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Colonel Tom ParkerColonel Tom Parker was the pseudonym of Andreas Cornelius Dries van Kuijk (b. June 26, 1909 in Breda, Netherlands – d. January 21, 1997, Las Vegas, NV), the manager who handled Elvis Presley for virtually all of his career after his first records from Sun Studio and whose influence over Presley was criticized both during Presley's life and after his death as Svengali-like, although Parker remained close with Presley's family after the singer's death and was described even by his harshest detractors as a brilliant businessman, marketer, and myth-maker. Without Parker, Presley might have never become the superstar that he became. Parker rarely gave interviews and made up an early life history for himself out of thin air. He said that he had been born in Huntington, West Virginia and had run away at an early age to join a circus run by an uncle. The truth about his background was revealed when his family in The Netherlands recognised him on pictures, standing next to Elvis, and it was confirmed when Parker tried to avert a lawsuit in 1982 by asserting that he was a Dutch citizen. Parker fled his native land at about the age of 18, joined the United States Army, then changed his name into Tom Parker and become part of the circus world sometime after leaving the Army. He also worked as a dogcatcher and a pet cemetery proprietor in Tampa, Florida in the 1940s. Parker became a music promoter in the late 1940s, working with musicians such as Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold and the film star Tom Mix. Parker's affiliation with Presley began when Parker booked Presley as an opening act for another Parker client, the Canadian country singer Hank Snow. Parker took over Presley's career by contract on August 18, 1955. In 1956 he convinced RCA Records to buy Presley out from Sun Records for $35,000, which at the time was a huge amount of money. Parker held the reins of Presley's singing and acting career for the rest of Presley's life. He was said to be instrumental in virtually every business decision that Presley made, including his decision to quit recording and touring after returning from his stint in the United States Army in 1960 and to concentrate on a lucrative movie career that nonetheless almost smothered Presley's musical creativity. After Presley died in 1977, Parker became embroiled in legal disputes with Presley's estate and with his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Parker eventually agreed in 1983 to sell his masters of some of Presley's major recordings to RCA for $2 million and to drop any claims he had to Presley's estate. Parker moved to Las Vegas in 1980 and worked as an "entertainment adviser" for Hilton Hotels, although he continued to capitalize on Presley's name, attending ceremonies marking the tenth anniversary of the singer's death and appearing at the 1993 issuing of the United States Postal Service stamp honoring Presley. Parker's honorary title of "Colonel" was not a military rank. It was bestowed upon him in 1948 by Jimmy Davis, the governor of Louisiana. Ironically, in 1993, Parker was quoted as saying: "I don't think I exploited Elvis as much as he's being exploited today." source - Elvis and the Colonel Dirk Vellenga (1989) (ISBN 0-44-20392-9) reveals much of his Dutch background, the circus-business and his way of doing business.
Parker, Colonel Tom Parker, Colonel Tom
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