Statue: Elvis Presley is "part of the building"

Statue: Elvis Presley is "part of the building"


www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-03 21:36:36 Print


Elvis Presley, 1973 Aloha From Hawaii television broadcast. A life-size statue of Elvis Presley, looking much as he did 34 years ago during his legendary "Aloha from Hawaii" concert, was unveiled Thursday at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.
(File Photo)


BEIJING, Aug. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- A life-size statue of Elvis Presley, looking much as he did 34 years ago during his legendary "Aloha from Hawaii" concert, was unveiled Thursday at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

The bronze statue of the King, commissioned by TV Land, is meant as a tribute to Presley and the first concert to be broadcast via satellite, reaching more than a billion viewers.

"It's about time. Elvis gave so much to Hawaii," said impersonator Jonathon Vonbrana, who had carefully sculpted black hair and wore dark sunglasses. "It's excellent. A lot of the statues don't even look like him."

The sculpture shows Presley during his prime, slim and big-buckled with his collar turned up, flared pants draped to the floor, hair slicked back, vest plastered on and microphone tilted toward his lips. As it was unveiled, "See See Rider" and "American Trilogy" played over the loudspeakers.

"It's how I would like to remember him. It's really nice," said Kathy Antonio, who traveled from the Big Island with eight members of the Rock-A-Hula Fan Club, which holds tributes for Presley.

Presley filmed three movies in Hawaii, "Blue Hawaii," "Girls! Girls! Girls!" and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style." He also visited the islands three times for concerts.

The statue was a gift from TV Land, a division of MTV Networks, as part of a tribute to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Presley's death at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977.

"He was not a native son of our land, but we adopted him as our own," said Mufi Hannemann of Honolulu. "Now we can always say Elvis is part of the building."