Elvis On Television

Presley's first major radio appearance was on the Grand Ole Opry, where he was not a hit with the conservative crowd. He garnered popular attention and acclaim, however, on the Opry's Shreveport-based rival series Louisiana Hayride. In 1956, he came to New York for a series of six television appearances on the Dorsey Brothers's variety series Stage Show, quickly followed by two appearances on The Milton Berle Show. Although Elvis's "wiggles" were decried as vulgar by his detractors, they didn't lessen his appeal to a growing audience of young fans. The success of the Dorsey and Berle appearances encouraged Steve Allen to risk having Elvis on his program--despite network protests--provided that he would tone down his aggressive body movements and dress in comically square white tie and tails. Even Ed Sullivan, who had initially announced that he was not a fan of Presley's, succumbed to popular opinion and invited him for a series of three appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, assuring critics that the camera would be carefully manipulated to prevent Presley's gyrations from shocking the audience. The fallacious popular belief that Elvis was shown entirely from the waist up is, however, refuted by these exciting kinescopes.

After his army tour in Germany, Elvis appeared on The Frank Sinatra-Timex Show, in what was to be his last television performance for eight years. He spent the intervening years pursuing his cinematic career, and returned triumphantly to television with the 1968 Singer Presents Elvis, a true tour-de-force. He performed his early hits, and explored his musical roots in gospel and blues as well as his influence on the rock music of the late sixties. His musical career revived, Elvis spent the remaining years of his life touring and performing live before audiences. His special from Hawaii, broadcast live via satellite to his growing audience in Asia and the Pacific Rim, was seen by millions more when it aired in the U.S. several months later. The Smith-Hemion documentary Elvis in Concert captures the excitement of a live concert amid the ever-growing enthusiasm and devotion of Elvis's fans that continue to this day.

Numerous biographical programs have explored the phenomenon of Elvis Presley. Sensitive and probing accounts of Presley's life include a documentary study of the year Presley became famous (1956), the ABC series starring Michael St. Gerard, the acclaimed 1979 television film featuring Kurt Russell as Presley, and Priscilla Presley's dramatic account of her marriage to Elvis. Now, in May 2005 the much anticipated CBS Elvis Mini-Series, sanctiond by the estate of Elvis Presley. Will tell the account of his early years and his rise to fame...a story we will all love !