First Posted: 4/6/2015
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The King will not appear at Elvis Presley’s Graceland Wedding Chapel that is coming soon to Las Vegas — exactly how Priscilla Presley wants it.
The woman who wed Elvis in Sin City in 1967 made one thing clear before unveiling the latest wedding chapel to bear his name: No Elvis impersonators.
Priscilla Presley knows some might prefer a jumpsuit-wearing, sideburn-donning wedding official with a bit of swivel to his hips. But she says such a move would only cheapen the place.
“This is all first-class,” she told the Associated Press recently. “This is not a joke. The wedding chapel is not a joke.”
That means no red velvet, Presley said. Nothing gaudy.
She has been involved in the look and feel of the chapel that officials say is part of the first permanent exhibit of Elvis artifacts outside Graceland, the singer’s iconic Memphis, Tennessee, home.
And a reflection of the Memphis landmark will be the backdrop for the chapel, with couples seemingly saying “I do” on the home’s front steps.
Authenticity is what this new chapel offers, she said, and more than anything, she seems keen on ridding the world, and Las Vegas, of the often over-the-top, tacky image of her late ex-husband.
“Elvis had a lot of dignity. Elvis had a lot of class,” she said. “He was a beautiful specimen of a man.”
“Graceland Presents ELVIS: The Exhibition – The Show – The Experience,” including the chapel, opens April 23 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino, the same property where Elvis performed several hundred sold-out shows between 1969 and 1976, when it was known as the International Hotel and later the Las Vegas Hilton.
When Priscilla Presley arrives for the show’s debut, it may be only her second time visiting the site since she last saw Elvis perform there in 1975.
Even a six-week show that aims to replicate those concerts will feature an actor, not an impersonator, Presley was careful to note.
“He’s not trying to be Elvis Presley,” she said of performer Martin Fontaine, who will perform Elvis songs with a 24-piece band in a renovated showroom where the King took the stage.
While there won’t be any impersonators, one lucky couple will get a Presley in their wedding party opening day.
Priscilla Presley will attend the nuptials of the couple that wins a contest announced by NBC’s “Today” show Monday after giving them a private tour of the exhibit the night before.
“I’m going to make sure it’s done right,” she said of the wedding.
Josh Groban to sing national anthem at Kentucky Derby
NEW YORK (AP) — For Josh Groban, the second time will be the charm at the Kentucky Derby.
The multiplatinum-selling Groban has been selected to sing the national anthem at the annual thoroughbred race, to be held May 2 at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. It is an upgrade for Groban; the last time he attended the event, he was a spectator.
The classically inspired crooner will become the seventh person to sing the national anthem at the Derby; the tradition started in 2009.
The race is the first in the Triple Crown; the next will be the Preakness Stakes on May 16, followed by the Belmont Stakes on June 6.
No promises by Giuliana Rancic to return to ‘Fashion Police’
NEW YORK (AP) — Giuliana Rancic isn’t making any promises that she’ll return to “Fashion Police” in the fall.
The E! Entertainment personality appeared on the “Today” show Monday to promote her new book, “Going off Script.”
And she also seemed to go off-script at the interview’s conclusion, when host Savannah Guthrie asked if Rancic “will be there” when “Fashion Police” airs again in September.
Hedging, Rancic said only, “We’ll see.”
The show, formerly hosted by the late Joan Rivers, has recently been in turmoil with the abrupt departures of panelist Kelly Osbourne and new host Kathy Griffin.
Before that, Rancic took heat for a wisecrack about actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks that some viewers, including the actress-singer, deemed racist.
But Rancic repeated her explanation that the joke was misinterpreted after editing removed the context.
