According to Biography, Presley's father let Colonel Tom Parker have the run of things for two more years, but after the elder Presley also died in 1979, things got complicated for the manager. [37] Parker, not one to forget harsh criticism, stated that the fee would be $125,000 (equivalent to about $1,145,000 in 2021) for two songs, a total of eight minutes on screen; Sinatra himself was receiving a lower sum for the whole show,[38] but he agreed. Alanna Nash's biography of Parker, The Colonel, claims he may have been trying to avoid passport scrutiny because he might have been a suspect in a murder in Breda. On January 20, 1997, Parker's wife heard a crashing sound from the living room, and when she heard no response to her calls, she went in to find him slumped over in his chair after suffering a stroke. The first major artist with whom he worked was popular crooner Gene Austin. He left the estate to his father, Vernon Presley, and Lisa Marie. At the time of his death, Elvis was only worth . The contract, dated July 12, 1954, eight days after their first recording session, was signed by Presley and his parents. Colonel Tom Parker passed away on January 21, 1997 at 87 years old.Colonel Tom Parker Net Worth. Nash said of Elvis' late manager: "The Colonel is a complicated character, and while he always took too much of Presley's money, he made some very sound decisions for him. Loanne was born on July 11, 1935 in Covington, Ohio to Paul E. an He also reportedly had as much as $30 million worth of gambling debts at various times in his life. [72], His funeral was held at the Hilton Hotel and was attended by a handful of friends and former associates, including Eddy Arnold and Sam Phillips. The opposing counsel responded by presenting into evidence a copy of Parker's U.S. Army enlistment form which stated, through a legal loophole, that because Parker signed his enlistment papers under his alias "Thomas Andrew Parker" and once he took the oath by swearing allegiance to the United States of America, he unofficially renounced his Dutch citizenship, although it is claimed that he died a Dutch citizen. For his part, Parker himself died with a net worth of $1 million, or roughly $1.8 million in today's money (via Dollar Times ). [26] By the summer Presley had become one of the most famous new faces of the year, causing excitement among the new teenage audience and outrage among some older audiences and religious groups. [35] Parker had declined to travel to Europe, denying that he spoke any language other than English. [4], In 1935, Parker married 27-year-old Marie Francis Mott. Parker returned to the U.S . His origins were steeped in mystery. Parker was the Tampa dogcatcher known as The Colonel, who managed Elvis Presley with a deal that controversially landed him 50% of the King of Rock and Roll's earnings. He was previously married to Loanne Miller and Marie Frances Mott. Colonel Tom Parker died at the age of 87 years. At that point, Moore and Black had no contractual ties to either Phillips or Presley. "[70], Songwriter Mac Davis recounted a similar experience where Parker rubbed his head and declared "You're going to be a star. However, it would be a quiet wedding. Parker's net worth when he died was $1 million. Snow attended the signing, thinking that Elvis had signed a management contract with Jamboree Attractions, which he owned with Parker. He also lost a big chunk of Elvis's own money. Parker was also afraid that any attempt to block Presley from being drafted would result in a more detailed look into his own service record. Adam van Kuijk died from emphysema in 1992, never seeing or visiting Parker again.[63]. Specifically: The services for Tom Parker were held at Palm Mortuary Downtown location, but his cremains were taken to Memphis, TN and the mortuary has no record of the exact location. [50] However, it wasn't long before Presley was able to find other doctors to meet his demands. When he was 15, Parker moved to Rotterdam, where he worked on boats. The Tom Hanks Tom Parker portrayal was a shocking one. [14] Parker decided against registering, possibly to prevent his previous Army record from becoming public. Parker appeared to be in complete control during Presley's time away, but he was worried about the outside influence that Presley might encounter in West Germany. That number is down significantly from an estimated $100 million . Stick around for t. However, he also continued to blow his fortune on his gambling addiction and he died heavily in debt. While working in the circus in 1935, Parker wed Marie Francis Mott. Much of the money went to Col. Tom Parker, the King's enigmatic, cigar . I wanted to punch him in the face. Parker had unknowingly backed himself into a financial corner. Elvis is signed exclusively to the Colonel. Although the films were profitable, Presley complained about the quality of the scripts. He was mysterious and colorful, and, under his guidance, his one and only client -- Elvis -- reached unimaginable heights. On January 20, 1997, Parker suffered a stroke, and died the following morning in a Las Vegas hospital. [53] Despite this, however, the deal never materialized. [48] Two weeks after the Las Vegas press conference Parker received a letter from Honolulu Advertiser columnist Eddie Sherman. Following the success of Presley's Las Vegas return, Parker signed a contract with the International Hotel to guarantee Presley would play a month-long engagement for $125,000 a week ($974,043 in 2021 dollars[11]), an unheard-of sum at the time. However, other friends and members of Presley's entourage have stood by the suggestion that Parker didn't want to admit there was such a problem because he didn't know how to deal with it, and he was also worried about any negative publicity it would create. After a heated argument between the two, Presley told Parker he was fired. [4][5] Tual, once appointed as Lisa Marie's guardian ad litem, chose to investigate the entire period of Parker's management of Presley; his preliminary finding was that Parker's management deal of 50% was extortionate compared to the industry average of 1520%. While the film shows Elvis firing his manager during a show after realising he's being deceived by the Colonel, this is not what happened in real life. [35] He was reportedly afraid that Presley would realize that there were other managers available prepared to sign contracts that did not require as much as 25% of his earnings. Colonel Tom Parker was a Dutch-American talent manager and musical entrepreneur who had a net worth of $1 million at the time of his death in 1997. 26 Jun 1909. Parker believed that serving in the Army would help cure Presley of his increasing waywardness and convinced him to follow through with his draft as a normal citizen. After being discharged, Parker returned to carnival work, working as a carnie with Royal American Shows from 1931 to 1938. [53] Parker turned the offer down, and Presley was overjoyed when they replied with another offer of $10 million. In 1973, Colonel Parker sold the master tapes for 700 of Presley's songs to RCA for $5.4 million. "He fully believed the colonel's story that Parker hailed from Huntington, West Virginia; Elvis died not knowing the truth," she says. [58], Following Presley's death, Parker set up a licensing operation with Factors Etc. He is known for Spinout (1966), Kissin' Cousins (1964) and Jailhouse Rock (1957). He also assisted Jimmie Davis' campaign to become Governor of Louisiana. [34] He was upset about the possibility that would affect his career, but Parker was secretly overjoyed. He also became friendly with the estate again, attending special ceremonies and events in Memphis, invited by Priscilla. "[27][28], Parker signed a deal with Beverly Hills film merchandiser Hank Saperstein for nearly $40,000 to turn Presley into a brand name. In November, Parker and Snow persuaded RCA to buy Presley out from Sun for $40,000, and on November 21, Presley's contract was officially transferred from Sun Records to RCA Victor. [72] Priscilla Presley attended the funeral to represent the Elvis Presley Estate and gave a eulogy that, to many in the room, summed up Parker: "Elvis and the Colonel made history together, and the world is richer, better and far more interesting because of their collaboration. [46] Parker had also decided that it was time for Presley to return to New York, and had arranged for him to perform at Madison Square Garden in June. Presley's star continued to rise as Parker signed a merchandising deal with Hank Saperstein to fully commoditize the young singer. [67] As Parker's management career began to take off, Marie became more of a housewife, although she would occasionally travel with him to various parts of the country. June 30, 2022. [50] In later years, several of Presley's inner circle would tell of how difficult it was to persuade Presley to quit the drugs. [4] He would often spend 1214 hours at a time gambling in the casinos, betting large sums. [17] In the beginning, Presley, Moore, and the bassist Bill Black were a trio, the Blue Moon Boys. Elvis Presley with manager Colonel Tom Parker as he is discharged from the Army in 1960. . [59] Due to an ill-advised agreement between Parker and Presley that gave RCA sole ownership of all his recording royalties prior to 1973, the estate was relying heavily on the income from Factors Etc. Parker encountered Presley in 1955, and by 1956 had become his primary representative. [69] In October 1990, Parker married Loanne Miller, his secretary since 1972. [51], After the Aloha special, Parker made a deal that would later be used in court to prove that he had not acted in the best interests of Presley. Nor did he ever suggest onstage that he knew of the colonel's immigration issues. [41] Selling it to RCA for $24,000 ($200,443 in 2021 dollars[11]), it was used to promote Presley's latest film, Frankie & Johnny. Allegedly $1 Million, more or less. Between 1969 and his death on Aug. 16, 1977, Presley played over 600 shows at the Hilton. Despite earning over $100 million during his lifetime, at the time of his death Colonel Tom Parker was reportedly worth less than $1 million. Inc.[4] However, because Parker was still entitled to 50% of all Presley's income, and after taxes were taken off, the overall amount going towards the upkeep of the estate was less than $1 million a year.[4]. Instead, he found employment as a field agent with a local animal shelter, the Hillsborough County Humane Society. Colonel Tom Parker's House. [55] Worried about the impact such details might have on his career, Presley, through his father, asked Parker to stop the publication. He cared about making sure that his boy didn't just have a million dollars worth of talent . [citation needed], For the remainder of Presley's life, Parker saw little of him. Meanwhile, his gambling habit increasingly eroded the huge fortune he had built up, and he died worth only US$1,000,000. By Alanna Nash. [54], In July 1976, three of Presley's personal bodyguards and members of the "Memphis Mafia", Robert Gene "Red" West, his cousin Sonny West and David Hebler, were fired by Vernon Presley and decided to write a tell-all book about their life in his inner circle, Elvis: What Happened? But he had less than $750,000 in his savings account when he died, and his estate was valued at less than $10 million. Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 - January 21, 1997), commonly known as Colonel Parker, was a Dutch musical entrepreneur, best known for being Elvis Presley's manager.. Parker, who was born in the Netherlands, entered the United States illegally when he was 20 years old. He arranged for Presley to appear on popular television shows, such as The Milton Berle Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, securing fees that made Presley the highest-paid star on television. [14] Parker served in the peacetime army as a precondition for taking advantage of that stipulation, but he never subsequently applied to become a citizen. To garner Presley new publicity and to help tame his wild impulses, Parker had him marry Priscilla Beaulieu, who had been living with Presley for four years already. Just the opposite. Elvis Presley shot to stardom as a rock 'n roll legend, a legacy that still continues almost 50 years after the King's death. He subsequently performed at three charity events, and then suspended his live performing until 1968. He died on 21 January 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He said 'Well then there ain't no doubt about it. The Amazing ComebackOf Colonel Tom Parker. [41] The Cadillac tour proved to be somewhat more successful than the film itself. All net worths are calculated using data drawn from public sources. That's $35 million (28m) today and considerably less than what they were actually worth. Parker decided that Las Vegas was the perfect place to do it,[41] and on May 1, 1967, the couple were married in a ceremony that lasted only eight minutes and had a handful of guests. At the time of Presley's death in 1977, it was suspected that Parker owed the Las Vegas Hilton over $30 million ($134,151,565 in 2021 dollars[11]) in gambling losses. [64] In 1993, in one of his last media appearances, Parker appeared in a television interview with Dutch TV director Jorrit van der Kooi where they spoke to each other in Dutch about the Netherlands and about Elvis Presley's life and career. He would call his flamboyant manager, Col. Tom Parker, and ask Parker to book another tour (Presley's average concert gross in the mid-'70s was $130,000 a night) or schedule another recording . Inc, to control Presley merchandise and keep a steady income supporting his estate. He feels exploited and fires Parker on the stage during his Las Vegas show. [53] Promoters in South America also made offers, as much as $2.5 million, and all of them were turned down by Parker; "Well, whenever I need $2.5 million I'll call you," he once said to them. During the week-long visit, Parker was informed by Adam van Kuijk that their mother had died three years earlier in 1958, never knowing what happened to her son after he left the Netherlands for good in 1929. and he was hired as a hotel consultant for $50,000 per year (323,906 in 2021 dollars). [1][4], At age 15, Van Kuijk moved to Rotterdam, gaining employment on boats in the port town. Colonel Parker died of a stroke on January 22, 1997, aged 87. . He died on Aug. 16, 1977, of a heart attack. Colonel Tom Parker was born in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands in June 1909 and passed away in January 1997. [5] During a second, more detailed investigation, Tual discovered that all earnings were paid directly to the Trust instead of Parker. [56] Other accounts suggest he slumped in his chair at his office, muttered, "Oh, dear God", and then quickly phoned Vernon Presley, where Parker advised Presley's father that his son's image needed to be protected. "Last Train to Memphis". He adopted a new name and claimed to have been born in the United States. [49] The album was released simultaneously around the world, and went to number 1 on the US charts, the first Presley album to do so since the Roustabout soundtrack, in 1964. [53], From 1974 onward, Presley's weight gain and prescription drug abuse became too much to be controlled. "Every entertainer should go to bed at night and pray he . Burial. It took a probate court to remove Parker and his 50% fee from future dealings. Later in 1975, the government of Saudi Arabia offered Parker $5 million for Presley to perform there. His death certificate lists his birth name as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, his country of birth as . A large part of Tom's net worth he made from his Salary as a Colonel. Breda, Breda Municipality, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. He negotiated Presley's lucrative merchandising deals, TV appearances, and acting roles in films. He then re-enlisted at Fort Barrancas in Florida. While Presley was serving in West Germany, Parker was hard at work keeping Presley's name known to the public. [32], In 1957, Parker finally managed to give Tommy Sands his big break by arranging for him to audition for and star in The Singin' Idol, a drama for NBC that was loosely based on the life and career of Presley. Luhrmann hasn't really . [44] These live performances, as well as being financially satisfying, also allowed Parker to fulfill Presley's recording contract with RCA Victor. In January 1958 Presley received his draft notice from the United States Army. [13] Instead, Parker decided to stay in Temple Terrace, Florida, with his family, perhaps to avoid having to submit paperwork that could expose his illegal status.