COLONEL PARKER NEGOTIATING
Elvis: “…the Hollywood people hated Colonel Parker; they would rather see the devil himself than the Colonel making the contracts.”
When the Colonel was negotiating the contract for “Love Me Tender,” Elvis’ first film, the producers wanted to pay him the standard salary, according to the custom of the time. So they offered him $700.00 a week, not bad for 1956, plus the car of his choice, and implied that they would give him as many women as he wanted.
Elvis thought that was fantastic and wanted to go for it. What more could a young American ask for?
But the Colonel said no. He wanted a cut of the business, Elvis had to have a percentage of the gross profits. That type of contract was unheard of in Hollywood at the time, particularly for an unknown actor.
Elvis loved to recreate the scene that followed between the Colonel and producer Hal Wallis.
“…no, you just can’t do it that way,” Wallis protested, “…that’s not the way it’s done.”
The Colonel remained unmoved, and said, “…then I guess they don’t need us because they can do it another way,” he said.
He nodded to Elvis and the two left Wallis’s office. Several hours later, they received a call asking them to return.
“…it’s crazy, it’s unheard of,” the producer complained, “…but you get a share of the profits.”
Elvis made more money on his first film than all the actors ever hired by that studio. In later years, he would own 50% of the profits from his films (which the Presley estate retains to this day).
Fountain: Elvis’s Life Put Into Books And Videos
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