Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley Facts
| Sign | Capricorn |
| Born |
Jan 8, 1935 Tupelo, MS |
| Died |
Aug 16, 1977 Memphis, TN |
| Age | Died at 42 |
| Total Facts | 203 |
He is mentioned in the song "Three Minute Boy" by Marillion (from their 1998 album, "Radiation").
He is not related to Reg Presley (b: Reginald Maurice Ball), the lead singer of the popular British rock band The Troggs, which had 2 million sellers of their own, "Wild Thing" (1966) and "Love Is All Around" (1968).
He is responsible for the best selling single of the 1950s ("Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel", 1956) and that of the 1960s ("It's Now Or Never", 1960).
He named his four personal favorite films as: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Dirty Harry (1971) and Bullitt (1968).
He only performed two concerts outside of the United States of America. Both of them were in Canada. Therefore, all of his concerts were in North America.
He said that his favorite of all his films was King Creole (1958). He also said that the film of his that he disliked the most was s Clambake (1967).
He temporarily passed out from exhaustion, after recording "If I Can Dream".
He tried to get a print of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) to show his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, his last full day of life, on Monday, August 15th, 1977.
He unsuccessfully auditioned for CBS' "Talent Scouts" (1948) nine months before his successful debut on "Stage Show" (1954).
He used to play touch football at Whitehaven High School during the '60s and early '70s with kids around the neighborhood.
He was a 1953 graduate of Humes High School, in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was a born again Christian who loved to sing gospel music.
He was a distant cousin of former US President Jimmy Carter. Carter was in office from January 1977 to January 1981. When Elvis died on Tuesday, August 16, 1977, Carter said the next day, "Elvis Presley's death deprived our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable".
He was a fervent admirer of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and had hoped to meet him in 1966, but the meeting never occurred. Many observers believed that was because his manager, Tom Parker, didn't want to alienate Elvis' fans in the South, many of whom saw King as an "outside agitator" because of his civil-rights work among Southern blacks.
He was allegedly offered roles in The Rainmaker (1956), The Defiant Ones (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), West Side Story (1961), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), True Grit (1969), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), A Star Is Born (1976) and Grease (1978).
He was an avid collector of guns and badges.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6777 Hollywood Boulevard for Recording in Hollywood, California.
He was considered for Ricky Nelson's role in Rio Bravo (1959) starring John Wayne and Dean Martin. However, by the time filming began in May 1958 Presley was stationed with the US army in Germany.
He was discovered by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips.
He was drafted into the US Army in 1958, stationed in West Germany and discharged in 1960, achieving the rank of Private First Class. His being the army was a public relations headache, according to army documents released by the Pentagon on Thursday, June 9, 2005. "Elvis Presley will not be released in a manner different from any other inductee serving overseas," the Army's adjutant general wrote to citizens who complained following reports that the rock icon would get an early "good behavior" discharge. When he entered the army at Memphis, Tennessee, on March 24, 1958, there was a public outcry from his fans, and protests flowed to Washington, including a hand-written plea released by the National Archives and Records Administration. "Dear Mamie," one correspondent wrote to then First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. "Will you please, please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike [President Dwight D. Eisenhower] to please bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army? We need him in our entertainment world to make us all laugh." A 1959 Army memo set out the Presley problem: "When Private First Class Presley was first inducted, there was considerable adverse public reaction . . . alleging that he would receive preferential treatment
He was mentioned in Walter Kirn's novel, "Thumbsucker".
He was offered a role in the animation film, Gay Purr-ee (1962), but disliked the roles of off-screen voice acting.
He was on the school boxing team while attending Humes High School in Memphis, TN.
He was planning his first ever European tour in 1978.
He was portrayed by Jason Alan Smith in Crazy (2008/II).
He was portrayed by Peter Dobson in Forrest Gump (1994).
He was seriously considered for the role of the Texas Ranger in True Grit (1969) starring John Wayne. Unfortunately, Tom Parker's demand that Presley receive top billing could not be met, so the part went to Glen Campbell instead.
He was temporarily a Shelby County (Tennessee) deputy sheriff.
He was the #1 touring act in America for 1977; the year he died. This, despite the fact that he was well below par and only toured until July, is quite an achievement.
He was voted the 3rd Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
He worked with legendary guitar player Hank Garland from 1957 to 1961.
Held a single day's attendance record for his March 1974 shows at the Houston Astrodome--89,000 fans for two shows.
Held the world indoor attendance record for a concert. At the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit on December 31, 1975, 62,500 fans attended. The show also set a record for the biggest box-office take for a single show: $850,000.
Helped to support an All-Negro Day at the Memphis Zoo in 1956.
His 1960 single "It's Now Or Never" is one of the best selling singles of all time--if not the all-time best selling single--with sales estimated to have been between 25 and 30 million copies.
His 1977 country hit, "Way Down," was the #1 song on Billboard magazine's country singles chart the week of Elvis' death. Nine other songs would go to #1 on Billboard's country charts between 1956 and 1981: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget," "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," and the two-sided #1 hit "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel" (all 1956); "All Shook Up," "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" and "Jailhouse Rock" (all 1957); "Moody Blue" (1977); and "Guitar Man" (1981, a remixed version released more than three years after his death). Most of his 1950s #1 country hits were also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well.
His 29¢ commemorative postage stamp issued in 1993, sold more copies than any other postage stamp in U.S. Postal Service history.
His autopsy detected fourteen different drugs in his bloodstream, ten in significant quantity.
His autopsy detected ten different drugs in his bloodstream.
His death on August 16, 1977, was 29 years after baseball athlete and first home-run king, Babe Ruth's death, August 16, 1948 and 21 years after actor, Bela Lugosi, August 16, 1956.
His favorite actors were Marlon Brando and James Dean. In a 1956 interview he said that he considered Dean an acting genius.
His favorite actors were James Dean, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando. Brando personally strongly disliked Presley.
His favorite class in high school was wood shop.
His favorite sports were raquetball and football.
His funeral procession on August 18, 1977, consisted of 49 cars led by 11 white Cadillacs (Cadillac was his favorite car).
His hair color was blonde until his early teens. As he got older his hair became darker. By the time he had his hair cut for the army at age 22 its natural color was dark chestnut (according to Charlie Hodge, who served with him in the army).
His home Graceland in Memphis is the second most popular private tourist attraction in the United States after the White House, and is estimated to bring in $150 million to the city itself each year.
His last film, Change of Habit (1969), had him as a doctor in an urban clinic, reflecting his attempt to be "relevant" to the social activism of the youth of the '60s.
His live performance of "My Way" done early in his 1977 tour and featured on his October 1977 TV special was a million-selling single following his death.
His mansion, Graceland, is the second most-visited place in United States of America. The first is the White House.