Elvis and the Beauty Queen
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Drama
Musical
| director = Gus Trikonis
| executive_producer = David Gerber
| producer = Charles B. Fitzsimmons
| writer = Julia Cameron
| starring = Don Johnson
Stephanie Zimbalist
Ann Dusenberry
Rick Lenz
| music = Allyn Ferguson
| cinematography = Thomas Del Ruth
| editor = Fred A. Chulack
| location = Los Angeles
| company = David Gerber Productions
Columbia Pictures Television
| network = NBC
| released = {{Start date|1981|03|01}}
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
}}
Elvis and the Beauty Queen is a 1981 American made-for-television drama musical film starring Don Johnson and Stephanie Zimbalist.{{cite book|last=Worth|first=Fred|title=Elvis: His Life from A to Z|year=1992|publisher=Outlet|isbn=978-0-517-06634-8|pages=309–310}}
It aired on NBC on March 1, 1981 at 9pm.
Plot
Don Johnson stars as Elvis Presley in this made-for-TV true story about Elvis's love affair with Linda Thompson (Stephanie Zimbalist), a young beauty pageant contestant who was his live-in girlfriend and traveling companion for four of the last five years of his life. The story begins with their first meeting and traces their years together when Thompson tried to keep Presley off drugs in the last years of his career.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082321/ {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}
Cast
- Stephanie Zimbalist as Linda Thompson
- Don Johnson as Elvis Presley
- Ann Dusenberry as Jeannie
- Rick Lenz as David Briggs
- Ann Wedgeworth as Aunt Betty
- Jay W. MacIntosh as Mrs. Thompson
- Ruta Lee as Su-Su
- Edward Edwards as Sam Thompson
- John Crawford as Vernon Presley
- Darrell Fetty as Pete Moore
- Richard Winterstein as Bobby Farr
- Gary Lee Davis as Ray
- John Ashton as Jake
- Bobbi Jordan as Pregnant Woman
- Hanala Sagal as Woman Kissed by Elvis during his concert
Production
Seven songs were recorded for the soundtrack in Nashville, Tennessee, with country singer Ronnie McDowell providing the vocals. The band that backed Ronnie McDowell was The Glass Hammer, a Nashville-based band. The Glass Hammer consisted of Joe Meador: Guitar, Don Lee: Lead Guitar, Bill Conn: Keyboards and Horns, Larry Leath: Bass, and Rick Judkins: Drums.
Reception
People Magazine said, "Don Johnson is praiseworthy as the King, but did Elvis really lounge around in tight leather pants and metal-studded capes?"{{cite news |last1=People Staff |title=Picks and Pans Review: Elvis and the Beauty Queen |url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-elvis-and-the-beauty-queen-vol-15-no-8/ |accessdate=10 June 2020 |work=People Magazine |date=2 March 1981}}
The Chicago Tribune, reviewing the movie after Johnson became famous for Miami Vice, said, "Every time Don Johnson delivers a line you find yourself rolling onto the floor as you howl with laughter."{{cite news |last1=Greene |first1=Bob |title=GEE, ELVIS, YOU SOUND LIKE SONNY |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-01-18-8803230262-story.html |work=The Chicago Tribune |date=18 Jan 1988}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0082321}}
{{Gus Trikonis}}
{{Elvis Presley}}
Category:1981 television films
Category:Films about Elvis Presley
Category:Films about beauty queens
Category:1980s English-language films
Category:Films directed by Gus Trikonis
Category:American drama television films
Category:English-language drama films
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