Red West – actor and former Elvis Presley Associate died of a heart attack at age 81

Red West, friend and bodyguard of Elvis Presley who became a successful film and television actor after ending his association with the singer, died Tuesday night after suffering an aortic aneurysm at Baptist Hospital. He was 81, according to The Commercial Appeal

BIM:   Red wrote 11 songs for Elvis including If Everyday Was Like Christmas, Holy Leaves and Christmas Trees, Seeing is Believing, If You Think I Don’t Need you (from the Viva las Vegas soundtrack, also starring Ann Margret), If You Talk In Your Sleep, Separate Ways, You’ll be Gone, that’s Someone You Never Forget (Elvis himself gave Red the title and asked him to write the song about his mother).

Red was also co-author of the infamous book, Elvis What Happened with his cousin Sonny West, and another Elvis associate Dave Hebler. The book went on to be a best seller after the death of Elvis Presley.

After Red’s days with Elvis, he went on to a successful career as an actor. Most recently, he had a small part on the hit series, Nashville. Red was a stunt man on 5 movies. Four of which were Elvis Presley films which include Tickle Me, Harum Scarum, Double Trouble, and Live A Little, Love A Little. His career in film actually began in 1959 when he had an unaccredited role in the film, Journey to the center of the earth. In 1960, Red had various bit parts on tv shows. And an unaccredited role in Presley’s film, Flaming Star. He continued on in several of Presley’s films. The list includes Flaming Star, Wild In The Country, Blue Hawaii, Follow That Dream, Kid Galahad, Girls! Girls! Girls!, It Happened At The World’s Fair, Fun In Acapulco, Viva Las Vegas, Roustabout, Girl Happy, Tickle Me, Harum Scarum, Paradise Hawaiian Style, Spinout, Clambake, and Live A Little, Love A Little. During this time, he was also taking small roles in films and tv. He even had a role on the tv series, Get Smart in 1967.
In the 70’s, he had roles on tv shows such as The Rookies, The Six Million Dollar Man, even Quincy, M.E. In the 80’s, Red had roles on popular tv series such as Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, Hardcastle and McCormick, Magnum P I, The Fall Guy, Simon and Simon, and who could forget The A-Team. It was 1989 that Red starred in his most memorable role in the film, Road House with Patrick Swayze. In 1994, he landed a role in the film, Natural Born Killers. and in 1997, Red played Buddy Black in fellow Memphian, John Grisham’s The Rainmaker (one of my favorites). This role was a nonspeaking role which made Red’s acting ability really stand out in the film. The following year, Red appeared in the film, I Still Know What You Did Last Year, a thriller which I loved. There also is a little known movie called, Forty Shades of Blue in which Red had a role in 2005. Rip Torn stars in this independent film as a Rock n Roll legend whose character has similarities to Sam Phillips. A Russian woman living in Memphis with the has-been, has a personal awakening when the legend’s son comes to town. It’s a great film. In 2011, Red also had a role in the tv series, Memphis Beat starring Jason Lee. Red is best known for his roles in Goodbye Solo in 2008 and Safe Haven in 2013. Red had quite a successful career on his own as a songwriter, stuntman, and actor.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Pat (the couple recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary), sons John and Brent and the rest of the family at this time.

Funeral arrangements to be announced.

Who should pay for a $15,000 flight for Lisa Marie Presley to promote her father’s legacy in Las Vegas?

A flight of fancy

Who should pay for a $15,000 flight for Lisa Marie Presley to promote her father’s legacy in Las Vegas? Not LMP, for starters.

But who was responsible for this air fare was an issue tucked into the court documents in Westgate Las Vegas’ legal filing against Third-party production company Exhibit A Circle LLC.  (Joel Weinshanker.)

Westgate won a nearly $2.5 million judgment from Exhibit A Circle, which had been contracted to stage and operate “The Elvis Experience” sage show and “Graceland Presents: Elvis the Exhibition.” The show closed in May 2015 after a two month run; the attraction of Presley memorabilia closed in February 2016 after running for 10 months.

In April 2015, Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla Presley, appeared at the opening of both the public display of Elvis’ personal items and the production show at International Theater (where “The King” headlined more than 600 sold-out shows).  

Westgate sent its private jet to Tennessee to pick up Presley and her family. That cost totaled $14,399, and because it was a marketing effort that benefited the hotel (in large measure), Westgate took the tab.

Source – Las Vegas Review Journal

Score 2 MILLION for Westgate and Elvis Presley artifacts remain hostage!

Westgate scores 2 Million!

2 million in a legal dispute centered on its ill-fated Elvis Presley attraction and stage show. The production “The Elvis Experience” ran from April to May 2015, while the 28,000-square-foot “Graceland Presents: Elvis the Exhibition” was open from April 2015 to February 2016.

The two-team parlay of Elvis attractions was never profitable (hence the untimely closings). The abrupt shuttering of the show and exhibit sparked a messy lawsuit between Westgate and third-party production company Exhibit A Circle LLC, which was contracted to stage the Elvis events.

Exhibit A Circle made the decision to shut down both the exhibit and the stage show. As a result, Westgate claimed in court papers that it suffered serious financial losses as Exhibit A Circle was in breach of its 10-year operating contract with the hotel.

On June 27, after a lengthy legal back-and-forth, Westgate was awarded about $2.25 million in damages by a federal arbitrator.
Still to be determined is a separate legal dispute between the Graceland-headquartered Elvis Presley Enterprises and Westgate. The hotel still has possession of the memorabilia displayed at the exhibition, including the American Eagle jumpsuit Elvis wore onstage at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1972, the tunic he wore on an opening night in July 1969, a telegram he sent to Barbra Streisand on opening night at the International, the jumpsuit he wore in the film “Viva Las Vegas” and all of the original Sun records Presley recorded with Sam Phillips.

As Westgate Chief Operating Officer Mark Waltrip said this week, those items will remain in the resort’s possession until Elvis Presley Enterprises pays a multimillion-dollar bond to release the property, or there is a final ruling in the case, which was filed in Clark Country District Court in 2016.

The showroom where the “Elvis Experience” was staged — and the real Elvis once performed — is currently home to just one show: The Prince tribute Purple Reign. The only Elvis presence in the hotel is the bronze statue near the entrance, trumpeting The King’s long headlining run at the International and Las Vegas Hilton.

The statue, like the dispute involving the folks at Graceland and Westgate, is at a standstill.

Fostering a jam.

Source –  Las Vegas Review Journal

BIM – What does that mean? The statue is at a standstill? Will they remove it? 

What concerns me is the previous reports from an employee who said these items were not being guarded and under bad conditions. 

Have your war but PLEASE PRESERVE Elvis Presley’s personal items.

Don’t take it out on Elvis or his fans! 

Elvis was so loyal to that hotel and he performed a grueling schedule of concert dates at that hotel. 

Show a little respect. 

Give the fans an update HOW you are storing and preserving his artifacts. 

I will NEVER step foot in that hotel along with many other Elvis fans, out of concern and loyalty to Elvis Presley.

And by the way …..all trails lead back to Joel 

 Exhibit A Circle, LLC Overview

Exhibit A Circle, LLC filed as a Foreign Limited-Liability Company in the State of Nevada on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 and is approximately two years old, according to public records filed with Nevada Secretary of State. A corporate filing is called a foreign filing when an existing corporate entity files in a state other than the state they originally filed in. This does not necessarily mean that they are from outside the United States.

Owner – Joel Weinshanker

Shady boots, folks!

Click to Read More Here

Priscilla Presley Addresses Tom Jones Romance Rumor on Good Morning Britain

Drawing Elvis Presley – Time Lapsed Video

Materials Used: General’s charcoal pencils (HB, 2B), General’s Carbon sketch pencil, Blick compressed charcoal sticks, white conte stick, a very small tortillion (blending stump), Q-tips, cotton balls, my trusty Tombo Mono Zero eraser, kneaded eraser, and 18×24″ Canson Bristol Smooth paper.
BIM: Check out the artist’s youtube channel for more artwork!
Pretty cool, HUH?
Reminds me of Betty Harper’s artwork!

Priscilla Presley asks Animal Lovers and Advocates to support the prevention of slaughtering America's wild horses

To ALL my followers and those who are animal advocates,

“America’s wild horses are fighting for their lives -… https://t.co/Uv5wAwxr76

— Priscilla Presley (@Cilla_Presley) July 7, 2017

Protect America’s horses from mass killing 

America’s beloved horses are facing multiple threats of slaughter and your U.S. Representative urgently needs to hear from you.

Over the past 20 years, the Bureau of Land Management’s failure to properly manage the Wild Horse and Burro Program has led the agency to focus solely on round-up and removal as a primary management strategy for wild horse and burro populations on America’s western rangelands. As a result, the agency now finds itself holding more than 45,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities. This is the direct result of poor decisions made by government officials, and now the government wants to kill them to save money.

To make matters worse, a government spending bill would allow taxpayer dollars to fund slaughtering horses for human consumption. If language to defund horse slaughter inspections is not included in this bill, it will open the door to allow horrific horse slaughter plants in the U.S. If horse slaughter plants are opened in the U.S., it will pose a serious threat to public health and put the reputation of the U.S. agricultural industry at risk.

TAKE ACTION Please take a moment to call your U.S. Representative now and urge support for America’s horses. Look up your legislator’s phone number. You can say, “As your constituent, I urge you to prevent America’s wild horses and burros from being slaughtered, and to vote ‘yes’ on an amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill to keep horse slaughter plants out of the U.S.”
After your call, use the form below to send a follow-up message. Editing your message will help it stand out.

Click Here

Elvis Presley Ann Margret – You're The Boss for Uber reaches # 4 UK Top Shazamed ads (Video)

The Drum’s Shazam chart is based on the number of times each ad has been Shazamed over the past week using the music identification app.

Uber is the only newcomer to the chart this week with the help of the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley’s ‘You’re The Boss’ behind the brand’s ‘Effortless Night’ campaign.

The one minute short sees a couple out on a first date together being taken to different locations around town showing the accessibility of Uber.

Source – The Drum

Garth Brooks gives 89 year old Elvis fan his guitar! (Video)

Garth Brooks closed his concert run in Lafayette, La., on Saturday (July 1) with a concert that one 89-year-old fan will surely never forget.

Mid-show, Brooks noticed an older woman holding up sign that read: “Elvis was my last concert.” The woman was of course referring to Elvis Presley, who died nearly 40 years ago.

So, Brooks made a point to meet and introduce himself to the longtime music fan during his fifth and final night at Cajundome. As he walked off the stage and approached the woman, who was seated in the stands, Brooks told her, “I would be happy to play any song that you would like.”

Guitar in hand, he started to strum the instrument and sing “If Tomorrow Never Comes.”
Taken aback by his attention, the woman teared up. Brooks noticed and begged her not to cry, saying, “Oh god, don’t start crying!” He quickly grabbed the phone of a fan seated beside the elderly woman in order to take a selfie, and when he was done with the song, he gave her his guitar!

BIM – Very ELVISish, Garth! Hey, blame it all on his roots 😀!

Source – Taste of Country – READ MORE HERE

NYC Journalist Gabe Pressman passes away (video)

Elvis fans will recognize Gabe from interviewing Elvis Presley.

But for those of us in the NYC area, Gabe was part of our daily life. He was a journalist and today we don’t have many of those. Gabe Pressman was someone I grew up watching, a name I trusted, and a person I respected. I last saw him cover the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

He is a NY staple, a gem, a true journalist we will never see again. GODSPEED.

Pressman died at Mount Sinai Hospital Manhattan on June 23, 2017, aged 93.

Pressman amassed many awards for his work, including multiple Emmys and a Peabody Award.

He won many of those awards for his coverage of the plight of New York City’s homeless population.

11 Emmy Awards 1958: George Polk Award for Television Reporting 1981: Lincoln University’s Unity award for “Blacks and the Mayor: How Far Apart?” 1982: New York Press Club’s Feature Award for “The Homeless” 1982: New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association Award for Excellence in Individual Reporting 1982: UPI New York State Broadcasters’ Award for Best Feature News Story for “The Homeless” 1983: New York Chapter of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi’s Deadline Club Award for “The Hungry” 1983: Peabody Award for Asylum In The Streets 1983: Deadline Club Award 1985: Olive Award for Excellence in Broadcasting 1986: New York Chapter of NATAS Governors’ Award 1989: Edward R. Murrow Award 2015: Fair Media Council’s Folio Lifetime Achievement Award 2017: City Limits Urban Journalism Award (posthumous)

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Gabe is beloved around the world!

Dana MacKay – Elvis Impersonator Murder Cold Case – VIDEO

LAS VEGAS – Friends and family of a well-known Elvis tribute artist are hoping detectives will finally be able to close a double homicide case from 1993. So far, the murders of Dana Mackay and Mary Huffman haven’t produced any arrests. The homicides of Mackay, an Elvis performer, and Huffman, a former beauty queen, made national headlines as police explored several possible motives for what looked like a professional hit. MacKay looked like Elvis, sang like Elvis and was widely regarded as the best Elvi of his era. He was the first Elvis tribute artist hired by the long-running “Legends in Concert” show on the Strip, and often took his act on the road, even to other countries. He also played Elvis at age 35 in the film, This Is Elvis.

Have a tip? Contact 702-828-3521 Homicide@lvmpd.com