Gardell plays Col. Parker in a show set at Sun Records
After the first season of “Mike & Molly,” Billy Gardell told family members that he was giving them a bucket list gift. He would pay for them to go anywhere they wanted.
His wife’s family opted for Hawaii and Gardell’s mother picked Las Vegas. His father’s selection was not a surprise but now seems very fitting.
“My dad was a huge Elvis fan and he wanted to go to Graceland. There was always Elvis music in our house. When Elvis died, he took three days off from work,” Gardell says.
At the time Gardell traveled to the Memphis home of Elvis
Presley, Gardell had no idea it would end up being a bit of research for his latest acting role. He’s portraying Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager, in the CMT series “Sun Records,” premiering at 10 tonight.
The series is based on the Tony Award-winning musical “Million Dollar Quartet” that looks at the early days of music legends Johnny Cash (Kevin Fonteyne), Jerry Lee Lewis (Christian Lees), Eddy Arnold (Trevor Donovan) and Elvis (Drake Milligan). They got their
starts through the Sun Records recording studio run by Sam Phillips (Chad Michael Murray). Also featured in the series are Jimmy Swaggart (Jonah Lees) and Ike Turner (Kerry Holliday).
Gardell plays the larger-thanlife Parker, who is credited with turning Elvis into an international sensation. Research material about Parker was thin, but what Gardell found gave him a good idea of the kind of man Parker was.
“I was able to talk to some people in Memphis who knew him and they all had a different description of Col. Parker,” Gardell says. “I think he did whatever he needed to do to get money. I think he could talk his way out of anything.
“I had to play him with a twinkle in his eye but also get across that he was cold and calculating.”
The series introduces Parker when he is running a carnival scam. When his scheme is revealed, the only thing that saves Parker is an intervention by singing superstar Eddy Arnold. Parker would go on to be the manager of Arnold, then Hank Snow and finally Elvis.
Gardell had not heard about Parker’s other famous clients before making the series.
“I guess when you represent Elvis, you don’t need a client list resume,” Gardell says.
If you only know Gardell’s resume for his years on “Mike & Molly,” his work has also included “My Name Is Earl,” “Sullivan & Son” and “Heist.” He also hosted the game show “Monopoly Millionaires’ Club.” Gardell jokes his game show days ended because he gave away too much money.
He had such success on “Mike & Molly,” Gardell didn’t want to go back to a situation comedy immediately. He wanted to push himself as an actor and the role in the CMT drama gives him that opportunity.