Names and faces
Sporting Elvis Presley - like sideburns, actor John Stamos helped flip the switch Friday on the colorful display of holiday lights adorning Graceland, Presley’s home-turned-museum in Memphis. An avid fan of the King, Stamos joined hundreds of fans who watched yellow, red and blue lights illuminate the large front yard of Presley’s former home. Stamos was joined by young patients from Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital at the lighting ceremony. Stamos, perhaps best known for roles on TV shows such as Full House and ER, said in an interview after the ceremony that he wore the sideburns specifically for his appearance at Graceland. Presley often wore long sideburns. “It’s so funny. I had a beard, and I was like, ‘I better shave this and I’ll keep the ’burns in tribute,” Stamos said. When asked if he styled his hair a little higher in honor of Presley, who wore a pompadour, the quick-witted Stamos joked, “This is a new wig. I put a special wig on for tonight.” Stamos has close ties to Graceland: His voice is featured on the iPad tour of the home. He remembers dressing up as Presley during an episode of Full House, and while visiting Graceland in the 1990s for a TV special, he even got to play one chord on Presley’s piano.
The protesters didn’t show, the would-be he ck l e rs didn’t take the bait, the weeks of headlines about sexual assaults d isap - peared and Bill Cosby, for 90 minutes at least, regained a revered status he long enjoyed. Despite accusations of sexual assault that have derailed his career comeback and crumbled his tour schedule, the comedian got an adoring audience in Melbourne, Fla. Only a few empty seats were seen. “I think people went in there with him as Bill Cosby from the TV show,” said Travis Weberling, 40, of Melbourne, “not the guy they heard about on the news.” The 2,000-seat theater beefed up security, and announcements before Cosby took the stage warned that a disturbance was possible.