Elvis Was Too Embarrassed to Leave His Dressing Room on the Set of 1 Film

In 1964, Elvis Presley starred in a film that humiliated him so deeply that he didn’t want to shoot it. Elvis was, for the most part, a good sport about the film Kissin’ Cousins. Director Gene Nelson enjoyed working with him, even as the shooting schedule grew hectic. Still, his co-star recalled Elvis’ abject embarrassment on set.

Elvis felt humiliated on the set of one film

In 1964, Elvis played the role of cousins in the film Kissin’ Cousins. He had a major problem with the film, as it made him wear a blond wig he hated. He also felt the script and storyline were ridiculous and disliked the rapid filming schedule. Nelson said Elvis was an easygoing presence on set. His co-star, Yvonne Craig knew he didn’t want to be there, though.

According to the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick, Elvis felt embarrassed about his appearance, the amateurish method of putting two Elivses on screen, and the music. Craig recalled that there were days when Elvis even felt too embarrassed to leave his dressing room.

The director of the film said Elvis seemed too embarrassed to put effort into his acting

Nelson enjoyed working with Elvis and would go on to direct him again in Harum Scarum. Still, he thought Elvis’ embarrassment impacted his work.

“As a performer, he wasn’t adventuresome, he didn’t really want to learn, because he was embarrassed, and, besides, what he was doing worked, so why change it? I don’t think he was ever involved to his full potential as an actor, but I could see moments where he would get involved in a scene,” Nelson said. “I think he could have been a very good actor, but mostly he would just be his charming self and get away with it — because he was Elvis Presley.”

As a result, Elvis never starred in the type of films he wanted. He gradually lost interest in his career as an actor.

This was far from the only movie that embarrassed the singer

Kissin’ Cousins was by no means the only film that embarrassed Elvis. Publicity director Anne Fulcino met with Elvis on the set of Blue Hawaii after working on a career plan for him. She noticed his visible discomfort at the quality of the film.

“He was obviously uncomfortable with what he was doing, he was frustrated and disgusted — it was all in his face,” she said. “The emotion I respected most was that he was ashamed of it, which meant that he knew better — but you could see that he was trapped.”

He hated his 1967 film Clambake so much that he fell into despondency.

“Elvis was so despondent over Clambake that his weight ballooned from his usual 170 to 200 pounds by the time he reported for work,” Priscilla Presley wrote in the book Elvis and Me. “The studio ordered him to take the weight off — and fast. Enter the diet pills, the only way he could curb his appetite and reduce his weight in the short time allowed. Colonel managed to deal with the inpatient studio brass.”

Though Elvis had high hopes for his acting career, he walked away from it with many regrets. He made his final film in 1969.

“I had thought that they would … give me a chance to show some kind of acting ability or do a very interesting story, but it did not change, it did not change, and so I became very discouraged,” he said. “They couldn’t have paid me no amount of money in the world to make me feel self-satisfaction inside.”