Baz Luhrmann
Director · 2025
1
Biography
American singer and actor, one of the most commercially successful performers of popular music of the 20th century.
He ranks third among the greatest performers of all time and the greatest vocalists according to Rolling Stone magazine. He is one of the best-selling performers, having sold one billion album copies worldwide, second only to The Beatles.
His fame is so widespread that many people call him by his first name alone — "Elvis". The phrase "King of Rock and Roll" is also associated with Elvis Presley (in America often simply "The King").
Filmography
1No films in this section.
Interesting facts
8- 1
On August 15, 1977, Presley arrived at his Graceland estate deep in the night, returning from the dentist. In the morning, Presley took a dose of sedatives, but a few hours later, unable to sleep, he took another dose. After that, he spent some time reading books in the bathroom. Around 2 p.m. on August 16, Ginger Alden, the singer's girlfriend, woke up and, not finding Elvis in bed, went to the bathroom, where she found his lifeless body on the floor. An ambulance was urgently called and took Presley to intensive care. At four o'clock in the afternoon, an official statement of death was made — due to heart failure — but the autopsy later showed that the cause of the cardiac arrest was precisely an overdose of various medications; nevertheless, due to the semi-secret nature of the investigation, there are also many other versions of the death alongside the popular legend that the singer is still alive. After the announcement of the death, thousands of fans immediately began gathering at the gates of Graceland. Presley was buried on August 18 in a cemetery; a few months later, his remains were moved to Graceland after an attempt to break into his coffin by people who wanted to verify whether the 'king of rock and roll' had really died.
- 2
On January 14, 1973, his performance in Honolulu became the first concert in history to be broadcast to 40 countries around the world via satellite television.
- 3
Elvis held a black belt in karate.
- 4
He was a natural dark blond, but dyed his hair black after the film "Love Me Tender" (1956) (according to some accounts, this was his way of imitating his favorite singers — Mario Lanza and Dean Martin).
- 5
On March 24, 1958, Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army. The news of Presley's induction into the army sparked protests among young people across the country: letters were sent to the army and the president demanding that the singer's service be canceled. In the fall of 1958, Presley was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division, stationed in West Germany, in Friedberg near Frankfurt.
- 6
Elvis is the wealthiest of all deceased celebrities (according to forbes.com).
- 7
After graduating from high school in the summer of 1953, the 18-year-old Presley got a job as a truck driver. It was then that he decided to go into a recording studio owned by Sam Phillips and, for eight dollars, record a couple of songs with guitar accompaniment. A one-of-a-kind two-sided record with the songs "My Happiness" and "That's When My Heartache Begins" was a gift for his mother.
- 8
At birth, Elvis was given the middle name Aron to make it resemble the name of his stillborn brother, Garon, but the name Aaron was carved on the tombstone at his father's insistence, because Elvis preferred the biblical pronunciation and planned to officially change his name. The full name officially used by his company today is Elvis Aaron Presley. However, during his lifetime, Elvis himself always wrote his name with a single "A".