Archive for the ‘Elvis’ Category

Obit watch: June 26, 2019.

Wednesday, June 26th, 2019

Steve Dunleavy, noted tabloid journalist.

Mr. Dunleavy exposed Elvis Presley’s addiction to prescription drugs in Star and in a best-selling book that rankled Presley fans; scored exclusive interviews with the mother of Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, and Albert DeSalvo, the confessed Boston Strangler; and championed police officers, smokers and gun owners, among others.
During his run on “A Current Affair,” from 1986 to 1995, he wrestled a bear in one segment and, in another, was bitten by a witness in a rape case when he confronted her with nude photographs of her.

That book, by the way, was: Elvis: What Happened?.

His columns in Star typically echoed the company’s conservative line, so much so that they earned him the “American of the Year” award from the right-wing John Birch Society — even though he was not a United States citizen and never became one.

Pete Hamill, who worked for both The Post and The News, was impressed by his drive. “I always thought he was writing his columns like he was double-parked,” Mr. Hamill said.

Rod Dreher has a tribute up as well, in which he quotes Hamill (after Dunleavy’s foot was run over by a snowplow):

“I hope it wasn’t his writing foot.”

NY Post.

By way of Lawrence: Herbert Meyer.

It was Meyer who, in a famous memo to Reagan in November 1983 when things were very tense with our intermediate-range missile deployments in Europe, wrote: “if present trends continue, we are going to win the Cold War.” Over eight vivid and tightly argued pages, Herb laid out the reasons that subsequently came to pass over the next decade.

Also by way of Lawrence: Desmond Amofah, YouTuber (under the handle “Etika”). He was 29.

His belongings were found on Manhattan Bridge on Monday. He had uploaded an eight-minute YouTube video in which he talked about suicide.
Etika was popular for playing and discussing Nintendo games on YouTube and the streaming platform Twitch.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you live outside of the United States or are looking for other help, TVTropes has a surprisingly good page of additional resources.

Not quite an obit, but:

The head of the Massachusetts motor vehicle division has resigned after her agency failed to terminate the commercial driving license of a man whose collision with a group of motorcyclists on a rural New Hampshire road left seven bikers dead.

Imagine a rotting Elvis shopping for fresh fruit…

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016

Today’s Statesman ran an AP article on the decline of Elvis mania in Las Vegas. I think this is the original.

Low attendance numbers were also to blame when the Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil show at the Aria casino-hotel was cancelled in 2012 after a two-year run. That’s a much shorter shelf life than most of its sister shows. The longest-running one, Myste’re, started on the Strip more than two decades ago.

It’s left the Strip’s largest casino operator, MGM Resorts International, without any Elvis-themed shows, attractions or weddings. Rival Caesars Entertainment Corporation still hosts tribute acts and weddings, but a spokeswoman said few of those getting hitched ever choose the official Elvis packages.

Elvis impersonator Ted Payne, 54 said business has slowed dramatically since he started taking photos with tourists for tips just six years ago.

“When I first started out, I wouldn’t get out of a bed unless I (could) make at least $150,” he said. “Now, these days, $50 is a great day.”

Others say the market was oversaturated by Elvis impersonators for so long that the appeal burned itself out here, even as Elvis’ reach grows internationally.

I have no joke here, I just like saying “oversaturated by Elvis impersonators”.

First Liberace, now Elvis. Is there no sense of history in Vegas?

(Subject line hattip.)

And the bait is taken.

Thursday, August 16th, 2012

Today is the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death.

Say what you will about the man and his music, but he had good taste in guns. I think that Savage 99A is pretty nice, though I’d have to start reloading .250-3000.

I want to say that Storied Firearms has a Field King for $650 (not listed on their website). That one has a Volksquarten trigger and barrel, if I’m remembering correctly.

And it looks like the going rate for a nice Python is around $2,000.