Elvis and the Beauty Queen

Elvis and the Beauty Queen
Genre	Drama Musical
Written by	Julia Cameron
Directed by	Gus Trikonis
Starring	Don Johnson Stephanie Zimbalist Ann Dusenberry Rick Lenz
Music by	Allyn Ferguson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	David Gerber
Producer	Charles B. Fitzsimmons
Production location	Los Angeles
Cinematography	Thomas Del Ruth
Editor	Fred A. Chulack
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	David Gerber Productions Columbia Pictures Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	March 1, 1981 (1981-03-01) [1]

Elvis and the Beauty Queen is a 1981 American made-for-television drama musical film starring Don Johnson and Stephanie Zimbalist. ^[1] It aired on NBC on March 1, 1981 at 9:00 pm. ^[1]

Plot

Don Johnson stars as Elvis Presley in this made-for-TV true story about Elvis's love affair with Linda Thompson (Stephanie Zimbalist), a young beauty pageant contestant who was his live-in girlfriend and traveling companion for four of the last five years of his life. ^[1] The story begins with their first meeting, and traces their years together when Thompson tried to keep Presley off drugs in the last years of his career. ^[2]

Cast

• Stephanie Zimbalist as Linda Thompson
• Don Johnson as Elvis Presley
• Ann Dusenberry as Jeannie
• Rick Lenz as David Briggs
• Ann Wedgeworth as Aunt Betty
• Jay W. MacIntosh as Mrs. Thompson
• Ruta Lee as Su-Su
• Edward Edwards as Sam Thompson
• John Crawford as Vernon Presley
• Darrell Fetty as Pete Moore
• Richard Winterstein as Bobby Farr
• Gary Lee Davis as Ray
• John Ashton as Jake
• Bobbi Jordan as Pregnant Woman
• Hanala Sagal as Woman Kissed by Elvis during his concert

Production

Seven songs were recorded for the soundtrack in Nashville, Tennessee, with country singer Ronnie McDowell providing the vocals. ^[1] The band who backed McDowell was the Glass Hammer, a Nashville-based band. The Glass Hammer consisted of Joe Meador, guitar, Don Lee, lead guitar, Bill Conn, keyboards and horns, Larry Leath, bass, and Rick Judkins, drums.

Reception

A People reviewer said, "Don Johnson is praiseworthy as the King, but did Elvis really lounge around in tight leather pants and metal-studded capes?" ^[3]

The Chicago Tribune , reviewing the movie after Johnson became famous for Miami Vice , said, "Every time Don Johnson delivers a line, you find yourself rolling onto the floor as you howl with laughter." ^[4]

References

1. Worth, Fred (1992). Elvis: His Life from A to Z. Outlet. pp. 309–310. ISBN   978-0-517-06634-8.
2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082321/ ^{[ user-generated source ]}
3. People Staff (March 2, 1981). "Picks and Pans Review: Elvis and the Beauty Queen". People Magazine. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
4. Greene, Bob (January 18, 1988). "GEE, ELVIS, YOU SOUND LIKE SONNY". The Chicago Tribune.

External links

• Elvis and the Beauty Queen at IMDb