Elvis Presley Trivia: With Buildings from Department 56 Original Snow Village and Christmas in the City

Elvis Presley, "Jailhouse Rock"
Album Cover, thanks to
Wikipedia for image.

The King of Rock.  "The King" is enough. Everyone knows it's Elvis.  And don't bother with the last name.  The list of his hits rolls through your memory:  "Can't Help Falling in Love;" "Don't Be Cruel;" "Heartbreak Hotel;" "Hound Dog;" "Return to Sender."  The list goes on and on, nearly 700 songs recorded, nearly 1 billion, with a "b," records sold worldwide, more than any other artist.  (You can click on this link to iTunes to hear a clip of each song, to revive your memory:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dont-be-cruel/id253614038?i=253614095&ign-mpt=uo%3D4)

Elvis Presley's debut album.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the image.

Elvis's birthday was January 8, and this blog is written to honor him. Dept. 56 also celebrates Elvis:  He was one of the most prolific, influential, successful, iconic performers in the history of music.  It wasn't just his recordings that were successful.  The King brought his music to the new world of television, made movies, and became a cultural icon. Here are 10 trivia questions that will help you revisit the world that Elvis helped create for all of us:




QUESTION #1:  This is easy!  What is the name of Elvis's estate?  What do you know about it?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Graceland" #55041

"Graceland" was the home that Elvis bought for himself and his parents in 1957.   Fans had  started to overrun their previous home in Memphis, so Elvis gave his parent $100,000 to find a better site, and to Graceland they moved.

Jungle Room in Graceland.
Thanks to Wikipedia for image.

Elvis put his own stamp on his new home, though many called his decorative style garish and tacky.  He directed and approved all the decor, made lists of food to be stored at Graceland, and created an unusual "family" to be installed around him, and it wasn't composed of just his relatives!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Graceland Ornament," #98790

It was in the "Meditation Garden" at Graceland that Elvis, his mother and grandmother, are all buried. A memorial to his twin brother, Jess Garon, also stands in the Garden.  It was also in Graceland that Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977.

One of the most visited private homes in the U.S., Graceland welcomes over 600,000 visitors every year.













QUESTION #2:  What did Elvis like to drive?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Pink Cadillac Ornament," #98791

Another easy answer: Elvis liked Cadillacs and Harleys!  His most famous Cadillac may have been the 1955 Fleetwood he bought for his mother, Gladys, who actually never drove it.  While we all remember this car as pink, it was actually blue originally!  The pink version became an icon of not only Elvis, but also the entire decade of the 1950's, and some believe it to be the most famous car in the world.  If you want to learn more about ALL of Elvis's Cadillacs, click here:  http://elviscadillacs.tripod.com/

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Harley-Davison City Dealership," #59202

Elvis's love affair with the Harley-Davidson is equally celebrated.  One writer described it like this:  "As much as sequined jumpsuits and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, Elvis Presley loved Harley-Davidson motorcycles." Like his Cadillacs, Elvis would buy several, keep some, and give some away.

Elvis's parents, with 2 Cadillacs and his '56 KH.
http://www.scottymoore.net/elvisharley56kh.html

Elvis bought his first Harley in the early 1950's, and in 1956, just past his 21st birthday and days after he recorded "Heartbreak Hotel," he bought a KH model, the first of many.  For information on the Harley-Davidson Museum's exhibit of Elvis's Harleys, please click here:  http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/harleymuseumelvisexhibit.html

QUESTION #3:  How many platinum records did Elvis record?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Elvis Presley's Autograph," #55106

In 1992, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) posthumously awarded Elvis 110 gold or platinum, and multi-platinum albums and singles, the largest presentation in the history of the organization.  If you want to hear a YouTube clip of Elvis performing "Hound Dog," along with great hound images, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXiulKIgGpg 

QUESTION #4:  What is the TV show that first carried a performance of Elvis?

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"The Ed Sullivan Theater," #59233

I bet many of you guessed The Ed Sullivan Show.  But you're wrong!  In 1956 Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker, negotiated 4 appearances on CBS's "Stage Show," which became his first television gigs.  Elvis received $1250 for each of 4 appearances, with an option for 2 more.  His first show was Jan. 28, 1956, and Elvis appeared with Sarah Vaughan and comic Gene Sheldon.  Tommy Dorsey introduced Cleveland disc jockey Bill Randle, who, in turn, introduced Elvis, who performed "Shake, Rattle, and Roll"  and "I Got a Woman."  If you would like to see both the introduction and the performance on YouTube, and you really should......click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll8AzKY3gh4

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Now Showing-Elvis Presley Sign," # 55105

Ed Sullivan actually didn't want Elvis to appear on his show at all!  However, when the Steve Allen Show, featuring Elvis, garnered twice as many viewers as his own show, Ed relented. He ended up paying  Elvis the vast sum of $50,000 for three appearances, starting Sept. 9, 1956.  Sullivan himself was unable to introduce Elvis on the first night, since he was in the hospital recuperating from a serious automobile accident.  Instead, Charles Laughton hosted the show, and cut to a stage in Hollywood, where Elvis actually performed.  Laughton said during his introduction, "This is probably the greated honor that I've ever had in my life." 60 million viewers watched the show!  For more information, click here:  http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/qt/elvissullivan.htm


QUESTION #5:  What were the influences on Elvis' Music?

Postcard of Beale St., Memphis, TN, in the 1950's/60's.
Caption reads:  "World renowned as the home of W.C. Handy,
Father of American Blues Music."
http://www.memphismemories.org/Topics/Nightlife/Downtown_Nightlife/Beale_Street/Beale_Street.php 

You could write a book about the influences on Elvis's music, and just as many about his influence on subsequent generations of music stars.  Suffice it to say here, Elvis was influenced by contemporary pop and country, gospel, and the black rhythm and blues music of the Memphis's Beale Street.  One writer described it like this: "During the jazz age of the 1920's-1940's, musicians flocked to Memphis, and to Beale.  B.B. King, Louis Armstrong, Memphis Minnie and Muddy Waters were just a few of the jazz and blues legends who helped create the style known as 'Memphis Blues"--a style that was born on Beale Street.  In fact, a young white boy from Mississippi named Elvis ended up making a name for himself in the music world, thanks to the influence of the soulful, sensual music he soaked in while hanging around the jazz clubs, smoking parlors and brothels on Beale in the 1950's."  (Source:  Alyson McNutt English:  http://www.frontdoor.com/city-guide/memphis-tn-usa/beale-street-the-history-behind-the-memphis-party-scene)   

QUESTION #6:  How Many Movies did Elvis Make?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Stardust Drive-In Theater," #55064

I bet you didn't get this!  Elvis made 31 movies!!  31! And that doesn't count two documentary films.  The first film was in 1956, "Love Me Tender," by Twentieth Century Fox.  That was soon followed in 1957 by "Jailhouse Rock," which featured co-star Jennifer Holden, and was put out by MGM.  For a list of all of Elvis's movies, click on this site:  http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/biography/elvis_presley_movies.shtml  In "King Creole' in 1958, Elvis starred opposite Walter Matthau, in a movie I am now going to rent!

We stayed at the Coco Palms on Kauai once, which is where "Blue Hawaii" was filmed.  Dilapidated now, the entire resort is boarded over and it is surrounded by a chain link fence.  It's just not right!

QUESTION #7:   When did Elvis serve in the U. S. military?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Brand New Recruit," #55152

Elvis served in the U.S. Army between March, 1958, and March, 1960.  He refused an offer to enlist in the Special Services to entertain troops and live in priority housing, and decided instead to serve as a regular G.I.  (Though, to be honest, his service was anything but ordinary.)  According to Wikipedia, during his military duty, he was stationed in Germany, where a number of things happened that had a profound effect on Elvis's life:  First, his mother, Gladys, died, leaving him bereft.  Second, he met, in Germany, his future wife, Priscilla Beaulieu; and, Third, he began his drug use, that would ultimately be his downfall.

QUESTION #8:  Where were Elvis and Priscilla married?

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Wedding Chapel," #54640

It most assuredly was not a chapel like this.  In fact, Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu were married May 1, 1967 in the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.  The hotel no longer exists, but the site is now occupied by the Wedding Chapel at Planet Hollywood.

Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley Wedding,
Alladin Hotel, Las Vegas
Image from http://www.elvispresleynews.com/ElvisWeddingPhotos.html 

QUESTION #9:  When did Elvis die?
Elvis Aaron Presley died Aug. 16,1977. Jimmy Carter credited Presley with having "permanently changed the fact of American popular culture." The funeral was at Graceland on Aug. 18, and approximately 80,000 peopled lined the processional route to Forest Hill Cemetery, where Presley was laid next to his mother.  Both bodies were later reburied in Graceland's Meditation Garden.

10 of the Most Interesting People Who Ride Harley-Davidsons in a Miniature Christmas Village

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Harley-Davidson Manufacturing,"
#54948

The Harley-Davidson brand has come a long way from Milwaukee in 1903, when William Harley and Arthur Davidson decided to attach a motor to a bicycle.  By 2010 the company had revenues of $4.86 billion, and supports 1400 active clubs of around half a million Harley riders.  But that is only half the story, the business and financial part.  The other half the story is just as interesting. Harley-Davidson Manufacturing

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Harley-Davidson Fat Boy and Softail"
#54900

The Harley-Davidson motorcycle has also become one of the most potent iconic images of the past half century.  For some lucky people, a Harley can conjure up some wonderful memories; for many of us, it is just a symbol imbued with strong feelings that are a part of our  culture.  When we see a Harley we feel a sense of strength, individuality, and freedom....a sense we will live forever.   Wind in my hair.  Endless road ahead.  No wonder we find Harley buildings in our Christmas village displays! Department 56 - Snow Village "Harley-davidson Fat Boy & Softail"

James Dean and Marilyn Monroe
in "Spellbound" by
Paul Gasenhemier,
http://www.best-motorcycle.com/posters/james-
dean-marilyn-monroe.shtm

This dream-like image of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe on a Harley sums up many of these feelings.  And when you think about it, it is not a feeling based on logic.  James Dean never even met Marilyn Monroe.  James Dean died very young in a crash, but not on a Harley. Marilyn Monroe also died young, and as Elton John sang, "(Her) candle burned out long before, (Her) legend ever did."  And, actually, the Harley's right side is shown in the picture, not the left, as it should. This is not reality.  This is iconic, and the Harley is absolutely necessary to the image.

So I have put together a list of the 10 most interesting people who have owned a Harley, based on their iconic strength, individuality, and adventure.  When you add Harley Christmas buildings and accessories to your miniature village, you can remember these images!

Brigitte Bardot,
Image from
bikematchmaking.com
(which I do not use.)

NUMBER 10:  Brigitte Bardot: Actress, vocalist, model, and animal activist.  Simon de Beauvoir, a French philosopher and intellectual, said that Brigitte Bardot was the first and most liberated woman of post-war France.  She was not only a star in 47 films and several theater productions, but recorded 80 songs.   Brigitte Bardot liked a Harley so much that she titled one of her first songs "Harley Davidson," and you can watch her sing it here, though you have to understand French, and you may be disappointed:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3IOZ0NbrVs

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Ready for the Road," #58907

To the left is a picture of how Brigitte Bardot would look if she wore pants when she rode a Harley. Department 56 Ready for the Road! Harley Davidson

Add caption

NUMBER 9:  Ann Richards: Prominent Democrat and former Treasurer and Governor of Texas.   For her 60th birthday, Ann Richards said in an interview that she wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle.  Well, Harley-Davidson heard about it, and shipped her one!  So when Texas Monthly wanted to do a cover story on her, the magazines's artistic director D. J. Stout came up with the idea of her on a Harley.  "I had an image in my head of Ann, the feisty grandmother governor, decked out in all-white leathers--to match her famous white bouffant hairdo--straddling a hog.  Ann Richards on a Harley seemed to me to be the perfect metaphor for capturing her salty wit and irreverent personality. It was an image that summed up all those things that people loved about her."

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Harley-Davidson Water Tower,"
#54975
What a Texas water tower
might look like.
Original Snow Village Harley-Davidson Water Tower, 56.54975

Stout and Richards were unable to get a mutually convenient photo session, so she suggested Stout "photoshop" her head onto another person aboard the Harley. Stout did, and they shared many laughs over the picture.  http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/remembering-ann-richards/4757/

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Harley-Davidson Detailing, Parts, & Service,"
#59214

NUMBER 8: Jay Leno: Stand-up comedian, host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and automobile collector.  Jay Leno famously owns about 200 vehicles, including around 100 cars.  Much of his spare time is spent working with on mechanical issues and visiting other car collections, in addition to writing reviews of sports cars and humorous articles about all issues automotive.  He obviously buys parts from the Dept. 56 shop shown above. Dept 56 Harley Davidson Detailing Parts and Service

Jay Leno and the 2005 Harley auctioned
off to raise money for the Harley-Davidson Foundation Tsunami Relief Fund.
Image from www.cycleconnections.com.

Leno and Harley-Davidson teamed up to auction off a "hog" to raise money for Tsunami relief when the deadly waves hit Southeast Asia in 2005.  Harley-Davidson donated a white 2005 Road King, and Leno arranged to have 60 celebrities sign the bike.  Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Cosby, Kiefer Sutherland, and Donald Trump were among those on the star-studded list who participated.   The winning bidder was David P. Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, Inc., who paid $801,100 toward the relief effort.

Malcom Forbes's
Harley-Davidson Hot Air Balloon,
Forbes is in the gondola.
Image from www.corbisimages.com.

NUMBER 7: Malcom Forbes:  New Jersey State Senator, publisher of "Forbes Magazine," Faberge Egg collector.  Malcom Forbes was very wealthy when he became a motorcycle enthusiast later in life.  He founded a club called the Capitalist Tools, and hosted meetings and tours at his New Jersey estate.  He not only collected motorcycles, but was instrumental in the political maneuvering to pass legislation to allow motorcycles on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey. For all of this, in 1999 he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, OH.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"A Harley-Davidson Holiday," #54898

Malcom Forbes gave Elizabeth Taylor a Harley called the Purple Passion, because he said it reminded him or her beautiful eyes.  And Elizabeth Taylor gave her husband Larry Fortensky a Harley in 1992 for Christmas!

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Harley-Davidson City Dealership,
#59202

Elizabeth Taylor might have purchased the Harley-Davidson at the dealership on the left.

NUMBERS 5 and 6:  Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda:  Actors in "Easy Rider".  "Easy Rider" is an iconic movie about two bikers who travel through the south in the 1960's exploring the dark issues of this generation, drugs, alienation, intolerance, and violence.  The film won a host of awards and the accolades of an entire generation.  Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda not only assumed the lead roles, but they also wrote it the movie, conjunction with Terry Souther, and Fonda produced and Hopper directed.

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"America's Finest," #58998

Harley-Davison frames and engines from four former police officer bikes were used to create the two bikes for the main characters, plus two back-ups.  Fonda and others designed and had the bikes "chopper-built" for the film.  One "Captain America" bike was demolished in the final scene.  It was later rebuilt and was sold at auction.  The other three bikes were stole and never recovered, though numerous replicas have been made. Department 56 Christmas in the City America's Finest 58998

"Easy Rider" is 88th on the list of the American Film Institute's List of 100 Years, 100 Movies.  In 1998 it was added to the US National Film Registry, having been designated as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Arnold Schwarzenegger,
"Terminator 2:  Judgement Day,"
Image from www.starcarstn.com/T2_Harley.html

NUMBER 4:  Arnold Schwarzenegger: Body builder, actor, Governor of California.
In the hit movie, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day,"  released by Tri Star Pictures in 1991, the Governator rode a Harley-Davidson Softail Fatboy.  Schwarzenegger plays a Terminator, a liquid metal shape-shifting T-1000 who defends humans in their attempt to prevent Judgement Day, when machines would begin to exterminate humanity.  The film's visual effects, using computer-generated imagery, were very influential, and the movie won four Academy awards for technical feats.  At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever made, but it also became the highest-grossing film of 1991.  After the filming, Mario Kassar, the producer, kept the Terminator's bike in his personal collection, until he sold it to a private collector, who held it until it came into the collection of the Hollywood Star Cars Museum. http://www.starcarstn.com/T2_Harley.html

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
1930 Harley-Davidon VL W/Sidecar,"
#59409

Fifteen years later Schwarzenegger was involved in a minor accident in his sidecar-equipped Harley, and was facing a citation for driving without a valid motorcycle license. Fortunately for him, a loophole in California law allowed riders of a sidecar-equipped bike to have a valid car license, which Schwarzenegger did.

Elvis Presley on his
Harley-Davidson.
Image from
http://photos.elvispresley.com.au/1950s_2.html 

NUMBER 3: Elvis Presley: Singer and Actor. If you want to know how much Elvis loved Harleys, consider this: To commemorate what would have been Elvis' 75th birthday, the Harley-Davidson Museum mounted a special exhibit!  Paraphernalia in the show included one of his bikes, a bill of sale, registration papers, insurance application, and a number of historic photos loaned from Graceland Museum.  http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/harleymuseumelvisexhibit.html

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Shop,"
#54886

Elvis loved flashy costumes, Gibson guitars, and Harleys.  He bought his first hog in the 1950, before he even signed his first record deal.  Just after he turned 21, and just days after recording "Hearbreak Hotel," his first hit, he bought a KH Harley.  Harley-Davidson Museum employee Jim Fricke has said that he has seen photographs of Elvis on 8-10 different bikes.Dept 56 Harley Davidson Motorcycle Shop

Elvis rode Harleys in several films, including "Roustabout," a 1964 film in which he plays Charlie, a rider who sings at whopping malls, and takes a part-time carnival job to pay for repairs of his bike.  Presley also appeared on a Harley in "Viva Las Vegas," Clambake, and "Stay Away Joe." http://onmilwaukee.com/music/articles/harleymuseumelvisexhibit.html

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Patrolling the Road,"
#54971

NUMBER 2:  All Public Safety Officers .   In Detroit in 1908 Harley-Davidson sold the first motorcycle to a police force for metropolitan use.  By the 1920's, over 3000 police departments and agencies used the Hog.  The tradition continues today.  In 2010, according to the Harley Davidson representative I spoke with, the company sold approximately 2700 hogs to police and other public service departments worldwide.  In fact, the Los Angeles Police Department has 400 HD motorcycle units, Rio de Janeiro has 46, and Milwaukee has 57. Dept 56 Patrolling the Road Harley Davidson

"The Warning," by Eric Richards.
Image from
www.motofoto.cc/Police_Motorcycles.htm

This monument, "The Warning" by Eric Richards, commemorates the heroism of two police officers, Thornton Edwards (on the left on an Indian) and Stanley Baker (on the right on a Harley.)  The two were on duty on March 12, 1928 during the second worst disaster in the State of California's history.  The St. Francis Dam, 36 miles upstream from Santa Clarita, collapsed around midnight, releasing 52 billion gallons of water.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"A New HarleyDavidson,"
#4020224

For three hours Thornton and Baker rode through the town of Santa Paula, which was on the path of the flood, notifying and evacuating residents. Though 470 people died in the disaster, because of the heroic actions of Edwards and Baker, few of the victims were from Santa Paula.  These are just two of Many officers mounted on motorcycles that have rendered profound service to our communities. The Original Snow Village from Department 56 A New ?56 Harley-Davidson® KH  http://www.motofoto.cc/Police_Motorcycles.htm

NUMBER 1--THE MOST ICONIC USER OF A HARLEY-DAVIDSON:

SANTA CLAUS

Dept. 56, North Pole, "A Happy Harley Day," #56706