Elvis
Sightings Abound at LA Open Casting Call
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It
was the ultimate Elvis sighting. Some 200 sneering,
hip-swiveling Elvis Presley look-alikes in pompadours,
leather jackets, jumpsuits and blue suede shoes lined
up for an open casting call on Wednesday outside CBS
studios, hoping to play the king of rock 'n' roll on
TV.
Elvis
impersonators from as far away as Buffalo, N.Y., Boise,
Idaho, Toronto and even Scotland turned Sound Stage
46 into a virtual international house of Presley as
they filed one by one before casting directors and producers
to perform a few bars of "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse
Rock" or "Hound Dog."
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Most,
including beefy, middle-aged candidates dressed as the Las
Vegas-era Elvis, were politely thanked for their efforts and
sent on their way. A lucky few -- all of them practitioners
of the younger, thinner Presley look -- were asked to stick
around to read a few lines from a script.
One
of them was Gino Monopoli, 29, a soft-spoken professional
Elvis "tribute artist" from Toronto, who like most of the
contenders, spoke of Presley in unbridled superlatives. "Elvis
was the epitome of cool. You could bring him out today, in
2004, and he'd still rock," Monopoli said. Monopoli acknowledged
being caught a bit off-guard when he got a chance to read
for the part. "The southern accent was a little tough. I had
about 10 minutes to get it down."
Organizers
said they were looking for someone who captures the "essence
of Elvis" and bears a close resemblance for an upcoming CBS
miniseries about his early career. Director Jim Sadwith said
he hoped to find a newcomer who possessed "the sexuality,
the vulnerability and the danger of Elvis .... We're not looking
for just an impersonator." The program will trace Presley's
rise to fame from age 18 to his triumphant 1968 comeback at
age 33. No air date has been set. Presley died in 1977 at
age 42.
While
all the candidates had to perform a Presley number for the
tryout, the winner won't actually sing in the miniseries.
He'll lip-sync to Presley recordings licensed especially for
the program. Lined up outside the studio was a colorful collection
of Presley hopefuls who came in all shapes and sizes. Tall,
lanky Steve Gagnon, 44, a real estate agent and Elvis moonlighter
from Battle Creek, Michigan, said he got his start performing
as Presley for a charity and made it a part-time career.
Dressed
in black leather jacket and pants, he now tours with an entourage
of 24 people, including band, backup singers and bodyguards.
He left them all back in Michigan. "It's going to be a little
rough to pass for Elvis at 18," he said. Chris Monte, 28,
of Bryson City, North Carolina, stood out in a white jump
suite studded with sequins and the likeness of a peacock embroidered
in blue and turquoise. Part owner of a family lumber company,
he brought along a personal publicist. Francesco Caputo, 44,
from Long Island, was the very first in line at 1:30 a.m.,
more than eight hours before auditions began. But he made
it clear he had other interests besides TV. "This Elvis is
available to hot chicks," he joked. (News,
Source: Reuters)
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