Quiz

Became Elvis Presley's manager in 1956, shortly after having managed to sell his Sun Records contract to RCA for a then unheard $35,000. He got a 25% share of Elvis' paycheck. That share was raised to 50% in 1967 (the normal share for managers at the time was about 15%). Because he also had shares in a number of activities centered on Elvis' image (memorabilia, souvenirs, song publishing), he actually made more money out of Elvis than Elvis himself did.

Is portrayed by Pat Hingle in Elvis, il re del rock (1979), Randy Quaid in Elvis (2005) and Tom Hanks in Elvis (2022).

Elvis Presley tried to fire Colonel Parker on at least one occasion. When he told an associate to "tell Parker he's fired," the associate conveyed the message to Parker who, knowing Elvis' fear of direct confrontation, told the aide that he would go only if Elvis told him to in person. Needless to say, Presley never did, and Parker continued to get a sizable share of Presley royalties until his death in 1997.

Got George Strait to star in the movie Pure Country (1992).

The stage musical "My Boy Elvis" written and directed by George Twamley relates the relationship between Parker and Elvis Presley.

Entered the United States from the Netherlands illegally when he was 18, always claimed his name was Thomas Andrew Parker and he was a West Virginia native.

Before managing Elvis Presley, Parker's most successful show-business effort had been "Colonel Parker's Dancing Chickens", an act in which chickens were persuaded to "dance" by being made to stand on an electric hot plate.

Was a heavy gambler. It has been said that he spent as much as $1 million a year at the gambling table in Las Vegas.

The title of 'Colonel' was an honorary one, not one earned in the military. He was very proud of it, and people had to address him as 'Colonel', rather than 'Mr. Parker'.

Kept Elvis from appearing in movies that would portray him as anything other than a clean-cut all-American entertainer. Two of the most notable were È nata una stella (1976) and Un uomo da marciapiede (1969).

Although he is credited as technical advisor in quite a number of Elvis' movies, his only connection with those movies was the fact that he was Elvis' manager.

Manager for Elvis Presley.

Before managing Elvis Presley, Parker managed country-and-western stars Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 470-471. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.