The Jewish World of Elvis Presley

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When he became rich, Elvis reportedly donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Memphis Jewish Welfare Fund and played racquetball late at night at the Memphis Jewish Community Centre. But amidst all the artifacts inside the Elvis Presley Museum, there’s something else that one wouldn’t expect to find – a gold menorah with nine Hanukkah candles. Alan Fortas acted as a bodyguard and general assistant to Elvis. He was the nephew of former Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas. 5. His mother’s tombstone is graced with a Star of David. In 1954, Elvis recorded his first hit record, “That’s All Right,” at Memphis’ Sun Record Co. But the Presleys didn’t own a record-player. Harold says Elvis borrowed the Fruchter’s record-player so he could play the song for his parents. Presley's father, Vernon, was of German,[9] Scottish and English origins.[10] Presley's mother, Gladys, was of Scots-Irish with some French Norman ancestry.[11] His mother, Gladys, and the rest of the family, apparently believed that her great-great-grandmother, Morning Dove White, was Cherokee;[12][13] this was confirmed by Elvis's granddaughter Riley Keough in 2017.[14][15] Elaine Dundy, in her biography, supports the belief.[16] Gladys was regarded by relatives and friends as the dominant member of the small family.

This deed on the part of Vernon and Gladys Presley marked a permanent separation of Elvis from his mother, and as Elvis was a classic "mama's boy". It was this, rather than his entrance into the Army or the later death of Gladys, from which Presley never truly recovered and which ultimately killed him. If that grim scenario sounds familiar, the Colonel was also a huge fan of Nightmare Alley, the 1947 drama recently remade by Guillermo del Toro. “The fascination Colonel had with that picture was unbelievable,” Raphael remembered. “He sat there so engrossed that he never moved, though God knows how many times he’d seen it. He talked about it all the time, for years.” The Colonel Loved Elvis’s Racy Headlines—In Fact He Helped Stage Them I’ll put my hands up, I’m a big Elvis fan. I have been since my mum took me to see him in Girl Happy in 1965 when I was six years old, the first of many. Admittedly, I became a bit more circumspect about the films Elvis had been compelled to make as I got older. But he was always on my mind. I’ve been to Elvis’s home, Graceland in Memphis. A friend and I go to every concert of Elvis music by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, hosted by Elvis’s wife Priscilla. It goes without saying that I am beyond excited about the new Baz Luhrmann film, Elvis, released on 24 June. Billy Gardell in the CMT TV series Sun Records (2017). In this series Parker's connections with former clients Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow are also represented along with his management of Presley. The Presleys once lived in an apartment directly below the family of Rabbi Alfred Fruchter, the first principal of the Memphis Hebrew Academy. The rabbi’s son, Harold, who now lives in Maryland, said that Elvis actually served as the Fruchters’ “Shabbos goy,” a non-Jew who performs household tasks for observant Jews that are normally forbidden on the Jewish Sabbath. Fruchter said his parents “never had even an inkling” that Elvis had Jewish roots.

ED Bonja Interview Elvis Photographer - the Elvis Information Network exclusive – Interview with En Bonja, who worked directly for the Colonel as Elvis's official photographer and tour manager Burdine’s great-granddaughter was Gladys Love Smith, who married Vernon Presley in 1933. Two years later, Gladys gave birth to Elvis in Tupelo, Mississippi. The family moved to Memphis when Elvis was 13. Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis vanKuijk; June 26, 1909– January 21, 1997), [1] commonly known as Colonel Parker, was a musical entrepreneur, best known for being Elvis Presley's manager.

Elvis’ paternal line is very different. According to Elvis Australia, the singer descended from a German vine dresser named Johannes Valentin Bressler who moved to New York in 1710. As time went on, the family’s last name evolved from Bressler to Presley. The headstone, which was taken from storage only in 2018, is now on display at the sprawling complex in Memphis where Elvis lived from 1957 until his untimely death 20 years later at the age of 42. It sits in Graceland’s Meditation Garden, just outside the mansion and a few feet from Elvis’ own grave. Presley was not Jewish. Yes, some sources repeat a tall tale that Presley's third cousin told 20 years ago to a Jewish biographer of Presley. This cousin said that he and Presley shared a very remote Jewish maternal ancestor (a woman who lived in the early to mid 1800's) All this talk now about Elvis being Jewish — that’s really disturbing,” Judy Fruchter said. “Because if he was Jewish, my father was making him desecrate Shabbat. He’s probably turning in his grave.” Hartal's unusual story begins in an unusual place -- the Montreal Hospital of Hope, a home for the aged where Hartal is employed as the Music Coordinator. When he began his work, he wanted to find a way to combine his love of performing for the elderly Jewish residents with his love for Elvis Presley's music. The result was Elvis songs with a Jewish twist like "Jerusalem Hotel" instead of "Heartbreak Hotel," or "Love me Blender" instead of "Love me Tender."

The King of Rock and Roll was rumored to have a distant connection to Judaism.

Turns out, Elvis’ maternal great-great grandmother, Nancy Burdine, was believed to be Jewish. Her daughter gave birth to Doll Mansell, who gave birth to Elvis’ mother, Gladys Smith. That, according to a Jewish law, which confers Jewish lineage by way of the mother, makes Elvis technically a Jew.

This impressive monument belies rumors, circulating over the past few years, that Elvis may actually have been halachically Jewish through his maternal great-great grandmother. That thought troubles the current generation of Fruchters. In April 1956, Parker made his first mistake with Presley's career. He had booked Presley into a four-week Las Vegas engagement, misjudging the reaction of the slightly older, more reserved audiences that Las Vegas attracted. [32] While Presley was a hit among the youth of America, the middle-aged audiences found him an oddity. [32] Some viewed him as a clown-like figure, wiggling his hips for screams, while others found him vulgar and more suitable for late-night gentleman's clubs. [ citation needed] After a cold reception during his first few shows, [33] Parker cut Presley's appearance to two weeks. Presley remembered the event as one of the worst moments of his career. [32] In 1935, while traveling with a circus, Parker met and married a 27-year-old woman named Marie Francis Mott. [70] Marie was one of six children, had been married twice before and had a son from her first marriage. [70] Unbeknownst to Parker, she had a second son from her first marriage but had given him up for adoption at birth due to his disability (a club foot). [71] Some suggested that Parker married Marie to disguise his illegal status in the United States; a marriage to a U.S. citizen with a child could help him bury his past in a "ready-made family". There is no proof that anything other than romance led to their marriage. [70] This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.In 2018 Elvis’s mother’s headstone was taken out of storage and put on display in Graceland. The headstone was designed by Elvis himself after his mother died in 1958. He included a Star of David in the top left-hand corner. A sign next to the gravestone now says that was to honour Gladys’s Jewish heritage.

My parents didn’t expect him to become famous,” Judy, Harold’s sister, said. “They thought he had a nice voice, but they didn’t think it was exceptional.” In the early 1950s, Rabbi Alfred Fruchter’s family shared a Memphis duplex with Elvis’ family at 462 Alabama Ave. The Presleys rented the small apartment downstairs and the rabbi’s family lived upstairs.The Jerusalem Post Group Breaking News World News Iran News IvritTalk- Free trial lesson The Jerusalem Report Jerusalem Post Lite Trending Articles חדשותמעריב Real Estate Listings Hype Special Content Insights 50 Jews I’m a new Elvis fan, thanks to the pilgrimage I made to Graceland during Elvis Week last August, marking the anniversary of The King’s passing. The place was deserted due to Covid.