Yvonne and Elvis, "It Happened at the World's Fair," 1963
Tomorrow, January 8, 2011, is Elvis Presley's 76th birthday. He's not around to celebrate it with us, but that never stopped me from hosting Elvis B-day (and D-day, August 16) parties since the early '90s. Originally they started in my little apartment; then I teamed up with friends PM Clary and Cory Levenberg to convince restaurants - and once, a Berkeley church! - to let us host public parties which often featured guest stars flown up at our expense, including Anne Helm, my stepmom, who co-starred with Elvis in 1962's Follow That Dream. After I scored my Thrillville gig at the Parkway, Elvis B-day and D-day parties became regular events, and I could actually book prints of his films. My first Elvis screening was Jailhouse Rock (1957) on May 31, 1997, when Thrillville was still called "The Midnight Lounge" - and that's where I met a sexy chick named Monica, whom I chose to come up and spin my Big Wheel as a "guest lovely assistant." She showed me her Elvis/Navajo tattoo, I awarded her an Elvis blanket, and didn't think I'd ever see her again, though she made quite an impression. Then a few months later, on January 8, 1998, she showed up (per PM's invitation) at the Ivy Room in Albany for our Elvis B-day bash there, and, well, the rest is history. (Later we even got blonde co-star Jennifer Holden to appear at the Parkway with another of my several screenings of Jailhouse Rock, though meeting Monica was by far the most memorable.) Monica and I tied the knot at the Cal-Neva Resort in North Tahoe on May 31, 2001 - with mariachis performing Elvis and Rat Pack songs at the ceremony. I formally proposed to her on January 8, 2000 - though by then the Cal-Neva had already been booked...
Monica, Yvonne and her sister Meridel in our Oakland home, August 2000
With Rockin' Robin Roseaaen, Yvonne Craig, and Gary Lockwood
With Yvonne and Gary, Parkway, August 2000
Next to these, my absolute favorite Elvis Party happened in August 2000, when I screened a badly faded but rare 35mm print of It Happened at the World's Fair, which was initially released the very day after I was born, April 3, 1963. I managed to coax my friend Yvonne Craig (most famous as "Batgirl" and the Green Girl in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy"), who co-starred in the film with Elvis (she also co-starred in 1964's Kissin' Cousins) and her lovely sister Meridel to make an appearance at the screening, and she helped me convince our mutual friend Gary Lockwood to show up as well. Gary also co-starred in two Elvis movies, World's Fair as well as Wild in the Country (1961 - in which Elvis plays an aspiring writer!) though he is best known for his roles in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and the official Star Trek pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I first met Gary via my dear, late friend Julie Parrish, who co-starred with Elvis in Paradise, Hawaiian Style(1966) as well the Star Trek episode, "The Menagerie" (both she and Gary appeared at a lot of fan conventions together.) Both Julie and Yvonne I met via Annie. They're all great folks in person.
Interview plugging this screening on KTVU's "Mornings On 2"
Anyway, the funny thing was, neither Yvonne or Gary had ever actually seen It Happened at the World's Fair. I was honored to finally give them both the opportunity, but they didn't really break their record this time, either. Both sat through the first twenty minutes or so before they both got bored and drifted back into the Parkway lobby to greet fans. Before that, though, I had the honor of sitting on a sofa next to Yvonne while, onscreen, Elvis sat next to Yvonne on a sofa, seducing her with the song "Relax." Wow. It was cosmic kismet. It remains one of my all time favorite Thrillville memories.
Kurt Russell and Elvis, 1963
Kurt Russell AS Elvis, 1978
World's Fair also features a cameo by a very young Kurt Russell, who gets hired to kick Elvis in the shins. Fifteen years later Kurt gave the best portrayal of The King ever in John Carpenter's TV biopic Elvis.
It's all connected somehow.
With stepmom Annie Helm and the late Deborah Walley, screening of "Spinout," Parkway, November 2000
1994 Elvis D-Day party with special guest, my stepmom Anne Helm - in a Berkeley Church!
This year I'll be hosting the annual ELVIS B-DAY PARTY at its new home, Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge in Alameda, with cocktail specials, Elvis music videos and prizes. Be there. Aloha and TCB.
WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.
Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.
Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."
More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."
Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."
Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats
