Modern Screen (Jan-Dec 1960)

OPEN LETTER The still-strong memory of hi Why Elvis Stayed Away I don't care what anyone says, I think the real reason Elvis Presley did not attend the marriage of his father, Vernon Presley, to Mrs. "Dee" Elliott in Alabama, is because the memory of his mother who died just last year is still too deep in Elvis's heart. I don't mean to imply that there's an estrangement between Elvis and his dad and new step-mother. At heart Elvis is a sweet boy and a kind one no matter how many jibes he takes as 'Mr. Swivel Hips.' I'm sure he kept Elvis from his father's wedding. wants his father to be happy. But as much as I like the Presley mentor, good old Colonel Tom Parker, I just couldn't swallow his explanation for Elvis's absence, "The boy thought the wedding should be as quiet as possible. If he had flown down to Alabama, it would have been a riot." By the way. Paramount tells me that Elvis's GI Blues will have a special premiere in Heidelberg, Germany, for his buddies in the Third Armored Division. It was while Elvis was stationed in Germany that Vernon Presley met Mrs. Elliott, the former wife of one of young Presley's superior officers. Juliet Proivse has dated co-star Elvis Pi but her heart belongs to Frank. Frank and Juliet As of the moment there's no one girl in the life of Elvis. Forget that talk about Juliet Prowse, his GI Blues leading lady. Sure, there was a flirtation on the set during the shooting of the picture. But Juliet's heart belongs to Frank Sinatra. Frank brought her a string of matched pearls and a jade bracelet from the Orient, not that the girl is influenced by these baubles. But when she and Elvis parted the final day of the picture, they exchanged a friendly kiss on the cheek. to Tab Hunter: I know you have been advised by men you consider wiser than yourself to let these "dog beating" charges die down without taking too much of a stand to fight the shocking accusations. Someone close to you told me, "Tab has explained that he was only disciplining his thoroughbred Weimaraner hunting dog from digging up the garden as he had been instructed to do by an expert trainer of this breed. But how can anyone really fight charges like these — it's like the question: 'When did you stop beating your wife?' " I can see the point — but I do not agree. I think you should shout from the housetops your denial that you have been cruel to a little animal, as some of your neighbors have charged, even to calling the police and instigating charges against you. I believe it is imperative that you fight back because you should read the letters that have poured into my office from irate people who have listened to just one side. Nothing arouses the ire of all the people who love animals as much as a charge of cruelty to them. You can't take it standing still and being silent. I happen to know that the neighbors who live right next door to you are horrified and shocked over the "beating" complaints lodged by some people who live across the street from your home in the Valley. Your next door neighbor has said, "Why Tab loves that dog! I swear he has never been cruel to him. I have a dog of my own and we frequently talk over the back fence about training our dogs and making them well behaved. I'll gladly go to court — if it should reach there — and swear to this." You have always been known as a lover of animals, horses and dogs. If you are innocent — you must fight back. To do otherwise, could be dangerous to your career. Tab should stand up to those who accuse him of cruelty to his pet dog!