Soon after Elvis died, Dick Clark Productions' made-for-TV film "Elvis, the Movie" aired on ABC network Television. Kurt Russell starred in the title role and his father, veteran actor, Bing Russell played Vernon, Elvis' father.
This makes for a neat game of six degrees of separation. First of all the producer of the film was John Carpenter. When Elvis would stay in hotels, he would often register under the pseudonym, Dr John Carpenter. Elvis was somewhat of a fan of western movies and when he met Bing Russell asked the actor if he'd mind if when Elvis made a western, he'd wear his hat the unique way Big did. This was when a young Kurt starred with Elvis in "It Happened at the World's Fair."
You may recall the scene of Elvis' character hiring a young boy to kick him in the chin. That was Kurt.
Mille Perkins, who played Elvis' love interest in "Wild in the Country" played Elvis' mother, Glady's Love Presley in the film.
The work as been released on VHS, but there is a campaign now to bring it to DVD. I am asking all my friends to sign the petition to bring this about:
http://www.petitiononline.com/ElvisDVD/petition.html
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