It Happened At The
World's Fair MGM 1963
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By: For Elvis Fans Only
Source: EPE
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It Happened At The World's Fair |
Elvis'
twelfth film was "It Happened At The
World's Fair" (MGM, 1963) and was set at
the Seattle World's Fair. Earlier
working titles for the film were "Take
Me Out To The Fair" and "Take Me To The
Fair."
"It
Happened at the Wprld's Fair" premiered
in Los Angeles on April 3, 1963 and
opened nationally on April 10. It was
ranked #55 for the year on "Variety's"
list of movies.
Mike
(Elvis) and Danny (Gary Lockwood) fly a
crop-duster, but because of Danny's
gambling debts, a local sheriff takes
custody of it. Trying to earn money,
they hitch-hike to the World's Fair in
Seattle. While Danny tries to earn money
playing poker, Mike takes care of a
small girl, Sue-Lin, whose father has
disappeared. Being a ladies' man, he
also finds the time to court a young
nurse, Diane (Joan O'Brien).
The script was written by Si Rose, who
was a TV series writer who wrote for
such shows as "How To Marry a
Millionaire," "McHale's Navy" and "The
Dukes of Hazzard." His co-writer was
Seaman Jacobs, who was also a TV writer
and has worked on such series as "My
Three Sons," "F Troop," "Alice" and "The
Love Boat."
On August 28, 1962 Elvis reported for
pre-production work and settled into his
MGM dressing room, which had once
belonged to actor Clark Gable.
Soundtrack recording got off to a bad
start as Elvis had a cold and after only
three songs they had to postpone the
session. On the 31st Elvis had his
wardrobe fittings with Sy Devore, who in
an interview reported that Elvis's
wardrobe for this movie cost $9,300 and
included 10 suits, 2 cashmere coats, 4
sport coats, 15 pairs of slacks, 30
shirts and 55 ties.
Elvis and his entourage arrived in
Seattle for location shooting on
September 4, 1962 and took up residence
on the 14th floor of the New Washington
Hotel. Probably in order to be easily
identified in the crowds of visitors to
the fair, Elvis's entourage members were
all dressed in special uniforms. In
addition to Elvis's own security staff,
there were hundreds of local police and
a contingent of Pinkerton plainclothes
detectives assigned to protect and
escort Elvis through the crowds.
Principal photography began on September
5th at the monorail terminal.
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Vicky Tui Cayetano, Elvis
Presley & Gary Lockwood in It
Happened At The World's Fair |
The
Seattle Fair was actually called the
Seattle Century 21 Exposition, thus the
name of the trailer park Elvis's
character stayed at was "Century 21
Estates". Over 10 million people visited
the fair that year and many of the
structures created for it, including the
Space Needle and the monorail, are still
used today in what is now called Seattle
Centre. The 605-foot high Space Needle
has become a symbol for the city of
Seattle. The new Key Arena was built in
1995 on the skeleton of the Coliseum,
which housed the "World of Tomorrow"
exhibit where some filming with Elvis
took place. The Federal Science Building
is now the Pacific Science Centre. This
building was designed by Detroit-based
architect Minoru Yamasaki, who went on
to design the World Trade Centre in New
York City.
President John F. Kennedy
opened the fair by telegraph key from
his Easter vacation in Florida on April
21, 1962, using the same telegraph key
that President Taft had used to open the
Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in
Seattle in 1909. The key triggered a
radio telescope in Maine, which picked
up an impulse from a star 10,000 light
years away. This impulse was directed
towards the fairgrounds to start the
festivities, which included the release
of 2,000 balloons, the ringing of the
Space Needle's 538 bell Carillon, 10 Air
Force F-102s flying overhead and aerial
bombs bursting and raining down tiny
flags. Among the celebrities who visited
the fair were Attorney General Robert
Kennedy and his family, England's Prince
Phillip, Danny Kaye, John Raitt, Sammy
Davis Jr., Louis Armstrong, Victor Borge,
Lawrence Welk, Johnny Mathis, Maurice
Chevalier, John Wayne, Jack Lemmon, Vice
President Lyndon Johnson, Carl Reiner,
Carol Channing, George Burns, Jonas
Salk, Rafer Johnson, Walt Disney,
Richard Nixon, Lt. Col. John Glenn and
even Lassie.
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Mike Edwards (Elvis Presley) &
nurse Diane Warren (Joan
O'Brian) in It Happened At The
World's Fair |
"It
Happened at the World's Fair" was the
fourth studio movie known to be made in
Seattle and Elvis mania soon set in the
city. Elvis noticed a local 18-year-old,
Sue Wouters, and dated her during
filming in Seattle. Other not-so-lucky
girls posed as reporters for high school
newspapers and tried to get an
opportunity to meet Elvis. Many girls
even climbed the hotel fire escape in an
attempt to get close to him.
Alan Fortas (an Elvis entourage member)
recalled that Elvis and the group were
often confined to the hotel for long
periods of time and said that, when
boredom set in, they played a favourite
trick on the room service personnel.
They moved all the furniture out of the
room and then ordered room service. When
the food arrived they were all sitting
on the floor in an empty room. The
befuddled bellboy left without a word
and when the manager arrived a few
minutes later, all the furniture had
been returned where it belonged.
Location shooting was finished by
September 13, 1962. Before returning to
California to continue filming at the
studio, Elvis, on behalf of Tennessee
Governor Buford Ellington, presented a
ceremonial gift of two Tennessee hams to
Washington Governor Albert Rosellini.
Elvis and
his entourage left Seattle when location
shooting was done and filming resumed
back in Hollywood at the MGM lot on
September 17, 1962. On the set Elvis was
interviewed at length by Lloyd Shearer
and in the interview Elvis discussed his
love of reading and studying philosophy
and how he would have liked to have
become a doctor.
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Kurt Russell & Elvis Presley in
It Happened At The World's Fair |
A
favorite scene in this movie is when a
ten-year-old Kurt Russell
is paid by Elvis's character to kick him
in the shins. Little did anyone dream
that years later the same Kurt Russell
would play Elvis in the made for TV move
"Elvis" and receive an Outstanding Lead
Actor Emmy nomination for his portrayal.
Russell was briefly married to his
"Elvis" co-star Season Hubley with whom
he had a son, Boston. Mr. Russell began
his career as a child actor when Walt
Disney signed him to a ten-year
contract. After that he pursued a career
in professional baseball. He played
second base for the minor league until
an injury forced him to retire. (His
father Bing Russell, a former baseball
player who turned to acting, had played
the deputy sheriff on "Bonanza" for a
number of years.) Kurt Russell returned
to acting after his baseball career and
has had many prime movie roles that
include films such as "Silkwood," "Tango
and Cash," "Backdraft" and "Vanilla Sky"
among others. He often performs his own
stunts and is a licensed pilot. He and
his long-time life partner, actress
Goldie Hawn, now
live in Vancouver, Canada where they
encourage their son Wyatt with his
career in hockey. They recently became
grandparents when Hawn's daughter, the
actress Kate Hudson,
gave birth.
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Elvis Presley & Joan O'Brian in
It Happened At The World's Fair |
Elvis'
leading lady for this film was actress
Joan O'Brien.
She began her career as a teenage
country singer working on TV with
Tennessee Ernie Ford. She went into
acting and ironically played a nurse in
several different movies including this
one. Other nursing roles included the
movie "Operation Petticoat" the Jerry
Lewis film "It's Only Money." She also
starred in a teen musical with Nancy
Sinatra called "Get Yourself A College
Girl." She gave up her acting career to
raise her children and eventually became
an executive with Hilton Hotels.
Gary Lockwood played Danny
Burke. You also might remember him from
his role in the 1961 Elvis movie "Wild
In The Country". Mr. Lockwood also had
roles in the movies "Splendour In The
Grass" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" among
others. He had many roles on TV,
including starring in "The Lieutenant",
but he might be best known for his role
in the pilot episode of "Star Trek."
Today, he still often makes guest
appearances at "Star Trek" conventions.
Gary Lockwood was born John Gary
Yusolfsky in California and began his
career as a stunt man and a stand-in for
Anthony Perkins. He was often one of the
young Hollywood actors who joined Elvis
and his entourage in friendly football
games at De Neve Park in California.
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Elvis Presley & Vicky Tui
Cayetano in It Happened At The
World's Fair |
Vicky Tui Cayetano was 6-1/2
years old when she played
Sue-Lin in this film. She
was a part of the talented Tui family of
child performers. Her sisters Ginny and
Elizabeth and her brother Alexander had
parts in the Elvis movie "Girls! Girls!
Girls!". The original plan was to cast
Ginny as Sue-Lin, but she was already
booked to play piano at the White House
for President Kennedy, so her sister
Vicky was given the role instead. Vicky
was born in the Philippines and was the
sixth of nine children. This was her
only movie. She went on to attend
Stanford University for two years then
founded a travel agency. She moved to
Hawaii in 1983 and was Hawaii's first
lady from 1994 to 2002 while her husband
Ben Cayetano was governor. She is mother
to five children and she is President
and CEO of a corporation she founded in
1990 that provides commercial laundry
services to 30 hotels and 5 major health
care facilities in Hawaii. She is active
in many community service organizations.
In a recent interview she said she still
has the big red stuffed animal from the
movie and her copy of the script.
Kam Tong played Uncle Walter Ling. This
California born actor began his movie
career in the late 1930s and had a
number of roles in the war movies of the
1940s. He also can be seen in films such
as "Love Is A Many Splendour Thing,"
"Walk Like A Dragon" and "Flower Drum
Song." He had roles on numerous TV
series, including "Have Gun Will
Travel," in which he had a reoccurring
role from 1957 to1963.
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Yvonne Craig & Elvis Presley in
It Happened At The World's Fair |
Yvonne Craig
played the part of Dorothy Johnson, the
girl whose name Elvis's character
Michael Edwards just can't quite get
right. Ms. Craig might be best known for
her role as Batgirl in the "Batman" TV
series, but she was also the girl that
got Elvis in the 1964 film
"Kissin'
Cousins",
in which she played Azalea Tatum. She
began her career as a ballet dancer in
her teen years. She is now married and
in the real estate business. She
published her memoirs in 2000.
Jacqueline deWit played Dorothy's mother
Mrs. Johnson. This character actress
began her career in the 1940s and had
roles in such films as "Dragon Seed,"
"Saratoga Trunk," "The Snake Pit",
"Carrie" and "Pocketful of Miracles."
Olan Soule played Dorothy's shotgun
toting father Mr. Johnson. This actor
had hundreds of roles in film and TV. He
also can be seen as a waiter in the
Elvis film
"Girl
Happy".
He had recurring roles in the TV series
"Dragnet" and the TV series "My Three
Sons." In the 1970s his was the voice of
"Batman" in the TV cartoon series.
H.M. Wynant played shady Vince Bradley.
He too has had a long career as a
character actor with well over a hundred
roles in TV and film, including a long
time role on the daytime series "Days of
Our Lives".
Edith Atwater played the head nurse at
the first aid station. She had just
finished working on the film "Sweet Bird
of Youth" and would go on to have roles
in "Strange Bedfellows", "True Grit",
and many more films. She also had
recurring roles in several TV series
including Aunt Gertrude Hardy in the
"Hardy Boys Mysteries," Dr. Lillian
McCary in "Knots Landing" and Dr. Jane
Barrett in "Hart to Hart."
Guy Raymond played Barney Thatcher. He
had roles in films and TV including
"Marjorie Morningstar,", "Sail A Crooked
Ship," "Gypsy," "The Reluctant
Astronaut," "Green Acres," "Dynasty" and
many others.
Several stuntmen/actors had roles in
"It Happened At
The World's Fair" and they
also had roles in other Elvis movies.
George Cisar was in
"Jailhouse
Rock",
"Viva
Las Vegas",
"Girl
Happy"
and
"Speedway".
John Daheim was in "Jailhouse Rock".
John Indrisano was in "Jailhouse Rock"
and
"Fun
In Acapulco".
Troy Melton was in
"Change
of Habit".
Hal Riddle had roles in this film as
well as "Speedway" and
"Live
A Little, Love A Little."
Tom Greenway was the paymaster in
"Love
Me Tender".
Pete Kellett was an extra in
"Viva Las Vegas".
Mike Mahoney was also in
"Loving
You"
and
"Roustabout".
Robert Williams was in "Viva Las Vegas"
and
"Frankie
and Johnny".
Wilson Wood was in "Jailhouse Rock."
Appearing in the film and on the
soundtrack with Elvis was a singing
quartet called
The Mello Men,
which was comprised of Thurl Ravenscroft,
Bill Lee, Bill Cole and Max Smith. They
were not only singers, but also provided
the voices for many beloved cartoon
characters in such productions as "Alice
in Wonderland," "Lady and the Tramp,"
"Tom and Jerry," "Yogi Bear," "Peter
Pan," "Sleeping Beauty" and "One Hundred
and One Dalmations" among others. Thurl
Ravenscroft indivual credits for cartoon
voice work inlcude "The Sword In The
Stone," "Mary Poppins," "The Jungle
Book," "The Cat In The Hat," "The
Aristocats" and "Winnie the Pooh." His
voice has also been used for many of the
recorded voices in the attractions at
Disneyland and Disney World.
Ted Richmond was the producer of "It
Happened at the World's Fair." He began
his career as a writer in the late
1930s, but he soon turned to producing.
Most notable among his films could be
1973's "Papillon" starring Steve McQueen
and Dustin Hoffman.
Actress/songwriter Dolores
Fuller
began her career as a child when she was
an extra in the Clark Gable film "It
Happened One Night." Although she never
had a part in any of Elvis's films, she
did write songs for a number of them
including the song "Beyond the Bend" for
this movie. Often working with Ben
Weisman and Fred Wise, she wrote music
for
"Blue Hawaii,"
"Kid Galahad,"
"Fun In Acapulco,"
"Kissin' Cousins,"
"Roustabout,"
"Girl Happy,"
"Spinout,"
"Easy Come, Easy
Go" and
"Change of Habit.
She also wrote some songs for Elvis that
were not movie-related. She also known
for her one-time romance with
producer/director Ed Wood, although she
is said to have objected to Sarah
Jessica Parker's depiction of her in the
1994 film about him.
Scoring was provided by composer Leith
Stevens. Stevens's long career was
highlighted by three Academy Award
nominations and a Golden Globe
nomination for work in the movies
"Destination Moon", "Julie", "The Five
Pennies" and "A New Kind of Love."
The film's cinematographer Joseph
Ruttenberg was nominated ten times for
Academy Awards, winning for the films "Gigi,"
"Somebody Up There Likes Me," "Mrs.
Miniver" and "The Great Waltz." He also
won a Golden Globe Award for
"Brigadoon."
E. Preston Ames was the art director. He
garnered eight Academy Award nominations
and won for "Gigi" and "An American In
Paris." In addition to "It Happened at
the World's Fair," Ames worked on the
Elvis films
"Wild In The
Country" and
"Live A Little,
Love A Little."
George W. Davis also worked as an art
director for this "It Happened at the
World's Fair." He also worked on the
Elvis films "Kissin' Cousins," "Viva Las
Vegas," "Girl Happy," "Harum Scarum,"
"Spinout," "Double Trouble," "Speedway"
and "Live A Little, Love A Little." He
too was a multiple nominee for Academy
Awards - 17 nominations, winning for
"The Robe" and "The Diary of Anne
Frank."
Sydney Guilaroff was the hair stylist.
He was chief hairstylist for MGM from
1934 - 1978 and the first hair stylist
to be listed in the credits of a film.
He is credited with giving a number of
actors and actresses their signature
look. He worked on a good many of
Elvis's films.
Award-winning makeup artist William
Tuttle was head of the makeup department
at MGM for over 20 years. He worked on
"It Happened at the World's Fair" and a
good many other Elvis films. He began
his show-business career as a musician
at age fifteen, but, by eighteen,
switched to the artistry of makeup.
Choreography was designed by Jack Baker
who also worked on the Elvis movies
"Spinout" and "Live A Little, Love A
Little."
On November 8, 1962, Elvis's father and
then Memphis Mayor Loeb visited the set
of this film where the mayor accepted
Elvis' annual donation of $50,000 to
Memphis charities. On November 9th,
Elvis completed his work on this movie
and traveled to Las Vegas where he
vacationed before returning to Memphis.
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It Happened At The World's Fair
FTD CD |
Soundtrack
- Beyond
The Bend
- Relax
- Take Me To The Fair
- They Remind Me Too Much Of You
- One Broken Heart For Sale
- I�m Falling In Love Tonight
- Cotton Candy Land
- A World Of Our Own
- How Would You Like To Be
- Happy Ending
Recorded at: Radio Recorders
Studios, 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard,
Hollywood. September 1962
Musicians:
Elvis Presley (vocals), Scotty Moore,
Tiny Timbrell, Barney Kessel (guitars),
Ray Siegel (bass), D.J Fontana, Hal
Blaine, Bernie Mattinson (drums), Don
Robertson (piano), Boots Randolph (sax),
the Jordanaires and the Mello Men
(vocals).
An album and a single "One Broken Heart
For Sale" were released with the picture
but the single, backed with "They Remind
Me Too Much Of You", failed to reach the
top ten.
It Happened At The World's Fair MGM 1963
Directed: Norman
Taurog
Writing Credits: Si Rose, Seaman Jacobs
Producer: Ted Richmond
Music Score: Leith Stevens
Director of Photography: Joseph
Ruttenberg A.S.C
Art Direction: George W Davis and
Preston Ames
Technical Advisor: Colonel Tom Parker
Assistant Director: Al Jennings
Hair Styles: Sydney Guilaroff
Recording Supervisor: Franklin Milton
Musical numbers staged by: Jack Baker
Cast Overview
Elvis Presley .... Mike Edwards, Joan
O'Brien .... Diane Warren, Gary Lockwood
.... Danny Burke, Vicky Tiu ....
Sue-Lin, H.M. Wynant .... Vince Bradley,
Edith Atwater .... Head Nurse (Miss
Steuben), Guy Raymond .... Barney
Thatcher, Dorothy Green .... Miss
Ettinger, Kam Tong .... Walter Ling,
Yvonne Craig .... Dorothy Johnson.
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