King
Creole
Elvis'
most critically acclaimed performance as an actor was in
what is considered (rivaled only by
"Jailhouse Rock") the best of all the films he
starred in - "King Creole" (1958). The story was
based upon the Harold Robbins novel
"A Stone For Danny Fisher". Elvis played the role
of Danny.
The film
was directed by Michael Curtiz. Harold Robbins was a
successful author whose novels sold over
750,000,000 copies worldwide and most
of them were made into movies. Robbins grew up in an orphanage
as well as in several foster homes.
He took his name from one of those foster families.
His early jobs included a numbers runner and a futures buyer.
He had made and lost a million dollars
by age twenty. He became a writer after
working his way up with Universal Pictures, starting as
a shipping clerk. He specialized in
novels about celebrity and Hollywood.
Michael
Curtiz was born Mano´Kertesz Kaminer in Budapest,
Hungary. He began his acting and directing
career in Hungary in 1912. He moved to the United
States in 1926, going to work for Warner
Brothers and making such movies as
"The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Angels With
Dirty Faces", "Yankee Doodle
Dandy", "Casablanca", "Mildred Pierce",
"Life With Father", "Jim Thorpe
- All-American", "The Jazz Singer", "
White Christmas", and the original
1937 version of "Kid Galahad". Curtiz was nominated
for four Academy Awards as Best Director,
winning in 1944 for the film "Casablanca".
Elvis'
movie "King Creole" co-starred Carolyn Jones,
who is best known for her
work in the TV show "The Adams Family". However,
long before the TV series, she appeared
in a number of stage productions and in movies such
as "East of Eden", "The Seven
Year Itch", "The Tender Trap" and "The
Man Who Knew Too Much", as well
as "The Bachelor Party", for which she her
1957 Oscar nomination or Best Supporting
Actress. She also won a Golden Globe
award in 1958 as Most Promising Female Newcomer. Ms. Jones
was born in Amarillo, Texas in 1929.
For a time she was married to producer Aaron Spelling.
Also
co-starring in "King Creole" was Walter Matthau,
born Walter Matuschanskayasky in New
York City. Matthau's parents were Russian Jewish
immigrants. He served in the Army Air Corps during World
War II as a radio cryptographer. After
the war he began his movie career. His many film
credits include: "The Kentuckian", "Lonely
Are The Brave", "Charade",
"The Fortune Cookie", "The Odd Couple",
"Cactus Flower", "Kotch",
"The Sunshine Boys", "The Bad News Bears",
"Dennis The Menace", "Grumpy
Old Men", and "Grumpier Old Men" to name
a few. Matthau was nominated for eight
Golden Globe Awards, winning one in 1976 for Best
Actor in "The Sunshine Boys". He
was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning
one in 1967 as Best Supporting Actor in "The Fortune
Cookie".
Co-starring
with Elvis for a second time was Dolores Hart, daughter
of actor
Bert Hicks and niece of singer Mario Lanza. Dolores also
starred with Elvis in his 1957 movie
"Loving You". She would go on the appear in
several other films including "Where
The Boys Are" and "Come Fly With Me".
Ms. Hart left her successful film career
to become a nun in the cloistered Benedictine
Monastery in Bethlehem, Connecticut, where, today, she is
a Mother Superior and still a voting
member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences (The Oscars).
Dean
Jagger played Elvis' father in "King
Creole". He began in vaudeville in the 1920s and went
on to appear in films such as "Brigham
Young - Frontiersman", "The Robe", "Elmer
Gantry" and "White Christmas",
to name a few. He won the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Twelve O'clock
High".
Actor
Vic Morrow played Shark in the movie with
Elvis. Born in New York, he had dropped
out of school to join the Navy. After serving in the Navy,
he went to school to study pre-law.
After a taste of acting in a school play, Morrow
decided to change majors and went into acting. After graduation,
he signed with MGM. His movie debut was in
"Blackboard Jungle" as a street
punk. He then became typecast as a heavy, which is what
he also played in "King Creole".
In the 1960's he became well known for his role in
the TV series "Combat!", for which he received
an Emmy nomination. He also took up
directing. In 1983 he was killed in an accident on the set
of the film "Twilight Zone: The Movie".
Today, his daughter, Jennifer Jason
Leigh, is a successful actress.
Jan
Shepard played Elvis' sister Mimi
Fisher in "King Creole". She also appeared in
the 1966 Elvis movie "Paradise,
Hawaiian Style" as Betty Kohana.
John
Indrisano played an unaccredited role
as a collector in "King Creole". He also appeared
in an unaccredited role as a card
player in the 1963 Elvis movie "It Happened At
The World's Fair".