Elvis Presley was a great performer on stage, but the late legend could kill it on screen, too. Presley’s wife Priscilla recently recalled a role the Jailhouse Rock artist desperately wanted to play but because of one important person, he backed out.
Barbra Streisand initially offered Elvis Presley the role of her onscreen lover for the 1976 film A Star Is Born. However, the A Little Less Conversation artist’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, talked him out of the film.
While the role ultimately went to Kris Kristofferson, Priscilla recently opened up to PEOPLE about her feelings surrounding her late husband’s role.
“The colonel told her, ‘Oh, that wouldn’t be good. She’ll be in charge, not you. Her movie, not yours,'” said the Burning Love artist’s wife.
He added, “Elvis regretted it because he felt he could have played that role.”
For those unaware, Elvis Presley was locked into a series of film contracts for years by his manager, following the artist’s return from the army in 1960.
Jerry Schilling, a longtime friend of Elvis Presley, recalled how disappointed the artist became after Presley threw a script across the room saying he was not going to do that movie.
Speaking about the relationship between Presley and the Don’t Be Cruel artist’s manager, Schilling said that they both loved each other very much, “but Elvis outshone the Colonel.”
According to the rock icon’s wife, 79, Presley wanted to work in great films, not “stupid” ones, adding that Girls! Girls! Girls! It had no taste at all.
He further recalled that Parker could not understand what Elvis Presley really wanted to do, which ultimately became difficult for both him and Jerry as he even said, “You just have to shut up.”
Talking about Elvis’ favorite artists, Schilling recalled two big names, James Dean as well as Marlon Brando, the famous godfather of the Hollywood film industry.
Speaking further, Schilling said that after Dane’s death in 1995, Parker approached producer Hal Wallis about playing Elvis in 1958’s King Creole.
When Hal went to director Michael Curtiz, he was incredulous at first; However, after dining with Elvis Presley, the director fell in love with the Can’t Help Falling in Love artist and did this project with her.
You can see the complicated relationship between Elvis Presley and his manager Parker in the latest Netflix documentary Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley, which is streaming now.
Also read: Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir reveals a specific concern she had about father Elvis Presley; Description
