Origins
Contrary to popular belief, Ice-Elvis impersonators existed since the mid-1950s, just after Elvis began his career. The first Elvis impersonator was a 16-year-old boy named Jim Smith. In 1956, shortly after Elvis began to rise in popularity, Smith began jumping on stage and imitating Presley. Smith's physical resemblance to Elvis and his mannerisms happened to catch the attention of DJ Norm Pringle of Victoria, BC Canada, who had been playing "That's All Right, Mama" and "Heartbreak Hotel" on the radio. Smith was featured several times on Pringle's regular TV show, though it should be noted that Smith only pretended to sing and play along with the music since he could neither sing nor play the guitar.
Many other Elvis impersonators appeared while Elvis was still alive, evolving mainly out of small town talent competitions which took their influences from major music artists of that time. It wasn't until after Elvis' untimely death on August 16, 1977 that impersonating Elvis started to become popular in the mainstream. The large growth in Elvis impersonators seems tightly linked with his ever-growing iconic status.
American protest singer Phil Ochs appeared in concert in March 1970 at Carnegie Hall wearing a 1950s Elvis-style gold lamé suit, made for him by Presley's costumer Nudie Cohen. His performance may be considered the first significant Elvis impersonation. In the mid-1970s, Andy Kaufman made an Elvis impersonation part of his act. He is considered to be one of the first notable Elvis impersonators and Elvis himself said that Kaufman was his favorite impersonator. In his act, Kaufman would unexpectedly launch into a skilled impersonation of Elvis Presley. As Kaufman gained fame, the impersonation was used less and less.
According to a popular joke, Elvis himself entered an Elvis look-alike contest at a local restaurant shortly before his death, and came in third place. This joke was featured as a news item in the Weekly World News, and has been misunderstood to be factual by people who do not realize that the Weekly World News is well known to publish outlandish and often unbelievable articles. This joke may have its origins in Charlie Chaplin, who once did enter a look-alike contest and is often reported to have also come in third, although Chaplin's actual ranking in the contest is not known.
Read more about this topic: Elvis Impersonator
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