| In 1956 when a young, unknown Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut.he was 21 years old.
Elvis was Nicknamed the "Hillbilly Cat," a very nervous Elvis headlined at the last Frontier hotel before a mostly middle-aged crowd that was not impressed by this sexy,
gyrating young man.He was a rock and roll star in a town where the big star was Frank Sinatra. No one was ready for that
kind of music."
But while Las Vegas wasn't yet ready for Elvis, Hollywood was, and Elvis spent the next decade and a half making more than 30 feature films around a two-year
stint in the army. One of his most popular movies was Viva Las Vegas, released in 1964, in which he co-starred with Ann Margaret.
it was rumored that Ann Margaret was romantically linked off-stage to Elvis, he eventually married child bride Priscilla Anne Beaulieu at the Aladdin hotel in
Las Vegas in 1967. In 1969, Elvis signed a long-term contract with the International hotel, which later became the Hilton.
"Elvis was a must-see show for any visitor to Las Vegas at that time and it was hard to get a ticket."
"Elvis loved Las Vegas. He loved the nightlife."
In the 1950s Elvis had become a swivel-hipped teen sensation, but his style didn’t fit the Vegas entertainment scene at the time.
The King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s 1969 International opening launched his rise as a Las Vegas legend. Although the nation and the world had embraced Elvis’ brand of rock for
years, Las Vegas audiences displayed a new enthusiasm for the singer.
Elvis went on to perform regularly at the International and at the Hilton when it changed owners in 1971. Over the next seven years, he entertained about 2.5 million people
at the Las Vegas resort.
Before his record-breaking run in the 1970s, Elvis spent about three weeks in town during the 1963 filming of the movie “Viva Las Vegas,â€
Costing $1 million, the film earned $9.4 million worldwide and gave Sin City a theme song.
Although Elvis had been booked for more appearances at the Hilton, his last engagement was Dec. 2-12, 1976. He died on Aug. 16, 1977,aged 42 at his home Graceland,
As far as Las Vegas goes, Elvis the king of rock and roll will never leave the building. A year after his death, a statue of Elvis was dedicated at the Hilton. Initially displayed in a glass case
outside the Hilton showroom, the statue was moved in 2006 to outside the hotel’s front door. |