Does real-life Presley appear at end of recent ‘Elvis’ film?
Q: In one of the last scenes of the new “Elvis” movie, Elvis is seated singing and playing the piano, not in good health. It appears to me that was the real Elvis. Or was it the same actor who portrayed him throughout?
A: Both. The climactic performance of “Unchained Melody” in the film had Austin Butler as Elvis leading into the real man’s performance. Matt Villa, an editor on the film, told Variety that “it was a huge job putting Austin into that makeup, and that was the most significant of his makeup.
... He did sing (“Unchained Melody”) in its entirety because there was a question mark towards the end as to whether we were going to get the real footage of Elvis and if we would be allowed to use it. ... Thankfully that famous footage came through, and we were able to use it, and that’s the real Elvis. It’s so interesting that a lot of people don’t realize we cut to the real Elvis because it punches me in the heart every time I see that scene and you see Elvis’ face.”
And that’s not the only place the film had the reallife Elvis on screen. Editor Jonathan Redmond told Variety that “at the very beginning where Elvis comes out in the blue suit, where he’s doing karate moves, there’s a two-panel split-screen ... (with) real Elvis on one side and Austin is on the other.”
Q: My husband and I like to watch “The Wall,” but haven’t seen it on for a while. A:
NBC mentioned the series when announcing many of its 2022-23 plans and called it a “viewer favorite.” But I have not
seen an air date beyond a network note that it “returns soon.”
Q: On “Jeopardy!,” the winner gets to keep all of their money, but the other two contestants get $1 ,0 0 0 or $2 ,0 0 0 . Is that all they get to take home? A:
Yes. The long-running game show used to let all the contestants keep their winnings. But it appeared that some contestants were overly cautious in Final Jeopardy so they could keep the money they had won rather than risk losing it on a final bet. It’s thought that setting a fixed amount for second and third place makes it more likely that players will take risks at the end.
Q: I’m a fan of “The Voice.” It used to have two sessions every year, but there has been nothing since last fall. What’s the deal? A:
The NBC show, which begins a new season on Sept. 19, is doing just one session a year now. “‘The Voice’ remains one of the most popular shows on television, and we want to keep it that way,” a top NBC executive told Deadline.com. “We want to event-ize this iconic series. We think ‘The Voice’ will be on NBC for a very long
time to come, and we believe the best way to protect the brand, while also super-serving fans is to produce one amazing cycle this year.”
Q: What happened to the comedy team of Allen and Rossi? A:
I remember laughing often at the routines by Marty “Hello Dere!” Allen and Steve Rossi on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” where they appeared dozens of times. Their heyday was roughly from the late ’50s to 1968, when they broke up for the first time. When Allen died in 2018 at age 95, the New York Times said much of their comedy was old-fashioned, but their approach made a difference: “If Mr. Rossi’s unflappable suavity was standard operating procedure for a comedy team’s straight man, Mr. Allen’s childlike mix of innocence and insanity was something new.” They reunited in the ’80s and ’90s. Rossi died of cancer in 2014 at age 82.
Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. Letters may be edited.