A carnival worker by background, Parker moved into music promotion in 1938, working with one of the first popular crooners, Gene Austin, and then country music singers Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, and Tommy Sands in his early career. During the interview, Parker said that he was not aware that another one of his sisters, Adriana van Kuijk, had died in the Netherlands a few years before. [16] NBC had originally wanted Presley for the role, but Parker had turned them down. As a reward, Davis gave him the honorary rank of "colonel" in the Louisiana State Militia.[2][3]. The first major artist with whom he worked was popular crooner Gene Austin. He died on Aug. 16, 1977, of a heart attack. He's a very smart man. According to Alanna Nash, who wrote The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley . [54] He phoned Presley's father once to suggest taking time off, but Vernon Presley told him they couldn't afford to stop touring due to Presley's constant and lavish spending of money. [31] Parker made sure that the contract allowed Presley the freedom to make at least one film a year with another studio, and also managed to set up an office, with staff, at Paramount. [41], To make up for lack of earnings, Parker arranged for Presley's gold Cadillac to go on tour. ELVIS PRESLEY's ex-wife Priscilla Presley vehemently defended The King's manager Colonel Tom Parker to Elvis movie's Tom Hanks, shutting down rumours he was 'an evil puppet master like Rasputin'. Colonel Tom Parker's Lack of Money. [15], A young singer, Tommy Sands, caught Parker's eye in 1952, and Parker immediately set about promoting him. Into his late 80s, Colonel Tom Parker began to struggle with various illnesses including diabetes and gout. [48] (During Presley's career, except for a few concerts in Canada in 1957, he never performed outside the United States.) James L. Dickerson's book "Colonel Tom Parker: The . In 1935, while travelling with a circus, Parker met and married 27-year-old Marie Francis Mott. [4] By this time, with the IRS demanding almost $15 million in taxes, the estate was facing bankruptcy. Following the success of Presley's Las Vegas return, Parker signed a contract with the International Hotel to guarantee Presley would play a month-long engagement for $125,000 a week ($974,043 in 2021 dollars[11]), an unheard-of sum at the time. Part biography, part murder mystery and perhaps the most thoroughly researched . [53] First Artists, not used to such huge demands, didn't put forward a counter-offer and decided instead to offer the role, along with the original salary offer, to Kris Kristofferson, who accepted. By 1980, the cost of running the estate was estimated to be as much as $500,000 a year. For his part, Parker himself died with a net worth of $1 million, or roughly . The contract, dated July 12, 1954, eight days after their first recording session, was signed by Presley and his parents. Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it! [4] From about 1931 until 1938, he worked as a "carny" with Royal American Shows. [26] He had even come up with the idea to market "I Hate Elvis" badges. Attorney Blanchard E. Tual concluded that Parker's deal of taking 50% of the singer's profits was extortionate, as the industry standard was closer to 15-20%. In addition to its considerable value, the estate of Elvis . After Presley passed away, Parker established a licensing deal with Factors Etc. In the 1950s, he helped Elvis Presley become a big star. Colonel Tom Parker was best known for being the manager of Elvis Presley. This led Parker to insist that films be made cheaply, on a strict schedule, and with as little hassle as possible. [37] He allowed him to perform three live shows in 1961, all charity events, two in Memphis and one in Hawaii. "[70], Songwriter Mac Davis recounted a similar experience where Parker rubbed his head and declared "You're going to be a star. At that time Parker believed Elvis to be black. "A couple times he set me up in the Elvis Presley suite on top of the Hilton, and I would go play Elvis for a week One night we were at the crap table together and he rubbed my head for luck. [62], One of Parker's brothers, Adam "Ad" van Kuijk, visited Parker once in Los Angeles in April 1961. [41], On January 2, 1967, Parker re-negotiated his managerial/agent contract with Presley, persuading him to increase Parker's share from 25% to 50% on certain transactions. [15], In early 1955, Parker became aware of a young singer, Elvis Presley. Parker had unknowingly backed himself into a financial corner. [12] Despite having sold over 86 million records since 1924 and earning over $17 million, Austin's career was at a low point. Parker continued to manage the Presley estate, but he had sold the rights to Elvis's early recordings, which would have ensured a steady income. "Last Train to Memphis". The 30th Anniversary of the revelation to Elvis' estate that Colonel Parker was still fleecing his client. 3. "Colonel Tom Parker managed Elvis Presley's career from 1955 to 1977. But this guy is like eighty years old too old to be taught the limits of racism He probably doesn't realize how horrible a thing that was to do. Austin offered Parker the opportunity to move to Nashville, Tennessee, where music was becoming a big business, but for reasons unknown Parker turned him down. However, that was not the case since Elvis was still under contract to Bob Neal. [57], Parker set out to protect his future income. to control the singer's merchandise. [15] However, RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes was convinced that Presley's style of music would be a huge hit with the right label, and he began talks with Parker. [16] Sholes showed little interest in Sands, but promised that he would attempt to find songs Sands might be able to record. Specifically: The services for Tom Parker were held at Palm Mortuary Downtown location, but his cremains were taken to Memphis, TN and the mortuary has no record of the exact location. [35] He was reportedly afraid that Presley would realize that there were other managers available prepared to sign contracts that did not require as much as 25% of his earnings. Following this, Presley's career declined drastically as he became increasingly reliant on prescription drugs. This is because Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had previously arranged a deal to sell those to RCA for $5.4 million, out of which only $1.35 million went to Elvis after Parker's 50% fee and income taxes. According to Presley's friend, Jerry Schilling, Presley was excited about the opportunity to take on a new challenge. He also lost a big chunk of Elvis's own money. What was Colonel Tom Parker worth when he died? I wanted to punch him in the face. "No, he never would have done that," Nash says. [55] Although Parker publicly denied these claims, he had been in talks with Peter Grant, the manager of Led Zeppelin, about the possibility of him overseeing a European tour for Presley. [55] Worried about the impact such details might have on his career, Presley, through his father, asked Parker to stop the publication. "[42] Parker used the argument that Presley was his only client and he was thus earning only one fee.[42]. But the Colonel quickly got to work, starting as Elvis' advisor before they signed a contract giving him sole rights . [41] With Priscilla's father dropping heavy hints, and fear that their relationship might become public beforehand, Parker persuaded Presley that he should make an "honest woman" of her in the very near future. To garner Presley new publicity and to help tame his wild impulses, Parker had him marry Priscilla Beaulieu, who had been living with Presley for four years already. On January 20, 1997, Parker's wife heard a crashing sound from the living room, and when she heard no response to her calls, she went in to find him slumped over in his chair after suffering a stroke. The 32nd Anniversary of Elvis' final concert in Indianapolis. He then re-enlisted at Fort Barrancas in Florida. On January 20, 1997, Parker's wife heard a crashing sound from the living room, and found him slumped over in his chair after having a stroke. Stories appeared in the press regularly about Presley, including that he would do a live CCTV broadcast when he returned and that he had signed a deal for a series of annual television spectaculars to be broadcast across the country. In any case, Parker remained Presley's manager without a break until Presley's death in 1977. Answer (1 of 2): In addition to what is noted in the other answer, he had legal disputes with the Presley estate but ultimately continued to earn money from Elvis's legacy. Parker, 33, died in March, surrounded by his family and bandmates, 17 months after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. when Elvis died, he was only worth $5 . In early 1997, he passed away from a stroke in Las Vegas at the age of 87. In January 1979, it was discovered that Presley had lost out on royalties for songs on which he had been listed as an author or composer because Parker had unwisely advised him not to sign up to ASCAP or its younger competitor, BMI. At the time of his death in 1997, he was worth $1 million. RCA was eager for Presley to record in West Germany, but Parker insisted that it would ruin his reputation as a regular soldier if he was able to go into a recording studio. After the special, Parker managed Presley's return to live performance, including a set of brief U.S. tours and many engagements in Las Vegas. The killing happened a few streets from where the Van Kuijk family lived, and Parker had been hired to make deliveries from this and other grocery stores in the area. [16], Regardless of the success that Parker and Presley had achieved, Parker was still struggling to believe that Presley's career would last longer than a year or two. [18] When the contract expired, the Memphis radio personality Bob Neal stepped in and made a deal with Phillips to become Presley's manager. Parker was the Tampa dogcatcher known as The Colonel, who managed Elvis Presley with a deal that controversially landed him 50% of the King of Rock and Roll's earnings. He would call his flamboyant manager, Col. Tom Parker, and ask Parker to book another tour (Presley's average concert gross in the mid-'70s was $130,000 a night) or schedule another recording . The sale of the back catalog to RCA meant that after his death, Presley's estate would not receive any royalties for any Presley recordings made prior to 1973. He was punished with solitary confinement, from which he emerged with a psychosis that led to him spending two months in a mental hospital,[4] and he was discharged from the Army because of his mental condition.