The new Elvis Presley movie is out. Here's what happened the two times he came to Columbus
With Baz Luhrmann's long-awaited biopic on Elvis Presley now in theaters, it's the perfect moment to revisit the times when the The King graced the stage here in Columbus.
Before his untimely death in 1977, Presley, who would have turned 87 in January, played in Ohio's capital on at least two occasions, according to Dispatch archives.
One came about two months after the release of his first album, “Elvis Presley," which stayed atop Billboard's pop album chart for 10 weeks and generated more than $1 million in sales, earning Presley his first gold album award.
Just after 7 p.m. on May 26, 1956, Presley appeared onstage at the former Veterans Memorial Auditorium wearing a Kelly green coat and navy blue trousers, according to a Dispatch article from the next day. He played a second show later that night.
"Long hair flying, he bumped and rolled through half a dozen numbers amidst piercing screams from a house three quarters full," the article reads. "The audience was teenagers with a heavy sprinkling of adults."
Presley was just 21 and already being treated by fans as a sensation.
"The 160-pound six-footer from Tupelo, Miss. drew screams each time he gesticulated or contorted his lanky body," the Dispatch article reads. "His mouth was moving but you couldn't prove he was singing above the near-hysterical din."
Columbus Mileposts: May 26, 1956 | When Elvis played Veterans Memorial
Besides the green coat and blue trousers, Presley reportedly wore a dark blue shirt, red socks and blue suede shoes that Saturday night.
"It is alleged he mouthed one ditty urging people to not step on the latter," the Dispatch said in its coverage. "A light wood guitar dangled from the loose-jointed 21-year-old's neck. He picked at it now and then, but relied largely on a raucous three-man combo to provide the beat."
Also appearing onstage that night were The Flaims, the Jordanaires, Phil Maraquin, Jackie Little and Frankie Connors.
13-year-old defends Presley in letter to the editor
About one week after Presley charmed the crowd at Veterans Memorial, the Dispatch published an op-ed written ostensibly by a 13-year-old girl.
Roberta Spires wrote back then that Presley had been "thrashed over and talked about so much" that it was high time someone came to his defense.
"Elvis Presley has been subjected to ridicule and unkind talk from leading papers and magazines, most disc jockeys, all the male sex, and most females," Spires wrote. "However, the few who don't despise him go to the other extreme and faint, holler, or simply expire at the very sight of him. A frequently heard argument is that he is ugly."
Spires said that claim couldn't be further from the truth.
"Now look at his hair. It's fair and naturally curly, unless he slicks it down. His eyes are a beautiful and moody blue and he has long enchanting eyelashes. His lips are neither too large nor too small and his complexion is perfect. His muscular frame, due to a love for outdoor sports, along with his handsome face would put a Greek god to shame."
In her letter, Spires singled the Dispatch and other newspapers out for criticism, saying writers "brought out the fact that he was dressed in poor taste at the 7 o'clock show."
"But you failed to mention at the second show his clothes were not only sharp but the colors matched perfectly," Spires wrote. "He was neatly attired in matching jacket and sox of bright pink."
Spires went on to say that the Dispatch wasn't as hard on Presley as other local papers.
"I would like to commend the Dispatch on the fact that you were brief in your criticism and not as sarcastic as another paper was," Spires wrote. "I do hope you'll publish this because I'm defending him against all attacks and not just yours."
Read more: 40 years after his death, Elvis' influence on rock unparalleled
Bar fight in Toledo
Sidenote: Later that year, Presley, joined by his manager and group of musicians, was sitting at a table in a Toledo bar when Louis John Balint approached.
"This guy walks up to me," Presley was quoted as saying in an article that ran in the Dispatch in November, "and says 'you ***, my wife carries a picture of you in her wallet, but doesn't carry one of me. Let's step outside.'"
A fight ensued, and Balint was later arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. He pleaded guilty and was fined $10, plus costs of $9.60. When he couldn't produce the money, Balint was sentenced to serve out the penalty by serving seven days in a workhouse.
Patrolmen told an Associated Press reporter that when they arrived at the bar, Balint was throwing musician Scotty Moore over a railing to the floor about four feet below and that Presley was "pounding" Balint.
"Presley's no slouch," patrolman William Kina told the reporter. "He was really working over that guy. He knows how to handle himself real fine. He threw several good punches."
As police arrested Balint, six teenage girls who had been watching the commotion from the lobby doorway reportedly rushed in and volunteered to give their names as witnesses. There were about 35 people in the bar when the fight started. Presley said at the time he wasn't going to press charges.
The '50s give way to the '70s
The King played another show in Columbus nearly 20 years later. By then, Presley had become a household name and an international sensation.
Tickets for a Tuesday night show at St. John Arena on June 25, 1974, went for $10 and were scalped for $75 or higher, about $423 in today's dollars. Nearly 15,000 in total were sold.
Eddie Fisher, then-executive entertainment editor of the Dispatch, claimed in a column published two days before the show that he had received constant queries as to why Presley wasn't booked to perform at Ohio Stadium, "where the crowd doubtlessly would match any Michigan-OSU football turnout."
"The answer is twofold: 1, Elvis refuses to perform outdoors; 2, the more people he plays to means that much less take-home pay (Uncle Sam's cut, you know)," Fisher wrote.
Jack Willey, covering the St. John Arena show for the Dispatch, spent little time on The King himself, instead fixating on the women who attended, including how they dressed and acted at the show.
"But while Elvis gleamed and glittered on stage, the audience was nonetheless spectacular and entertaining to anyone who took the time or trouble to divert eyes away from the stage. A melting pot of mostly female flesh turned out in everything from bluejeans and halter tops to rhinestones and furs. The average age of the ladies in waiting was clearly over 25, but both ends of Father Time were represented. From the six-year-old tomhead to a 58-year-old grandmother, the distaff side was out, en masse," Willey wrote in his article, referring to the female side of a family.
Presley and company stayed overnight in Columbus at the Hilton (Smuggler's) Inn on Olentangy River Road, where a post-concert party reportedly lasted into the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
mtrombly@dispatch.com
@monroetrombly
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Seeing 'Elvis' movie? You'll want to read about his Columbus visits
