Elvis Presley (1935-1977) was an iconic rock and roll singer, often nicknamed "The King." Elvis' trademarks included his ensemble of jump-suits and capes, his thrusting body movements, and his voice, with a unique, varying center of gravity. He popularized such songs as "Heartbreak Hotel," "Return to Sender," and "Hound Dog," and parlayed his musical popularity into starring roles in several frothy musical films. With Elvis' death, his image and personality entered pop culture in a myriad of ways, from continued rumors of his survival or possible abduction by aliens, depictions of his likeness on velvet paintings, and his residence, Graceland, becoming a tourist destination.
References
The Muppets
- The most extensive referencing of Presley has occurred through the Elvises. In particular, their Muppets Tonight sketch "Great Moments in Elvis History" involved frequent allusions to many aspects of the Elvis legacy. This included riffs on various songs and casual mentions of karate (a motif in Elvis' films), "The King" moniker, his eating habits (barbecue and jelly donuts), his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and his Graceland estate, amongst others.
- Rowlf appeared as Elvis in The Muppet Show on Tour: 2nd Edition and an installment of The Jim Henson Hour (performing "Hound Dog" in the latter).
- Dog, the stuffed dinosaur in Living with Dinosaurs, is obsessed with Elvis.
- In the Walt Disney World live show Muppets on Location: Days of Swine and Roses, an Elvis bust was displayed on stage during the Electric Mayhem set.
- Kermit portrays Elvis at Graceland in a Muppet Babies coloring book.
- Fozzie Bear dressed as Elvis for a 1990 music box by Presents.
- In the extended line area for Muppet*Vision 3D, a "U Do It" experiment by Dr. Bunsen Honeydew encourages patrons to tell the person in line next to them, "I saw Elvis waiting in line at Muppet*Vision 3D."
- While being interrogated by Sam the Eagle and Jean Pierre Napoleon in Muppets Most Wanted, Fozzie nervously offers that he can do an Elvis impression.
- In the Muppet Moments short "Hairstyles," Rowlf, using his ears in place of hair, flops an ear over the front of his face and quips, "I call this the Elvis."
- In The Muppets episode "Too Hot to Handler," Fozzie does an Elvis impression when filming a regional promo for Up Late with Miss Piggy, set to air in Memphis.
- Kermit the Frog plays Elvis in a 2018 video for Omaze.
- Scooter dresses as Elvis for Halloween in Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Sesame Street
- Elmo appeared as Elvis in the Elmo's World "Singing" episode, performing an abbreviated version of "Blue Suede Shoes."
- Elmo's Elvis likeness was followed by an Elmo - The Legend plush toy from Tyco.
- Later, Elmo appeared at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, during a session on the effectiveness of children's educational electronics, singing "Viva Las Vegas."
- A caricature of Elvis (complete with his "Taking Care of Business" necklace) is seen in an opera audience in a 1996 cartoon by Gene Barretta for Sesame Street.
- In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Huxley points to a velvet Elvis painting as one of his many possessions.
- The Count dressed as Elvis to sing a parody of "Blue Suede Shoes" on Sesame Street.
- Sonny Friendly observes that Mrs. Twiddlebug uses a postage stamp of Elvis to decorate her home in Episode 3037.
- Joey Monkey dresses as Elvis and sings an Elvis-style tune during a scene in Episode 3227.
- Bert and Ernie pose with a portrait of The King in the Sesame Street coloring book Let's Take a Trip!
- The quiz segment of the Elmo's World episode "Hair" features an Elvis-impersonating mailbox.
- In the Abby's Flying Fairy School episode, "Genie in a Bottle," Gene the Genie does an Elvis impression when he mentions spending a vacation in Vegas. In another episode, "Fairies and the Beanstalk," Blogg forms the head of Elvis from his ear wax.
- An Elvis-esque Muppet called The King of Reading and Writing appears in the resource video Sesame Street Beginnings: Talk, Read, Write.
- In a season 41 Word of the Day segment, Wanda Sykes' journal blabs on her to Elmo, revealing she thought one of her toenails looked like Elvis.
- Alan dresses up as Elvis for Halloween in Episode 4635 of Sesame Street.
- Prior to the weekend of the 95th Academy Awards ceremony, Plaza Sésamo's social media accounts posted a parody of the 2022 film Elvis, featuring Comegalletas in the title role. (Twitter)
Other
- The Mick Maputo Bird from The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is an avian Elvis lookalike, possessing a pompadour, shades, jumpsuit, and sneer.
- In the Bear in the Big Blue House episode "I Gotta Be Me!," Bear does an Elvis impression when he tries on a familiar scarf.
- In the Farscape episode "Durka Returns," John Crichton refers to Salis as "Elvis."
- When Pilot asks Crichton to quantify "disappear" in the Farscape episode "Through the Looking Glass," Crichton responds, "Dis-Elvis has left the building-appeared."
- Crichton negotiates with the trader Jansz in the novel Farscape: Dark Side of the Sun, offering him music from Earth. Crichton asks him if he's heard of Elvis, among other artists.