Elvis Presley: Go, Cat, Go (1956 article)

[The fool]

Elvis Presley: Go, Cat, Go
by James Poling
Pageant, July 1956

[The fool]

Inside back cover

[Mister Moon]

Thanks, The fool, for another interesting read.

[drjohncarpenter]

Elvis Presley: Go, Cat, Go
by James Poling
Pageant, July 1956

Man, I almost couldn't get past that beautiful cover girl. Does the issue identify her?

A careful look at the article by James Poling proves his reporting dates from March 17 at CBS Studio 50 in New York, and March 21 and Presley's appearance in Lexington, NC. The Paramount screen test (late March) is also confirmed.

Poling's work is detailed, dedicated and in general quite accurate. He clearly spoke with Elvis the band, management, even friend Red West and cousin Gene Smith.

The bit Elvis relates about losing his clothes in Charlotte (February 10) is new to me:

"And in Charlotte the other night they got me down to my britches, and got one cuff off of them, before the police got me in the car."

It appears that all the photos were supplied by the wonderful Al Wertheimer. Is there a credit for him in the magazine's early pages?

The photo (March 17) at CBS-TV in New York with Elvis greeting Anne Fulchino, publicist for RCA's Pop Record Division, and Poling is interesting, as it is (IIRC) uncropped from previous versions:

560324_CBS-TV New York_Wertheimer_01.JPG

This one below is also new, although I do not know who the other two men are, probably NY newspaper writers:

560324_CBS-TV New York_Wertheimer_02.JPG

A major reason this magazine article was so well-written: Poling was an accomplished writer whose credits appeared in many magazines on many subjects, like Esquire, Collier's and Sports Illustrated.

He also wrote a civil rights piece so highly regarded it was included in an acclaimed anthology:

030106_Reporting Civil Rights.JPG

Reporting Civil Rights - Part One: American Journalism 1941-1963 (New York: Library of America, January 6, 2003)
http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=186
http://www.amazon.com/Reporting-Civil-Rights-Part-One/product-reviews/1931082286/

James Poling. Thurgood Marshall and the 14th Amendment "Our greatest civil liberties lawyer": Collier's, February 23, 1952

_____


Thank you for sharing this article from the July 1956 issue of Pageant.

There's a lot to be had, if you know where to look.

[The fool]

Thank you for sharing this article from the July 1956 issue of Pageant.

You´re welcome. And thanks for the extra info on the writer.

It appears that all the photos were supplied by the wonderful Al Wertheimer. Is there a credit for him in the magazine's early pages?

Yes. Photo credits are on page 162. "Pp. 6-11, Alfred Wertheimer"

Man, I almost couldn't get past that beautiful cover girl. Does the issue identify her?

Her name is Judy Foster.
From the article: "She traveled to New York instead, and got a job dancing in the hit show Fanny. There, ace discoverer Huntington Hartford saw her and propelled her right back to Hollywood, where she is now a featured singer in a show called Joy Ride."

[George Smith]

Excellent post, thank you.

I'm amused that Red West wasn't tough enough for the job ...

[drjohncarpenter]

Thank you for sharing this article from the July 1956 issue of Pageant.

You´re welcome. And thanks for the extra info on the writer.

It appears that all the photos were supplied by the wonderful Al Wertheimer. Is there a credit for him in the magazine's early pages?

Yes. Photo credits are on page 162. "Pp. 6-11, Alfred Wertheimer"

Man, I almost couldn't get past that beautiful cover girl. Does the issue identify her?

Her name is Judy Foster.
From the article: "She traveled to New York instead, and got a job dancing in the hit show Fanny. There, ace discoverer Huntington Hartford saw her and propelled her right back to Hollywood, where she is now a featured singer in a show called Joy Ride."

Neat info. Judy Foster was a lovely looking lady.

571100_Tempo magazine_01.JPG

571100_Tempo magazine_02.JPG

Tempo Magazine - November 1957


"Fanny" was a Broadway success:

560000_Playbill_Fanny.JPG

http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2475


"Joyride" did not fare so well:

560600_Joy Ride_01.JPG

560600_Joy Ride_02.JPG

This is a rare souvenir program from the out-of-town tryouts of the obscure musical revue "JOY RIDE". (The show opened in January 1956 at the Huntington Hartford Theatre in Los Angeles and closed in Chicago, failing to arrive in New York.) ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jerry-Bock-JOY-RIDE-Charles-Strouse-Conrad-Janis-1956-Musical-FLOP-Program-/400620142561

[Mister Moon]

Let's start the Judy Foster Appreciation Society !

Judy Foster 1.JPG

Judy Foster 2.JPG

Judy Foster 3.jpg

[The fool]

Let's start the Judy Foster Appreciation Society !

Maybe I should not have posted the front cover.

[Mister Moon]

Let's start the Judy Foster Appreciation Society !

Maybe I should not have posted the front cover.

It's very interesting to have it to put Elvis' article in an historical context. Thanks for posting it !

[The fool]

Thank you very much for your kind words, Bob.

[hilton22000]

GREAT magazine, wonderful way to start a new year! Thank you very much and Happy New Year, my friend, you're always here for us with all these gems!

Note: ALL the photos are from March 17, not from March 24. The "gal" from page 10 is Anne Fulchino, the RCA publicist - or looks like Anne, becouse in embrace photo she appear more taller than before...
Maibe she put on some high shoes, i don't know.

[drjohncarpenter]

Great topic, and what a way to start the New Year! Thanks to all.

I'm really amazed to see how the incredible flood of magazines you share here just keeps on going, The fool.
Your vintage mags (especially from the 50's) have become the main reason why I have been visiting FECC in the past year.

My sincere thanks for ALL your mags and scans!

What about Rob?

[drjohncarpenter]

GREAT magazine, wonderful way to start a new year! Thank you very much and Happy New Year, my friend, you're always here for us with all these gems!

Note: ALL the photos are from March 17, not from March 24. The "gal" from page 10 is Anne Fulchino, the RCA publicist - or looks like Anne, because in embrace photo she appear more taller than before...
Maybe she put on some high shoes, i don't know.

You are correct on both observations.

Al Wertheimer was not there on March 24, 1956. And he was friends with Anne, who hired him in the first place:

Sitting in the office of his Upper West Side town house, its walls papered with blowups and posters of his now historic Elvis pictures, his desk cluttered with Elvis tchotchkes, and drinking black coffee from a “Shake, Rattle & Roll” mug, Wertheimer, a peppy 79, relives his first fateful encounter with Elvis. “On March 17, 1956, I meet Anne backstage at CBS Studio 50, which is where the Dorsey show was telecast from—it’s now the David Letterman theater. She takes me to this dressing room, and I see this young man with a middle-aged man. Anne says, ‘Elvis, I want you to meet Al Wertheimer. He’s going to be taking some pictures.’ And Elvis says, ‘Yeah, sure, fine.’ He’s preoccupied with something. It turns out the other man was a ring salesman. One or two weeks earlier, Elvis had ordered a good-luck ring. It was a horseshoe ring, diamond-encrusted around the horseshoe, with a horse’s head going across the center. Early bling. So he had just taken delivery, and the salesman was now trying to sell him another ring. I became a fly on the wall. I was happy to do that, because I had trained myself along the lines of available-light photography. Later on, I coined a phrase, because I got beyond available-light photography to available-darkness photography. I was always trying to understand what motivates people through body language and the way they relate to each other physically. In those days, I wasn’t that intellectual about it. I just did it instinctively. My feeling was that the darker you can get a decent photograph—I mean in a dark enough place—the closer you’ll get to the real personality. In Elvis’s case, I didn’t know what it was, but I felt he was charismatic.

January 2010: Bob Colacello on "Elvis at 21" | Vanity Fair
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/01/elvis-at-21-201001

I have updated my post, and thank you.

[hilton22000]

Very welcome, Doc, so is, indeed, Anne Fulchino, right? (in embrace photos)

[drjohncarpenter]

Very welcome, Doc, so is, indeed, Anne Fulchino, right? (in embrace photos)

Yes, it is definitely her. She must be standing on something.

[The fool]

GREAT magazine, wonderful way to start a new year! Thank you very much and Happy New Year, my friend, you're always here for us with all these gems!

Thanks, Cristi. And a Happy New Year to you as well.

[drjohncarpenter]

This one below is also new, although I do not know who the other two men are, probably NY newspaper writers:

Revisiting this photo because one of these men became a VERY famous Hollywood executive.

Specifically, the fellow you see behind and to the right of Elvis.

At the time he was a 24 year-old employee of the William Morris Agency, of which Elvis belonged.

His name? Bernie Brillstein.

061026_Bernie Brillstein_Lupus LA luncheon.jpg

Bernard Jules Brillstein (April 26, 1931 – August 7, 2008) was an American film and television producer, executive producer, and talent agent.

He began his career in the 1950s at the William Morris Agency before founding his own company in 1969 and later joining forces with Brad Grey to helm Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (now Brillstein Entertainment Partners), one of the most important and influential Hollywood talent management and production companies.

He is remembered for producing successful TV programs like Hee Haw, The Muppet Show, and The Sopranos, and hit films including The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters and Happy Gilmore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Brillstein

Another little piece of the puzzle, thankyouverymuch.

I wonder if Bernie was aware of this pic? I found it on an auction site selling prints of Al Wertheimer photos.

Thanks again, The fool!

560317_w unk_Brillstein_backstage CBS Studio 50_Wertheimer.jpg

Very nice 13.5 x 10.5 photo of Elvis with Bernie Brillstein, signed in the lower border in black ink by the photographer, Alfred Werthheimer.


LOT #103 - Elvis Presley
https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/33162370440103-elvis-presley/