With the term "Personal Story" in the Subject Title, I want to bring forward some pictures I found on the internet, that has personal story's attached to them. Nice little anecdotes from normal people, who share some memories on personal pages or blogs.
On this topic you can read more about Ginny Tiu (and other now grown up children that played in Elvis films):
http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=73753&start=25
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com
Ginny Tiu was a child when she had to make a decision that would be difficult for any adult to make: Did she want to film another movie with Elvis or perform for President John F. Kennedy?
"I wanted to do another movie with Elvis (because) being 8 years old, I didn't appreciate the value of playing for President Kennedy. (Shooting) the one I did with Elvis was a short part that only took two weeks max to film, but the role that I was supposed to do (in the next one) was about three-quarters of the movie ... to be with Elvis for three months ... let (my sister) Vicky do the other stuff!
"Looking back now, I'm very, very thankful that I got to do both," Tiu said as she recalled a couple of the highlights in a career that began when she made her national television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" at age 5.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNY TIU
Given a choice between starring with Elvis Presley or performing for President John F. Kennedy, an 8-year-old Ginny Tiu chose show biz over politics. She's shown at right in a movie still from "Girls! Girls! Girls!," which also featured her sister Elizabeth Tiu, 5, right, and her brother Al.
As for her life as a child star, Tiu says it all came naturally. She was intrigued by the sound of the piano and starting playing at 3 1/2.
"My dad played the piano but he didn't do it professionally, and I was mesmerized by this beautiful music coming out of this piece of furniture and I wanted to get to the piano.
"He didn't want me to because I was always eating candy (with) sticky fingers and all that, but when he was out one day and my mother heard me picking out tunes that I'd heard him playing -- simple, of course, but I could actually find the notes that I'd heard -- she told him he should listen to me. Then he started teaching me."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ginny Tiu in January 2004.
Tiu grew up in the Philippines, and a family friend who heard her play sent a recording to another friend at an American radio station, who responded by inviting Tiu to be a guest. So Tiu and her parents left the Philippines for what they expected would be a quick two weeks in America.
"But Ed Sullivan heard about me and had me in his show, and then boom! Everything happened. Everybody wanted to be my manager, everybody wanted to be my agent, because they didn't have to work. The offers were coming in (on their own). That's why we didn't move back."
Tiu made the rounds of the major network variety shows such as "The Perry Como Show" and "The Tonight Show." The two weeks became a year, and finally her parents made the arrangements to bring her brothers and sisters over as well.
And then, in 1962, Tiu was invited to work with Elvis.
"Colonel Parker approached my parents ... and that's how I got into 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' My other sister Liz was also in it with me, and my brother, Al, was in there at the end. Vicky (who grew up to become Hawaii's first lady after marrying former Gov. Ben Cayetano) made the second movie because I had other commitments that I couldn't get out of. One of them was playing for President Kennedy."
PHOTO COURTESY OF GINNY TIU
Ginny Tiu was a showman at age 5.
Looking back, Tiu says she understands why some child stars have problems dealing "with the real world" when they outgrow their childhood celebrity status. For every kid who makes the transition to adult entertainer, there are many others who discover that "cute" has a relatively short shelf life.
"All of a sudden, they grow up and it's 'What happened? Where's everybody?' Sometimes you lose touch with the real world (because entertainment) is not the real world. I went through the awkward stage -- you're not cute anymore, you're not a kid but you're not really grown up yet -- but we lived through it and kept going, and I'm still (performing)."
Last year, in 2014, Ginny won the Kekumano Award. She's still going strong:
..
Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/01/29/features/index.html
