Elvis’ appearance on Hy Gardner Calling!, a locally televised New York interview program, is not generally regarded as one of his most important television appearances, yet it is significant. Elvis was interviewed on the air by Gardner only hours after his controversial appearance on The Steve Allen Show, where he had been formally attired in white tie and tails and sang “Hound Dog” to a live basset hound. Although he never expressed misgivings about the staging to Steve Allen, Elvis was uncomfortable with it and privately complained about it. During the Gardner interview he also put on a brave face and claimed to have enjoyed himself on the Allen show.
The following excerpt from Channeling Elvis: How Television
Saved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll describes how Elvis’ appearance was
arranged through the unlikely intermediary of comedian Milton Berle. Elvis had appeared on Berle’s show a month
earlier and created a storm of controversy with an unbridled performance of “Hound
Dog” that many critics found tasteless and even offensive. Allen’s staging of Elvis was seen as a way to
prevent him from busting loose on camera again.
Unlike Allen, Berle genuinely warmed to Elvis and the rocker liked Uncle
Miltie too, so it was Mr. Television who acted as midwife between Gardner and
Colonel Parker to arrange Elvis’ appearance.
Gardner’s wife, Marilyn, who also appeared on the show, relates her
impressions of Elvis when he was at a moment of some vulnerability, caught up
in the whirlwind of press attention and public adoration, trying to maintain a
punishing schedule, and finding few opportunities like this to reflect on his
career, including his obvious ambition to succeed in Hollywood. The excerpt is followed by a clip of the
original TV interview.
“Having suffered what he regarded as a public
flogging on Steve Allen’s show, Elvis Presley would have been happy to call it
a night and return to his suite at New York’s Warwick Hotel. However, Colonel
Parker had agreed to allow newspaper columnist Hy Gardner to interview Presley
on his TV show, Hy Gardner Calling!, at 11:15 p.m. Ironically, the
interview had been arranged by Milton Berle, who retained his warm feeling for
Elvis, and who also had appeared on Allen’s show earlier in the evening.
“’We were always looking for newsmakers and top
celebrities,’ Gardner’s widow, Marilyn, recalls, ‘and we knew that Elvis was
around and making a lot of noise. There were articles in the papers rapping
him, saying things like rock and roll is responsible for juvenile delinquency.
Some mayors were saying “we will not allow him in our town; he is creating all
of this trouble.” There were all kinds of silly rumors about him, and some
rumors that weren’t so silly. All of that was sort of lurking in the background.
Then one night Hy had Milton Berle on the show. Afterwards Milton was saying
goodbye and, very casually, he asked “How would you like to interview Elvis on
the show?” And Hy, just as casually, said “Yes, that would be nice.” That was
how it came about.’
“Berle’s overture came at a crucial juncture, when
criticism of the singer had turned increasingly sharp and Colonel Parker’s
concern about Elvis’ image was growing. Berle was well liked in the Presley
camp, and he was able to persuade Parker that Gardner was not out to get Elvis.
In fact, the interview would allow Presley to respond to the harsh press
criticism that had been swirling around him. Perhaps the Colonel thought that
Elvis would charm the New York critics, who had treated him more harshly than most,
and win over more adults by appearing on a late-night show that was aimed at
them, rather than teens. Whatever his thinking, Elvis’ appearance on Hy
Gardner Calling! was the only televised personal interview he ever gave.
“Hy Gardner was a well-known New York Herald-Tribune
columnist who also appeared on a number of television panel shows, most notably
To Tell the Truth, which debuted in December 1956. He also appeared
regularly on Tonight! and America After Dark, a short-term
substitute for Tonight! after Steve Allen abandoned it early in 1957.
Gardner specialized in profiling show business celebrities and other
newsmakers, and he hosted a nightly ten-minute TV interview program in New York
called Face to Face. His weekly Sunday-night show, Hy Gardner
Calling!, also aired only in the New York area and consisted of interviews
conducted by telephone, with the subject seemingly at home, but actually seated
in one studio, while Gardner sat at his desk in another. The telephone hook-up
was real, and there was no physical proximity between host and guest. The show
premiered in 1954 on New York City’s NBC affiliate station WRCA-TV, Channel 4,
and ran until 1965. After that it was broadcast by WCIX-TV, Channel 6, in
Miami, Florida, until the early 1980s, making Gardner one of television’s most
durable personalities.
“Gardner pioneered the TV talk show
and the device of live telephone interviews, as well as use of the split-screen
technique, which enabled viewers to see both the guest and Gardner, even though
they were in different places. He conducted the only television interview ever
granted by Montgomery Clift, and he numbered among his guests countless top
names from Hollywood, including Groucho Marx, Maria Callas, Jayne Mansfield,
Ginger Rogers, Cary Grant, Jack Benny, and many others.
“Elvis was one of the program’s few guests who did not undergo a pre-interview prior to his appearance, and Parker granted Gardner full latitude in questioning Presley. ‘Elvis had no problem answering anything that Hy asked him,’ Marilyn says. ‘We weren’t given any instructions in advance that “you cannot say this” or “you cannot mention that.” I think he respected Hy and he knew that Hy was going to ask questions about rumors that had been printed about him and so forth. He knew he wasn’t going to embarrass him.’ It also may have been the only time, outside of charity gigs, that Parker permitted Elvis to appear without a fee. Because Gardner’s show was classified as a news program, guests were not even paid the usual minimums dictated by union rules.
“Presley arrived at WRCA-TV’s studio in Rockefeller Center for his live appearance with Gardner shortly after finishing Steve Allen’s show. After briefly greeting Gardner and his wife, who also served as his secretary and on-air telephone operator, Elvis was ushered to a studio on a different floor, while the Gardners took up their positions at adjoining desks.
“By the time Elvis picked up the phone to answer Gardner’s questions, he was clearly tired, unhappy about his appearance on Allen’s show, and somewhat fed up with repetitious questions about the ‘evil’ impact of his music. It was as if he would forever be required to explain himself. Marilyn Gardner recalls that Presley was ‘very shy and had a lock of hair falling over the middle of his forehead. He was extremely polite. It was “Yes sir” and “Yes Ma’am.” He was just a sweet, nice boy who seemed a little embarrassed and a little confused.’”
“Elvis was one of the program’s few guests who did not undergo a pre-interview prior to his appearance, and Parker granted Gardner full latitude in questioning Presley. ‘Elvis had no problem answering anything that Hy asked him,’ Marilyn says. ‘We weren’t given any instructions in advance that “you cannot say this” or “you cannot mention that.” I think he respected Hy and he knew that Hy was going to ask questions about rumors that had been printed about him and so forth. He knew he wasn’t going to embarrass him.’ It also may have been the only time, outside of charity gigs, that Parker permitted Elvis to appear without a fee. Because Gardner’s show was classified as a news program, guests were not even paid the usual minimums dictated by union rules.
“Presley arrived at WRCA-TV’s studio in Rockefeller Center for his live appearance with Gardner shortly after finishing Steve Allen’s show. After briefly greeting Gardner and his wife, who also served as his secretary and on-air telephone operator, Elvis was ushered to a studio on a different floor, while the Gardners took up their positions at adjoining desks.
“By the time Elvis picked up the phone to answer Gardner’s questions, he was clearly tired, unhappy about his appearance on Allen’s show, and somewhat fed up with repetitious questions about the ‘evil’ impact of his music. It was as if he would forever be required to explain himself. Marilyn Gardner recalls that Presley was ‘very shy and had a lock of hair falling over the middle of his forehead. He was extremely polite. It was “Yes sir” and “Yes Ma’am.” He was just a sweet, nice boy who seemed a little embarrassed and a little confused.’”
Paste the following URL into your web browser to view the
entire Hy Gardner show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=z1f_V32Ojb0
Channeling Elvis: How Television Saved the King of Rock 'n' Roll:
Thank you! :-)
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