis 2 times, sold at Christie's in November 2007 for US$15.7 million, iii) Double Elvis, sold at Sothebys in May 2012 for US$37 million ii) Triple Elvis, sold at Christies's in November 2014 for US$81.9 million v) Eight Elvises, sold in December 2008, privately, for US$100 million vi) Gold (en) Boot (Slippers) Elvis Presley (price paid unknown)

See also: Elvis + Marilyn: 2x Immortal Geri DePaoli (Ed.), Rizzoli (1994), ISBN 0-8478-1840-3

See also: Elvis in Art Roger G. Taylor, St. Martin's Press (1997), ISBN 0-3120-1381-7

Celebrities

Elvis Costello adopted Presley's first name
Elvis Crespo, Elvis Dumervil, Elvis Mitchell, and Elvis Stojko were named after Presley
Junichiro Koizumi released a CD of his favorite Presley songs
Kaizers Orchestra has a stagehand who dresses like Elvis
Led Zeppelin tribute band Dread Zeppelin covers Led Zeppelin songs with a reggae beat, sung in the style of Elvis

Comics

Dark Future by Kim Newman: Elvis is a major character
Richie Rich/Jackie Jokers: two-part series "Happy Times"

Films

A Brighter Summer Day: Sir and his friends send tapes to Elvis; film's title is from "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"
Bubba Ho-Tep
Elmo in Grouchland: Huxley points to a Velvet Elvis as one of his possessions
Elvis & Nixon
Elvis Meets Nixon
Elvis Has Left the Building
Finding Graceland
Honeymoon in Vegas: Jack is aided by a band of Elvis impersonators
Hounddog: Lou gives Lewellen some Elvis records
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: Harry briefly brings Elvis back to life
Looney Tunes: Back in Action the song "Viva las Vegas"upon arrival in Las Vegas.
Heartbreak Hotel: Elvis is kidnapped by a fan's son
Independence Day: upon escaping the Mother Ship, Hiller declares "Elvis has left the building!" to which Levinson imitates Elvis saying "Thank you, thank you very much"
Let's Make Love: Elvis is satirized in an off-Broadway revue
Lilo & Stitch: during a sequence, Stitch plays ukulele to the guitar solo of "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" twice, the second time while impersonating Elvis; Lilo, Stitch, Nani, and David pose before Graceland; Presley's songs and images are featured
Man on the Moon: Andy Kaufman impersonates Elvis
Mystery Train: Elvis's ghost appears in a dream to Luisa; every room in the hotel has an Elvis portrait
Oblivion: Jack has an Elvis bobble-head doll
The Outsiders: the Greasers emulate Elvis
Pulp Fiction: an Elvis impersonator performs at Jackrabbit Slim's
This is Spinal Tap: the band visits Graceland
3000 Miles to Graceland: a group plans a robbery in Las Vegas dressed as Elvis impersonators
Top Secret!: Nick performs "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"; film parodies Elvis's musicals
Tropico: Elvis is shown in the Garden of Eden alongside Adam, Eve, Jesus, the Virgin Mary, John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe
True Romance: Elvis's ghost mentors Clarence
Wild at Heart: Sailor and Powermad perform "Love Me"
Wired: John Belushi impersonates Elvis

Literature

The Armageddon trilogy by Robert Rankin
Biggest Elvis by P. F. Kluge
Elvissey by Jack Womack
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Mostly Harmless ^[6]
The Kane Chronicles: Carter has to rob Elvis's tomb to obtain an important clue
King Clone by Ted Harrison
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band"
The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz
Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

Music

Plays/Musicals

Are You Lonesome Tonight?
All Shook Up
Beach Blanket Babylon
Bye Bye Birdie: hysteria ensues when an Elvis-like singer is drafted into the Army
Cooking with Elvis
Grease: Rizzo references Elvis in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee"
Happy Days
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Pharaoh is acted in the style of Presley
Million Dollar Quartet
Nunsense II: Sister Mary Hubert impersonates Elvis
Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Smokey Joe's Cafe: features the Elvis songs "Trouble" and "Treat Me Nice"

Popular Culture

Television

Alf: "Suspicious Minds", Alf and Willie suspect their new neighbor is Elvis
Boy Meets World: "Danger Boy", Elvis eats at Chubbie's and plays poker with Alan
Civil Wars: "Pilot", an Elvis impersonator is served with divorce papers
Crossing Jordan: "Miracles & Wonders", Nigel thinks a dead Elvis impersonator may actually be Elvis
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: "Blood Moon", the team encounters an Elvis vampire
Designing Women:
- Charlene is an Elvis fan
- "E.P. Phone Home", the ladies travel to Memphis for a tour of Graceland
- "Shovel Off to Buffalo", Mary Jo's shovel has Elvis's face impressed on it
E Street: "Episode 385", Ernie and Sally are married by an Elvis impersonator
Eerie, Indiana: Elvis walks of out his home to get the newspaper in several episodes
Elvis TV series
Elvis TV mini-series
Father Ted: "Competition Time"
Fireman Sam: a firefighter is named Elvis
Give My Head Peace: Uncle Andy is an Elvis fan
The Golden Girls:
- "The President's Coming! The President's Coming! Part 1", the ladies encounter an Elvis impersonator
- "Sophia's Wedding: Part 1", Sophia is married before an audience of Elvis impersonators
The Killing: "Unraveling", Holder references a Velvet Elvis
Las Vegas: theme song is "A Little Less Conversation"
The Last Precinct: King is an Elvis impersonator
Married... with Children: "I'm Going to Sweatland", the Bundys are inundated with fans when a perspiration stain on Al's shirt resembles a silhouette of Elvis
Miami Vice: Crockett owns an alligator named Elvis; Switeck is an Elvis fan
The Miraculous Mellops: several episodes features Elvis impersonators
The New WKRP in Cincinnati: "Long Live the King", Les's editorial denouncing a rival station's Elvis look-alike contest prompts a call from a man who claims to be Elvis
Nightmares & Dreamscapes: "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band", Elvis is the Mayor of Oregon
Nip/Tuck: "Joyce & Sharon Monroe", an Elvis impersonator wants to look more like Elvis
Pizza: "Dangerous Pizza", a group of Elvis impersonators get into a fight with a group of KISS impersonators
Quantum Leap: "Memphis Melody - July 3, 1954", Sam leaps into Elvis
Red Dwarf: "Meltdown", Elvis is part of a group Rimmer and Kryten lead against Adolf Hitler, who has taken Lister and Cat prisoner
Renegade: "The King and I", Reno thinks a stranger who helped him during a fight may be Elvis
Saturday Night Live:
- "Jackie Chan/Kid Rock", played by Karen Lynn Gorney
- "Matthew Broderick/The Sugarcubes", played by Kevin Nealon
- "John Madden/Jennifer Holliday", played by Andy Kaufman
- "Shelley Duvall/Joan Armatrading", played by John Belushi
7th Heaven: "The Heart of the Matter", an anesthetized Eric thinks he's Elvis
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
The Simpsons:
- "Viva Ned Flanders"
- "Viva Los Simpsons" 2005 DVD episode collection, Homer apes Elvis on the cover
Sledge Hammer: "All Shook Up", Hammer goes undercover as an Elvis impersonator to catch an Elvis impersonator killer
Sliders: "Pilot", Quinn sees a billboard of an elderly Elvis in Las Vegas
Spitting Image: Elvis parody "I'm Sure Livin' Since I Died"
The Twilight Zone: "The Once and Future King"
Vinyl, Richie Finestra president of record label American Century, attempts to bring Elvis to AC. The Colonel gets furious when he finds out Richie was going behind his back has Elvis point a gun at him.
Walker, Texas Ranger: "Suspicious Minds", the daughter of an Elvis impersonator witnesses a murder
The X-Files: "Never Again", Mulder travels to Graceland

Toys

McFarlane Toys line of Elvis action figures

Video Games

Fallout: New Vegas: one faction is called "The Kings", raiders who come across an Elvis Impersonator School.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Video Game Adventures: Elvis is one of sixteen "historical dudes" who can be rescued.
The SNES game Wayne's World Elvis appears as a level boss.

Miscellaneous

Wackel-Elvis dashboard figure from a 2001 Audi TV commercial

Elvis died three days before Groucho Marx; Groucho fans blamed Elvis's death for Groucho's death not getting as much publicity.^[7] Elvis and Groucho were next door neighbors in Beverly Hills, California. In 2006, Elvis's teddy bear Mabel, made in 1909 by Steiff, was on display at a children's museum near Wookey Hole Caves when an Doberman destroyed it. The insurance company had insisted that the teddy bears be protected by guard dogs.

According to several non-music magazines and publications, Presley ranks among the most significant icons, both in America and worldwide:

In 2005, BBC 2 explored how photography had influenced world events and named the people who had been photographed the most in a 10 episode television series entitled The World's Most Photographed. Other than Presley, no musician merited a separate episode, which comprised four women among a list of political leaders, thinkers, heads of state and actors.
Also in 2005, LIFE Magazine highlighted Elvis's advent in 1956, and the rock and roll revolution he ignited and included them in a special issue published in September 2005 and which they named "The 100 events that shook our world: a history of Pictures in the last 100 years".
In 2006, the Atlantic Magazine ranked him the 66th most influential American ever. No other individual involved in entertainment, other than Walt Disney, ranked higher.
In 2008, the MIT-launched "Pantheon" programme, which maps cultural production, ranked him the 117th most significant person of any nationality in recorded history. Only the Reverend Martin Luther King, a Nobel Peace prize winner, outranks him among all persons born in the United States of America.
In 2010, LIFE Magazine ranked him #96 in their list of the 100 people who changed the world. Only Charles Chaplin and Louis Armstrong ranked higher among entertainers.
In 2014, the Smithsonian Magazine issued a listing of the 100 most significant Americans of all time, which included Presley as well as another six singers and musicians. No rankings were provided.
Also in 2014, Wikipedia made a study on the most popular historic figures, insofar as the number of internet searches, with Presley landing in the #69 position, a rank higher than that of any entertainer from the 20th Century.
In 2015, National Geographic Magazine deemed his advent (and that of Rock Music) in 1956 an event of such importance, that it ranked 79th in their list of the 100 most significant events that changed the world since time began. No other entertainer is listed separately.

Actors who have played Elvis Presley

Actor	Credited character	Title (year of theatrical release, unless otherwise noted)
Jason Biggs	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Picasso at the Lapin Agile (2008)
Bruce Campbell	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Peter Dobson	i) (fictional) young Elvis Presley ii) The King	i) Forrest Gump (1994) ii) Protecting the King (2007)
Johnny Harra	Elvis Presley, age 42.	This Is Elvis (1981)
Tyler Hilton	young Elvis Presley	Walk the Line (2006)
Paul Hipp	Elvis Presley	Liberace: Behind the Music (1988) (TV-made)
Don Johnson	Elvis Presley	Elvis and the Beauty Queen (1981) (TV-made)
Harvey Keitel	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Finding Graceland (1998)
David Keith	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Heartbreak Hotel (1988)
Steve Martin	The visitor (Elvis Presley, age 21).	Picasso at the Lapin Agile (1993, play)
Gil McKinney	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Elvis Has Left the Building (2004, video release only)
Dale Midkiff	Elvis Presley	Elvis and Me (1988) (TV-made)
Chunkey Pandey	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Hello, Darling (2008)
Robert Patrick	(fictional) Mr. Aaron	Lonely Street (2008)
Ron Perlman	(fictional) Elvis Presley, age 27	Bubba Ho-Tep (2009)
Rick Peters	Elvis Presley	Elvis meets Nixon (1997) (TV-made)
Jonathan Rhys-Meyers	Elvis Presley	Elvis: The Early Years (2005) (miniseries)
Kurt Russell	Elvis Presley	Elvis (1979) (TV-made)
Martin Shaw	Elvis Presley	Are You Lonesome Tonight? (1985, play)
Frank Stallone	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Angels with angles (2005)
Michael St. Gerard	i)and ii) young Elvis Presley iii)(fictional) young Elvis Presley	i) Elvis (1990) (TV mini-series) ii) Great Balls of Fire! (1989) iii)Heart of Dixie (1989)
George Thomas	(fictional) Elvis Presley, as John Burrows	Memphis rising, Elvis returns- (2009)
Jeff Yagher	(fictional) Elvis Presley	The Twilight Zone Season 2, "The Once And Future King" (1986)
Jack White	(fictional) Elvis Presley	Walk Hard (2007)
Lloyd Ahlquist	Elvis Presley	Epic Rap Battles of History, episode "Michael Jackson vs. Elvis Presley" (Season 2, 2012.)
Michael Shannon	Elvis Presley, age 35	Elvis & Nixon (2016) (upcoming film)

References

↑ Richard A. Koenigsberg, "'I MOVE, THEREFORE I AM:' Elvis Presley, Rock 'n' Roll, and the Liberation of the American Body," keynote address at the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ELVIS PRESLEY (Monday, May 19, 2008).
↑ Fans Waiting in Line for Release of Wackel-Elvis, 06/11/2001, Die Welt (German)
↑ Audi Wackel-Elvis commercial (2001, British version)
↑ Audi Wackel-Elvis commercial (2001, German version)
↑ "State Farm: Magic Jingle Elvis" The Mill Accessed May 21, 2015
↑ List of minor The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy characters#Elvis Presley
↑ Raised Eyebrows: My Years Inside Groucho's House, Steve Soliar, 1996, Stoddart Publishing

External links

Quotations related to Elvis Presley at Wikiquote
Media related to Elvis Presley at Wikimedia Commons

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