Elvis - A Lighted Candle

[Rainbow Light]

Yes, I can relate to your feelings on this Mari regarding the Colonel and his wife trying to deny Parker did anything wrong to Elvis, I feel she is only fooling herself however and many will not be able to see it her way no matter how truly objective we try to be!

[Blue Moon]

My impression is that Mrs. Parker is simply not aware of the Colonel's shrewd nature. I think if he wanted to keep his crafty side hidden from her, he could have done so very well. He hid it from many people.

Strangely, though, at other times he flaunted it to certain people.
We know from Ed Parker that Colonel Parker told certain people that Elvis' plans for a serious dramatic movie role in the 70's were never going to be realized. They were deliberately undermined by the Colonel every step of the way, even though Elvis & Ed had drawn up specific ideas & designs for the movie. Ed says that Elvis never knew the real reason why the movie never came to fruition.
Btw, I'm not referring here to the Karate documentary film Elvis had started to make but never was able to finish, but a serious dramactic acting role.

[Rainbow Light]

My impression is that Mrs. Parker is simply not aware of the Colonel's shrewd nature. I think if he wanted to keep his crafty side hidden from her, he could have done so very well. He hid it from many people.

I feel that this is very true also, you hit the nail on the head, Laurie! As you say, Parker managed to hide his crafty side from many other people too!

[Ingrid]

Hello everyone,

I know there´s a book thread, but since there´s a topic on the Colonel, I´ll post it here...

Has anyone ever read the book by Alanna Nash "The Colonel - The extraordinary story of Tom Parker and Elvis Presley"?

Alanna Nash was one of the journalists who attended the public viewing of Elvis´body. When doing research for her book she found out that Tom Parker might have been involved in a murder case back in the Netherlands, and therefore left the country, only to become an illegal alien in the US.

Basically her book gives a rather balanced view on the Colonel and it´s definitely worth reading. It was one of the first I ever read on Elvis, because the Colonel was my ultimate scapegoat. Well, it´s not that easy, but I´m still not convinced that he really meant well...

If you´re the personal manager, your client comes first. But in the Colonel´s case, he himself always came first. He sure was a great promoter in the beginning, but he had no taste, no sensitivity for his artist and was only after the money. No one in the industry really liked him, obviously.

Anyway, Alanna Nash has a website, www.colonelparker.com, where you can find an interview she did with the elvisinfonet.com. Here´s an excerpt, where she talks about involving a medium in her research.
Read the full interview here: http://www.colonelparker.com/interviews_with_the_author2.htm

...

EIN: The principal issue being focused on by critics and readers is the possibility that the Colonel (aka Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk) fled his native Holland after brutally murdering a woman. You are very clear in The Colonel that there is no direct evidence linking him to the murder but you deftly present a case based on circumstantial evidence. Do you have a personal view on this particular incident?

AN: I wholeheartedly believe that the Colonel had a secret that was far more sinister than simply that of being an illegal alien. He had numerous opportunities to fix that little problem, and he never did. I have no idea whether he killed that woman or not, but a situation of this magnitude certainly would explain why he behaved as he did, and why he wouldn’t risk a background check or becoming a citizen. My guess is that he was involved in some way, and that it was an accident. In the book, I quote a letter he wrote to his nephew in Holland, in which he alludes to missing his family, and not getting in touch with them as to protect them, almost, from something in his past, or as he puts it, “mistakes some-one may have made.”



It’s interesting: After I finished the manuscript, I spoke with an English medium, Jennifer MacKenzie. She “saw” the Colonel by my using only his Dutch name. She didn’t know who he was. She said, “Was he a politician?” I said, “No, but people have likened him to one.” She was quiet, and then she said, “Was he a murderer? Because I’m seeing something beneath a kitchen floor.” As you’ll remember from the book, Anna van den Enden was killed in front of the kitchen sink. Well, that just flabbergasted me. I spoke to Jennifer again later and she “channeled” him. I asked point blank if he had killed Anna. Jennifer said he put his finger to the side of his nose (which was a habit of his when he was having fun with you) and said, “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” I said, “Ask him if he’s mad at me--if he’s going to give me a hard time in the hereafter.” She said no, that he felt fatherly toward me, and then she added, “He says no one can hurt him now.”



Whether you believe in that kind of stuff or not (and, of course, it’s all for entertainment and you can’t base research on it), it’s pretty fascinating. But here’s the bottom line to all of this. I cannot prove he did the deed, but I can prove he was capable of it. That army discharge paper is incontrovertible proof of that. “Constitutional psychopathic state” is 1933 language for what we now call Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Which is how we classify most murderers.


...


Thanks for reading throught this rather long post!!!


Ingrid

[Wanda June Hill]

Interesting Ingrid-I haven't read that book except for a few pages while in a book store back when I actually went to malls-a very long time ago.
I can say that in my opinion the Col. cared for himself first-true. He did use Elvis, took advantage of his naive trust and faith in the beginning though Elvis mom NEVER liked him and apparently Vernon his dad, didn't either-especially after Elvis' death and things began to come out etc: that he didn't know about. Elvis protected his father-from everything, even from Elvis himself...as far as his problems and health. The Col. took so much money from every thing Elvis did or was connected to, first-before expenses came out and Elvis ended up paying for those, sometimes to the point of there not being alot left for running his "household" and employees etc:. The Col. was stingy, stories abound from those who dealt with him, had to depend on him. He made Elvis' musicians wait on their pay checks, some of them had to go to him to get their money and that often meant driving or taking a plane to Tennessee. One of them told about having to wait in a motel for 2 days and a night until the Col. called him to come pick up his check! Is that ego or is that cruelty?
He treated Elvis like a "thing" to make money with-he treated him coldly and calculatingly after Elvis became ill, saying that he "didn't care what you have to do-that man has to be on that stage tonight!" This on the last tour he did, if my memory is right... one of those last concert tours.
It didn't matter that Elvis should have been in a hospital, was afraid he wouldn't be able to work if he had surgery etc: and that is what the doctors wanted to do to try to fix him up... In those last few months and weeks, Elvis wanted to get another manager, get rid of the baggage and people he didn't need anymore, let them get on with their own lives etc: and he thought he'd have enough money to "pay the b.s. off 'n shut his xxxx mouth". He was angry, frustrated and fed up-I just wish it had all "got to him" much earlier in his career and lifetime. The Col. was there and did what needed doing in the beginning, but then he dropped the ball and when he discovered how much money Elvis could pull in doing concerts...he booked him up- After all, he got his money first-Elvis footed the bills from his part which was according to what Elvis said in June of 77, "less than my expenses". Elvis was just beginning to realize he needed to pay more attention to money, to try to build something up and have means to do what he wanted to do-it came too late, but he was ready and looking forward to being "free from the xxxx load I been haulin' 'round so long"... I think that "load" was the deep responsibility he felt for everyone involved in his life and career- he just had to be strong and do what was "right" in his eyes, for everyone. Finally, he began to see that maybe he didn't have to do quite so much???? I hope that the Col. rests in peace where ever he is, and that he realizes what he did and feels some kind of remorse....something he didn't seem to have when alive. He was "gifted"-I don't think it was exactly genius...it was cunning and sneaky and he knew how to use people for his gain. Elvis' mother didn't like him because he sent a very young and vulerable Elvis out on the road, she said, "working him to death" etc: and that he was not giving Elvis enough money for what he was going through. Elvis said his mom wouldn't be in the same room with the Col. after 1956 when all the bad publicity was coming out etc: and Elvis had been nearly killed in a crowd. She told Elvis he said, not to bring that person here! She didn't want his "dirty shoes" in her house! Elvis laughed a bit when he told me that, but he knew by then, she was right. wjh

[Ingrid]

Thank you Wanda!

I forgot to mention that Larry Geller gave Alanna Nash a lot of information for "The Colonel".

I don´t recall where, but Alanna called Larry "probably Elvis´only true friend", not the exact quote, but that´s the essence of what she said.

And forgive me for once again quoting June Juanico, but here´s what she said about Gladys and Tom Parker, taken from the afterword she wrote for her book in December 2006.

It reflects directly what Elvis told Wanda about what his mom thought about Parker:

"Gladys Love Presley - I chose to call her Lovie - was not an educated woman but was very wise when it came to matters concerning her family. Much more so than Vernon: he trusted Tom Parker to look after Elvis and his finances, and we all know what a rat Tom Parker was. Deeply intuitive about her son, Lovie recognized that Elvis´s love for the stage and the greed of Tom Parker were a deadly combination. The rigorous schedule Elvis maintained was sucking the life out of him right in front of everybody´s eyes.
In spite of Lovie´s lack of "book learning", as she called it, she was usually one step ahead of Tom Parker."


To know what Gladys and Wanda and June think/thought of Parker is enough for me, to make up my mind....

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!

Ingrid

[Wanda June Hill]

Elvis was so trusting, and so much he wanted to do for his mom and dad and he put his heart on his sleeve and believed in a future and hoped with all he had in him that the Col. could and would keep his word. Elvis loved him, deep down in side he did, even when he realized he was being mishandled and wanted out, he still had that debt of greatfullness for the Col.'s help and guidance to get him where he was. Elvis never felt secure enough to take it on alone, he had to have someone who knew how it worked and could work it too, and the Col. worked it well for a long while and then began thinking more of the money/himself and what was he going to do if Elvis couldn't etc:...and finally, his fears came true...but he made it work for him then as well...he got his money one way or another and it's a shame actually except he never had the fame and glory he had with his "boy" in anything he did later on, which wasn't much. I could barely believe that in the end there was such a very small notice in the paper,not even a picture-and way back buried inside-would not have even noticed it but for a friend calling it to my attention, when he died.
I think about that day and I wonder....was Elvis waiting for him? Did he stand there with his arms extended, a smile and tears of joy on his face? Did he forgive and wish him well and take him where he had to be?...and was it somewhere Elvis would not be? Did Elvis introduce him? Did he even bother to show up? I think he would have done them all...he was just that good at heart and he did love him, it was a love=hate relationship for several years and yet, knowing Elvis, he would understand and make it okay just as he tired to do on earth. I still do wonder. wjh

[ELVIS2001NET]

here is a link to the interview i did with Mrs Parker.
http://www.elvis2001.net/louane%20parke ... o%20two.ht

for some reason only part of it published to my site. so you will be starting in part two. but i think you will enjoy it. check back for part one
joe k
www.elvis2001.net

[Wanda June Hill]

Thanks Joe, I read the other part I think, and will check this out too. Please keep us informed-you are so "hot" -getting all these people to talk and talk! Keep it goin' ; we enjoy them. wjh

[Rainbow Light]

We sure do! Thanks Joe!!