<p id=”par-1_70″>In 1975, <a href=”https://cheatsheet.com/tag/elvis-presley”>Elvis Presley</a> received an offer to act in the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/movies/”>film</a> <em>A Star Is Born</em> alongside Barbra Streisand. The opportunity excited him greatly. He hadn’t been in a movie since 1969’s <em>Change of Habit</em> and was growing bored of his endless schedule of performances. A new film could have reestablished him as an actor. Ultimately, though, when negotiations fell through, Elvis’ friend the singer hadn’t been sure he could pull off the role.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-elvis-presley-reportedly-didn-t-think-he-would-be-a-good-fit-in-a-film”>Elvis Presley reportedly didn’t think he would be a good fit in a film</h2>
<p id=”par-2_68″>In 1975, Streisand offered Elvis $500,000 and 10% of profits to star as rock star John Norman Howard in <em>A Star Is Born</em>. After the initial meeting with Streisand, Elvis’ friends recalled that he seemed excited about the part. The role was of a rock star whose career was on the decline. It was the sort of dramatic and complicated part Elvis had been craving for nearly two decades. </p>
<p id=”par-3_46″>Unfortunately, Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, got in the way of this. He wanted Elvis to receive $1 million, half the profits, $100,000 in expenses, and a deal to record the soundtrack. When Streisand and her production company didn’t agree to these terms, the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-presley-lost-role-movie-would-have-changed-everything.html/”>deal fell apart</a>.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” fetchpriority=”high” width=”1200″ height=”1178″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand wear white on the set of ‘A Star Is Born.’ Streisand holds white flowers and has flowers in her hair.” class=”wp-image-3639290″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=509&h=500 509w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=768&h=754 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=1024&h=1005 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=357&h=350 357w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=172&h=169 172w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=200&h=196 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=516&h=507 516w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Star-is-born.jpg?w=61&h=60 61w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand | Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_40″>In later years, Parker claimed Elvis “did not want to do” the movie. While this could be a response to criticism Parker received for shooting down the deal, Elvis’ close friend, Lamar Fike, believed there was some truth to it. </p>
<p id=”par-5_36″>“Deep down, Elvis knew he couldn’t play the part [but] laid a lot of blame on the Colonel,” Fike said, per the book <em><a href=”https://valsec.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-colonel-alanna-nash/1100367694″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley</a> </em>by Alanna Nash.</p>
<p id=”par-6_17″>Kris Kristofferson, who ultimately took the part, went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-elvis-presley-had-grown-weary-of-his-film-career”>Elvis Presley had grown weary of his film career</h2>
<p id=”par-7_17″>One of Elvis’ biggest career regrets was that he never reached his full potential as an actor.</p>
<p id=”par-8_30″>“People aren’t going to remember me because I’ve never done anything lasting,” Elvis told his girlfriend, Kathy Westmoreland. “I’ve never made a classic film to show what I can do.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_15″>Parker wanted Elvis to take roles in lighthearted, musical films. Elvis grew to hate them.</p>
<p id=”par-10_68″>“He would sometimes see himself in a movie and he <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-disgusted-watched-films.html/”>would get disgusted</a>,” his bodyguard Red West said in the book <em>Elvis: What Happened?</em> by Steve Dunleavy. “He would say, ‘Who is that fast-talking hillbilly sonofab**** that nobody can understand? One day he is singing to a dog, then to a car, then to a cow. They are all the damned same movies with that Southerner just singing to something different.’”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-needed-something-to-shake-up-the-monotony-of-his-career”>He needed something to shake up the monotony of his career</h2>
<p id=”par-11_53″>While it’s impossible to judge whether Elvis would have been good in the role of John Norman Howard, the film would have been a break from his music career. At this point in his life, Elvis needed that. He played lengthy residencies in Las Vegas that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/priscilla-presley-said-elvis-created-real-life-dramas-professional-challenges.html/”>bored him more</a> with each passing day.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” width=”1200″ height=”952″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of Elvis from the chest up. Half his face is in shadow.” class=”wp-image-3638910″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=630&h=500 630w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=768&h=609 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=1024&h=812 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=441&h=350 441w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=213&h=169 213w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=200&h=159 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=639&h=507 639w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elvis-drug.jpg?w=76&h=60 76w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Elvis Presley | RB/Redferns</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-12_66″>“Nobody goes to Vegas and plays four weeks anymore — they do five days, tops,” his friend Lamar Fike said. “And Elvis had such a high-energy show that when he would do an honest hour and fifteen minutes twice a night, he was so tired he was cross-eyed. That’s why he took that stuff, to keep him going. And because he was bored. Bored to tears.” </p>
<p id=”par-13_11″>A break from his endless performance schedule may have revitalized Elvis.</p>