Gladys Presley’s grave marker, now on display at Graceland. It was designed by her famous son to honor the family’s Jewish heritage, a Graceland archivist says. (Dan Fellner via JTA) He was very close to the Jewish people, especially in Memphis,” says Copen. “He always treated them very nicely and they treated him very nicely.” Love me tender: Austin Butler plays Elvis alongside Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla (Photo: Warner Bros)

Despite Dundy’s research, I was skeptical about the evidence she provided regarding Elvis’s Jewish roots. It seemed to me there was insufficient documentation, despite the fact that she had interviewed many people and had uncovered some of his genealogy. That’s why I was thrilled when in 2018 Elvis Presley Enterprises confirmed Elvis’s Jewish roots by placing Gladys’s restored headstone – with the Star of David – in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.

Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis vanKuijk; June 26, 1909– January 21, 1997), [1] commonly known as Colonel Parker, was a musical entrepreneur, best known for being Elvis Presley's manager. In watching the movie and speaking to Hartal, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that there is something almost spiritual in the love that diehard Elvis fans have for their "king." "Elvis had a special neshama (soul)," says Hartal. "You don't see followers of John Lennon or Jim Morrison behaving the same way that Elvis fans do. There was something special beyond the man. His spirit, his music, his connection." Because some Jewish traditions consider the heritage to be passed down along the maternal line, Presley's purported Jewish lineage is arguably a matter of religious interpretation. The question of what counts as Jewish identity has been hotly debated before. The man certainly did not identify himself as Jewish based on publicly available knowledge. This portrait of Gladys Presley hangs on the wall inside the Graceland mansion in Memphis. (Dan Fellner) Austin offered Parker the opportunity to move to Nashville, Tennessee, where music was becoming a big business, but for reasons unknown, Parker turned down the offer. [16] Instead, he decided to stay with his family in Temple Terrace, Florida, perhaps to avoid having to submit paperwork that could expose his illegal status. [16] Within a year, Parker had the opportunity to become a legal citizen of the United States – a new law allowed illegal aliens the chance to become citizens in return for their promise to fight for the U.S. during World War II if required. [17] Parker served in the peacetime army as a precondition for taking advantage of that stipulation, but he never subsequently applied to become a citizen. [17] He decided against registering, possibly to prevent his previous army record from becoming public.

Yardley, Jonathan (June 8, 2001). "Colonel of Lies". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 15, 2023. But amidst all the artifacts inside the Elvis Presley Museum, there’s something else that one wouldn’t expect to find – a gold menorah with nine Hanukkah candles. Presley was not Jewish. Yes, some sources repeat a tall tale that Presley's third cousin told 20 years ago to a Jewish biographer of Presley. This cousin said that he and Presley shared a very remote Jewish maternal ancestor (a woman who lived in the early to mid 1800's)This travelogue of sorts is a seemingly pointless documentary as the only people who is interested in Elvis's religion is only the film director and Schmelvis, a not so good Elvis impersonator who performs Elvis's songs with Jewish twist in an unspectacular fashion. The crew interviews several people around Graceland and people generally think that this is a non-issue that only the film crew is interested in. The accompanying rabbi steals the show with his edgy and down to earth views - he thinks the trip is delightful but useless as the film makers haven't prepared the trip at all with any sort of research. I agree.

Van der Steen, Paul (September 14, 2020). "Staatloos na het dienen in vreemde krijgsdienst". Trouw.nl. Trouw . Retrieved August 19, 2023. The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 07:00 AM and 14:00 PM and Fridays only handles distribution requests between 7:00 AM and 12:30 PM For the rest of his life, Parker managed the Presley estate. Having previously sold the rights to Presley's early recordings to RCA, he struggled to secure a steady income, and his financial situation worsened after he sustained significant gambling losses. [4] [5] Parker's final years were spent living in Las Vegas, in increasingly poor health, until his death in 1997. [1] Early life [ edit ] In 1998, The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, "All Shook Up in the Holy Land" exposing Elvis Presley's unlikely Jewish lineage. Apparently, Elvis' maternal great-great grandmother, Nancy Burdine, was a Jew. Her daughter gave birth to Doll Mansell who gave birth to Gladys Smith who gave birth to Elvis. Although it sounds improbable, according to Jewish law, which confers Jewish lineage by way of the mother, that makes Elvis Presley Jewish. Werner, Michael (August 12, 2018). "A New Light On Colonel Tom Parker". elvis.com.ua. Elvis.com.ua . Retrieved August 19, 2023.

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In 1935, while traveling with a circus, Parker met and married a 27-year-old woman named Marie Francis Mott. [70] Marie was one of six children, had been married twice before and had a son from her first marriage. [70] Unbeknownst to Parker, she had a second son from her first marriage but had given him up for adoption at birth due to his disability (a club foot). [71] Some suggested that Parker married Marie to disguise his illegal status in the United States; a marriage to a U.S. citizen with a child could help him bury his past in a "ready-made family". There is no proof that anything other than romance led to their marriage. [70]