The man who discovered Elvis—and then destroyed him: How the King spiralled into addiction and death at the hands of his high-rolling manager

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, remains one of the most iconic figures in music history.

Yet behind the glittering facade of fame and fortune lay a darker story of addiction, manipulation, and tragic decline.

Central to this narrative is Colonel Tom Parker, the man who discovered Elvis and managed his career with a shrewdness that ultimately contributed to the singer’s downfall.

A new biography by Peter Guralnick, The Colonel And The King, sheds revealing light on the complex and often toxic relationship between Elvis and his enigmatic manager.

Addiction was the invisible glue that held Elvis and Colonel Parker together during the last decade of the singer’s life.

By 1977, after two decades of relentless fame, wild extravagance, and personal turmoil, Elvis was struggling not only with his health but also with financial pressures.

Despite earning millions over his 21-year career, he found himself needing to keep touring just to pay for his entourage, compliant doctors, and the drugs on which he had become dependent.

His manager, Colonel Parker, was also battling his own addiction — not to drugs but to gambling.

Parker’s compulsive roulette binges in Las Vegas drained hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Elvis was forced to work harder to cover both his own excesses and his manager’s losses.

The financial arrangements between Elvis and Parker were notoriously one-sided.

By the mid-1970s, Parker was taking 50 percent of Elvis’s earnings, a staggering cut for a manager.

Beyond this, Parker orchestrated side-deals that siphoned off even more money.

Elvis, who did not write songs himself, would record tracks only if the songwriters agreed to give up a portion of their royalties to Parker.

This meant that Parker profited not only from Elvis’s performances but also from the publishing rights of many hit songs, including classics like Heartbreak Hotel.

Songwriters eventually pushed back, with Dolly Parton famously refusing to let Elvis record her song I Will Always Love You, recognizing its true value.

Parker’s financial machinations extended beyond music into the film industry.

Elvis starred in around 30 movies during his career, often cheaply produced and critically panned.

Although Parker had no direct role in the production of these films, he secured an office and a cut of the profits from each one.

His focus was always on the bottom line — securing lucrative deals rather than nurturing Elvis’s artistic growth.

Who exactly was Colonel Tom Parker? Despite the honorary title “Colonel,” Parker was never a real military colonel.

The nickname was an affectation granted by governors of two states during his earlier career as a promoter, a title he embraced to project an aura of importance.

In truth, Parker was born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in the Netherlands in 1909.

He entered the United States as a stowaway in the 1920s and assumed the identity of Tom Parker from Huntington, West Virginia.

He served a brief stint in the U.S.Army, which cost him his Dutch nationality, but he never became an American citizen, rendering him stateless.

This lack of citizenship had practical consequences.

Parker never obtained a passport, which explains why Elvis never toured the UK and why Parker never visited Elvis when he was serving in the U.S.Army in Germany.

For 30 years, Parker worked in small-town carnival tours across the American South before transitioning into music management.

He managed country stars like Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow before discovering Elvis in Louisiana in 1955.

Recognizing the young man’s potential, Parker worked tirelessly to promote Elvis, convincing his parents and arranging television appearances that propelled Elvis to national stardom within a year.

Peter Guralnick, an esteemed Elvis historian, had the opportunity to interview Parker in Las Vegas in 1968.

Parker’s slight accent puzzled Guralnick until he uncovered Parker’s Dutch origins and his efforts to hide his past, including never seeing his mother again.

Parker meticulously saved every contract and letter related to Elvis’s career, providing Guralnick with a treasure trove of material for his comprehensive biography.

Guralnick portrays Parker as a man who worked single-mindedly for Elvis, often dictating terms to Hollywood producers and record executives.

While some might see this as evidence of a good manager, others, including myself, view Parker more as a brilliant promoter in Elvis’s early years but a poor guide for his long-term career.

Parker’s primary concern was always the million-dollar deal, not the artistic or intellectual development of his client.

Parker never interfered with Elvis’s choice of songs but also never read any of the film scripts Elvis was contractually obligated to perform in.

After returning from the army in 1960, Elvis was arguably the most popular star in Hollywood.

However, a string of cheap, formulaic movies with poor dialogue and forgettable songs soon tarnished his reputation.

Elvis himself admitted feeling ashamed of some of these films and songs, lamenting that he had little choice but to honor his contracts.

This lack of artistic control reflects the fundamental flaw in Parker’s management style.

Unlike the agents of stars like Paul Newman or Frank Sinatra, who would scrutinize scripts and protect their clients’ reputations, Parker prioritized financial gain over quality or legacy.

This approach contributed to Elvis’s decline from a respected musician and actor to a figure often regarded as a Hollywood joke.

The story ends in tragedy.

Elvis Presley died at the age of 42 in 1977 from a heart attack induced by his addiction in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion.

His death marked the collapse of a once-great career marred by personal demons and mismanagement.

Colonel Parker’s addiction to gambling never fully left him, but after Elvis’s death, he was no longer a high roller.

Stripped of his management rights by a Memphis court, Parker lived out his final years in a modest Las Vegas home, limiting his casino bets to $25.

The complex relationship between Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker is a cautionary tale about the perils of fame, addiction, and unchecked ambition.

Parker’s role in Elvis’s life was both instrumental and destructive.

He discovered and propelled the King of Rock and Roll to unprecedented heights but also exploited and constrained him, contributing to the tragic spiral that ended Elvis’s life prematurely.

Peter Guralnick’s The Colonel And The King offers a detailed and nuanced portrait of this relationship, drawing on extensive documentation and interviews.

It reveals a man who was both a master promoter and a deeply flawed individual, whose influence shaped the course of one of the most remarkable careers in entertainment history.

For fans and historians alike, the book is an essential read to understand not just the legend of Elvis Presley but the man behind the scenes who helped build—and ultimately break—the King.