Heres The True Story. Colonel Tom Parker was a Dutch-American talent manager and musical entrepreneur who had a net worth of $1 million at the time of his death in 1997. His 25 percent commission from Elvis's tours and record sales alone amasses to nearly $14 million dollars, plus another $2 million for his film commissions. Elvis Presley: Take the King's movie quiz - How many have you seen. When asked about the deal in 1968, the Colonel responded: Thats not true at all. Thomas Andrew Parkers real name was Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. But he was never inept, and he was fiercely loyal in his business dealings and determined to honor his contracts to the letter. The racket caused pioneering Sun Records founder Sam Phillips to come in from the control booth and demand to know what they were doing. The new administration of Elviss estate was completely in the hands of his daughter in 1980 through a court ruling, setting aside Parker and putting an end to his duties as administrator, with all rights to the royalties falling to Lisa Marie Presley, represented by her mother. Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's manager from 1955 to his death in 1977, earned an estimated $50 million from the singer's estate. The Colonels exposure as an illegal immigrant makes it easier to understand his deep reluctance to leave the Statesor even, as he once confided to a trusted assistant, to pick up the check he had earned while working his passage from the Netherlands. 5 million, which would be almost $45. Cookie Policy Did Elvis Really Fire Colonel Parker? Here's The True Story So, in the Elvis movie, there's a scene where Elvis fires Colonel Parker on stage in Las Vegas. For songs published before 1978, fluctuating ownership of the copyrights and royalties is the result of a number of factors, including the original copyright registration in 1956, the Copyright Act of 1976, and the effect of legislations like the Music Modernization Act of 2018. Mike Dash is a contributing writer in history for Smithsonian.com. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_7',152,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');Nevertheless, Elvis assets were eventually divided among his surviving heirs: his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley; his father, Vernon Presley; and his paternal grandmother Minnie Mae Presley. At first, all Vellengas inquiries turned up was old tales from the Van Kuijk family, who still remembered how their Dries had been the family storyteller and liked to dress as a dandy. Potomac, was going to be salvaged. But what exactly was Tom Parker hiding? Elvis Presley himself chose to give Colonel Parker a large portion of his earnings. Did Elvis make a lot of money in his movies? Faced with this problem, Parker could not keep up with the pace of presentations and eventually had to allow Elvis to return to his Graceland residence, dedicating himself only to receiving his royalties from RCA but without returning to recordings. He wanted to inspire them. So to sum it up, rights owners to Elvis Presley songs include Sony/ATV Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Hill and Range, and Gladys Music, with Sony/ATV Music having exclusive rights to most of them. As far as his background, I think no one knew the Colonels background. In 1968, he was asked in an interview if it was true that he took fifty percent of everything Elvis earned. There, in Parkers hometown, a journalist named Dirk Vellenga got a tipit was Do you know that Tom Parker comes from Breda? Asked what the King was really like away from the cameras and stage lights, he said: I would imagine he lived for the stage and got very little in his personal life. The answer to who owns the royalties to Elvis songs largely depends on the individual song. One sign of Parkers influence was to convince Elvis to accept the military service to which he was enrolled in January 1958 by the United States Army, alleging that it would be in Presleys career to show himself as an ordinary man and avoid special treatment. And that is why it is so mysterious. He could only finance Elvis next movie if the singer broadcast a television special. The estate consists of his Graceland mansion, his original recordings, his image and likeness rights, as well as his other music-related property. But, even so, he was always anxious to ensure that attention never settled for very long on two vexed questions: exactly who he was and where he came from. How much money did Colonel Parker make off Elvis? The evidence, though, remained entirely circumstantial. However, Graceland is open to visitors today and approximately 600,000 tourists visit the property each year to learn about Elvis life and legacy. He served for two years, went AWOL, got charged with desertion, and was punished with solitary confinement. Parker, they suggest, went to van den Endens store looking for money to fund his emigration to America. Dineke Dekkers. Walking down the hall, the Colonel hits up the Singer rep for a free machine for Priscilla: Mrs. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. He even sold I Hate Elvis buttons. It works when he issues a rejoinder to Hank Snow, who objects to Elviss wiggling, but his funniest line is almost lost in the hustle and bustle of the filming of Elviss 68 comeback special, sponsored by the Singer sewing machine company. Elvis Presley spent an estimated $100,000 on the purchase and renovations of his famous estate, Graceland. The shock of hearing Colonel Parker say his Dutch name, something he had ferociously protected from the world for 65 years, made me mute. With them was actor Danny Thomas, there on behalf of St. Jude, the Memphis research hospital Thomas had founded to help find cures for catastrophic childhood diseases. Elvis accepted the idea and married Priscilla Beaulieu in the spring of 1967. There are some extraordinary, tabloidy, melodramatic stories about why and how he left Holland. It is unclear whether or not Priscilla actually received the full $100,000 stipulated in the prenuptial agreement, as records related to the settlement are not public. It is a deal that severed the Presley estate from the royalties for more than 700 songs and put $2.6 million in the colonel's pocket. He had a catalog of over 600 songs and released over 100 albums throughout his career. Parker was an essential and controversial figure in Elvis life, and in this article, we are going to tell you whether he actually stole money from the King or not. She and her mother, Priscilla Presley, jointly inherited their fathers estate when he passed away in 1977 and continue to share ownership of the property today. Interestingly, my paychecks from MGM said "Elvis Exploitation" on themodd terminology. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-leader-4','ezslot_12',156,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-leader-4-0');According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lisa Marie Presley is estimated to be worth around $300 million. The Beatles were also a cultural force. Parker, or Van Kuijk, had other secrets too. You live in this bubble and youre almost frightened to escape from it because you think things will go wrong. For the most part, these details did not emerge until the 1980s, years after Presleys death and well into the Colonels semi-retirement (he eventually died in 1997). Elvis Presley was one of the most successful and popular recording artists of all time and during his lifetime he was said to have made an incredible amount of money. Tom Sizemore, 61, dies after aneurysm and stroke: Action star known for Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down and Born on the Fourth of July battled drug addiction He was ruthless and heartless. He rode him till he died and even in death he attempt. 8-acre property, Elvis purchased the estate for $102,500 from Ruth Brown in 1957. At last, I want to say what was told to me 19 years ago about this Colonel Parker. According to a Life magazine article written in 1969, Richard Nixon even referred to Parker as The Millionaire Manager. The band and crew had a turbo-prop Electrajet. Elvis in a movie still, circa 1957 Photo by Michael Ochs . READ MORE: VIDEO REVEALS SECRET ABOUT ELVIS PRESLEY'S JUMPSUITS. There is some speculation this may be due to the managers hidden status as an illegal immigrant. Who are the four graves at Graceland? [Fact Checked!] Fury of the Gods Brings Back the "Shazamily": Inside DC's New Superhero Adventure, Scream 6's Brutal NYC Trip: "You Can't Trust Anyone" This Time, Cocaine Bear Is Not Just About a Killer "Coked-Up" Bear, It's Also an "Underdog Story", How Marvel's Wastelanders Podcast Created an Exciting Story with No Visual Safety Net, Elvis: Colonel Tom Parker Really Was That Bad. Country singer Eddy Arnold was the first to sign in 1938 and found himself giving the Colonel 25 percent of his take-home pay. His accent, on display in a rare interview with Ted Koppel in the 80s, sounded more like a slight speech impediment mixed with the insulation of a rural upbringing. Theyre one of Hollywoods brightest starsand most troubled actors. (& How Much Did He Earn from The King?). Presley lobbied for the role of Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront. Parker was a fairly popular entertainer on the carnival circuit with acts like the Great Parker Pony Circus, and Colonel Tom Parker and His Dancing Chickens. He missed them, but didnt want to foist his troubles off on them. Parker was accused of squandering Elviss income and charging too high a fee (nearly 50% of Elviss income), while the cost of maintaining Elviss huge estate at Graceland consumed almost all of Elviss royalties. Some showbusiness people are always on stage; Elvis wasnt, he explained. The first thing the Colonel did was plot to get rid of Presleys original bandmates. He had no children, and he treated his wife as a companion, not as a lover. Sure, he was out of touch with the times by then, and didnt see the Phoenix-like potential of what the special could do for his attraction, as he called Elvis. And when Alanna Nash went through the Dutch courts to obtain a copy of the original police report on the murder, she found that nowhere in its 130 handwritten pages was there any mention of the young man who would become the Colonel. Alanna Nashs biography of Parker, The Colonel, claims he may have been trying to avoid passport scrutiny because he might have been a suspect in a murder in Breda. Luhrmanns Parker is an uncaring man, though the character protests that hes not. Parker managed to conclude a contract with the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas for Elvis to perform concerts there for a full month, in exchange for US$ 125,000 per week, a very high sum for the time for a single artist. Not a single witness at the time suggested that Andreas van Kuijk had ever been a suspect. With his first contract with RCA, Presley recorded the song Heartbreak Hotel in January 1956 and went from being a promising singer to a true rock star. Colonel Tom Parker was Elvis Presley's manager for more than 20 years, and was with him when he died on August 16, 1977. They established the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation in 1993, which provides financial aid to numerous charitable organizations and worthy projects. More info. Colonel Tom Parker at Elvis's grave. Circa 1985. : r/Elvis - reddit By 1966 it seemed clear that Parkers business scheme, based on exploiting Elviss presence in Hollywood, was coming to an end. Colonel Tom Parker was best known for. As Parker confesses at the beginning of the movie, There are some whod make me out to be the villain of this here story. And it can be said that the Colonel was the antagonist of Elvis true life as well. He told Express.co.uk the rock n roll icon wasnt as showbiz as fans might expect from his public persona. The author with the real Colonel Tom Parker, in 1992. Nash and Vellenga have their own version of events, one that they insist best fits the facts. These could be called animal cruelty shows. Ivana Marie Zelnkov escaped from behind the Iron Curtain to storm New York City and help create the twisted miracle of Donald Trump. Cookie Settings, Nash still believes it more likely than not that Colonel Parker was a killer, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, 5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds, The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars. For his part, Parker himself died with a net worth of $1 million, or roughly $1.8 million in today's money (via Dollar Times ). 2 million in modern currency. Colonel Tom Parker was Elvis Presleys manager throughout most of his career and was a shrewd negotiator who negotiated many of Elvis lucrative deals, from movie revenues to music sales. Probably he had known the woman; perhaps he had even desired herand then been angered by her recent marriage. He and I got into some violent, violent fights.. Though Austin Butler is a little too pretty as Elvis, and cant replicate the hypnotic pull of Presleys exotic good looks, hes nonetheless a convincing prince from another planet. Hanks reportedly received a pay bump for reprising his role as Woody in the second and third films, however, with rumored salaries of $5 million and $15 million, respectively. Elvis Presley expert revealed the truth about Colonel Parker, Elvis Presley: Graceland chef reveals how to make the Elvis sandwich, Michael Jackson: How he REALLY reacted to Lisa Marie Presley divorce, Elvis Presley expert reveals tragic truth about star's life. How much money did Colonel Parker make off Elvis? Todd said the Colonel was no worse than any other and noted his generosity with fans, saying:As far as the British fans were concerned, he was better than most managers were because he really did take time to meet the fans. Before Smithsonian.com, Dash authored the award-winning blog A Blast From the Past. On February 14, 1964, five days after the Beatles made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, Elvis sat at a press conference with the Colonel on the pier at Long Beach, California. The second show sold out. For example, Blue Hawaii, his 1961 romantic comedy, grossed a total of $7. As someone who knew Colonel Parker and had three, tense, three-hour meetings with him over a two-year span in the 90s, I admit there were times I felt a chill of evil from him that scared the hell out of me and made me fear for my personal safety, especially during a ride through the Vegas desert. In general, fans of the icon think that Colonel Parker never let Elvis fully shine. Some called it his Floating White House. But Parker, who was born in Holland in 1909 as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk and never became an American citizen, didnt care about that. People forget that! Parkers shows brought in big crowds, but he got screwed by management when it came time to pay out. No, the Colonel did not steal Elvis money. The majority of Elviss reported net worth at the time of his death was comprised of royalties from record sales, publishing, film and concert tickets. So I saw a different sort of Colonel Parker from how many people possibly believed he behaved. Following his death in 1977, Elvis estate has grown significantly due to the continuous production of official merchandise and the use of his music in various media. But the Colonel trusted no one. After Elvis death, an investigation concluded that Parkers management deal of 50% was extortionate compared to the usual average of 1520%, as well as that Parkers handling of Presleys business affairs during his lifetime was unethical and mishandled. Members of the Colonels family even recalled that he had been paid to make deliveries for a greengrocer in the area, though they could no longer remember which one. 8 million, approximately $69. After Elvis' death, an investigation concluded that Parker's management deal of 50% was extortionate compared to the usual average of 15-20%, as well as that Parker's handling of Presley's business affairs during his lifetime was "unethical" and mishandled. . He sold the rights to Presleys early recordings, gave away the rights to the master recordings, lost royalties after he negotiated Elvis seven-year contract with RCA Records in 1973, and squandered his own fortune to a gambling habit. But in Luhrmanns treatment, hes Satan in a snowman sweater.