Almost the only indisputable fact about Colonel Tom Parker is that he was the manager of the greatest performer in popular music: Elvis Presley. His real name wasn't Tom Parker - indeed, he wasn't an American at all, but a Dutch immigrant called Andreas van Kujik. And he certainly wasn't a proper military colonel: he purchased his title from a man in Louisiana. But while the Colonel has long been acknowledged as something of a charlatan, this book is the first to reveal the extraordinary extent of the secrets he concealed, ...
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Almost the only indisputable fact about Colonel Tom Parker is that he was the manager of the greatest performer in popular music: Elvis Presley. His real name wasn't Tom Parker - indeed, he wasn't an American at all, but a Dutch immigrant called Andreas van Kujik. And he certainly wasn't a proper military colonel: he purchased his title from a man in Louisiana. But while the Colonel has long been acknowledged as something of a charlatan, this book is the first to reveal the extraordinary extent of the secrets he concealed, and the consequences for the career, and ultimately the life, of the star he managed. As Alanna Nash' prodigious research has discovered, the Colonel left Holland most probably because, at the age of twenty, he bludgeoned a woman to death. Entering the US illegally, he then enlisted in the army as 'Tom Parker'. But, with supreme irony for someone later styling himself as Colonel, Parker's military career ended in desertion, and discharge after a psychiatrist had certified him as a psychopath. He then became a fairground barker, working sideshows with a zeal for small-scale huckstering and the casual scam that never left him. And by the height of Elvis's success, Parker had become a pathological gambler who, at the same time as he was taking, amazingly, a full 50% of Presley's earnings, frittered away all his wealth in the casinos of Las Vegas. As Nash shows, therefore, the often baffling trajectory of Elvis Presley's career makes perfect sense once the secret imperatives of the Colonel's life are known. Parker never booked Presley for a tour of Europe because of the dark secret that ensured he himself could never return there. Even at his most famous, Elvis was still being booked to play out-of-the-way towns in North Carolina - because the former fairground barker (who shamelessly negotiated as such even with top record company and film executives) knew them from his days on the circus circuit. And Elvis was trapped playing years of arduous seasons in Las Vegas - two shows nightly, seven days a week, until boredom and despair brought on the excessive drug use that killed him - because for Parker he was "an open chit" whose huge earnings prevented his manager's losses at the gambling tables being called in. Alanna Nash knew Parker towards the end of his life, and has now uncovered the whole story, improbable, shocking, and never less than compelling, of how this larger-than-life man made, and then unmade, popular music's first and greatest superstar.
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Add this copy of The Colonel: the Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom to cart. $2.81, good condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Simon & Schuster.
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dust cover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or limited small stickers. Book may have a remainder mark or be a price cutter.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Colonel: the Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom to cart. $9.99, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Ruby rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Simon & Schuster.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Colonel: the Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom to cart. $11.47, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Industries of S.W.FL. rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fort Myers, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Simon & Schuster.