Elvis! The King and His Court: jailhouse rock

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Judy Tyler"Peggy Van Alden"

Judith Hess [Judy Tyler] was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October, 9, 1933. As Judy grew up she studied acting, ballet, music, and danced with the Copacabana chorus line. Tyler began her acting career in High School when she started to make small appearances on television. In 1947, at age 17, Judy won the role of Princess Summerfall Winterspring on the children’s show Howdy Doody.

She remained on that program for 2 years before resigning. Tyler then returned to the stage and, in 1956,was “rediscovered” while performing in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream. Judy then had the honor of being on the cover of Life magazine which followed a role in the movie Bop Goes Calypso.

In 1957, Tyler was chosen to co-star with Elvis Presley in his third motion picture, Jailhouse Rock. She was to portray the role of Peggy Van Alden, a record promoter who persuades Vince (Elvis) to make a record. On July 4th, 1957, just 3 days after Judy had finished filming Jailhouse Rock, Judy Tyler and her second husband were killed in a car . The tragedy was such a blow to Elvis that he never again watched the film.

Dean Jones"Teddy Talbot"

Dean Jones was born on January 25, 1931 in Morgan County, Alabama. When Jones got older, he was with the Air Corps and then joined a night club as a blues singer. By 1956 he was signed to an MGM contract. Dean’s first screen role was as a hardware clerk in These Wilder Years. More films followed,and in 1957 he was chosen to portray Teddy Talbot in the Elvis Presley movie Jailhouse Rock. Following this, Jones was in movies such as Under The Yum Yum Tree and The New Interns.

In the 1960’s and 70’s, Dean Jones found a fresh new audience by starring in several popular Disney films. These included That Darn Cat! with Hayley Mills, The Ugly Dachshund with Suzanne Pleshette and The Love Bug with Michele Lee and Buddy Hackett.

In the 70’s Jones found a new focus in life when he became a Christian. In 1978 he portrayed another well-known Christian: convicted Watergate figure, Charles Colson. Colson had written of his life and political experiences in the best-seller,Born Again. Dean Jones turned in a sincere performance of the author in the screen version of the book.

In the 80’s Dean did the TV series Herbie, The Love Bug and a few other films. In 1992, he appeared in the canine comedy, Beethoven playing the evil Doctor Varnick. Through the 90’s, Dean could be seen in such Disney movie remakes as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, That Darn Cat, and The Love Bug. He also did some voices on the TV series Johnny Quest: The New Adventures and Batman & Mr. Freeze: Subzero.

Gloria Pall"The Legs of Jailhouse Rock"

Gloria Pall's face may not be instantly recognizable to fans of Elvis movies...but she undoubtedly had the

most famous "walk-on" part in one of his films. Anyone who has seen Jailhouse Rock will recall her shapely legs in the nightclub scene.
Gloria's early work was not in films, but as an expert aircraft mechanic working on bombers and fighter planes in Rome, New York. In 1951, the winsome blonde earned the title of "Miss Flatbush" in a beauty contest. Her path to fame led first to ing - then performing as a in Reno and Las Vegas. In 1954 she created a television show on ABC entitled Voluptua. The suggestive program ran for 7 weeks. It caused quite a stir, with headlines blasting boldly, "VOLUPTUA FIRED FOR BEING 'Too Torrid for TV!'" As Miss Pall explains, " It was just suggestive--corny not porny--but the public couldn't handle it at the time."
Not one to give up, Gloria pursued roles in Hollywood films, succeeding in landing cameos in numerous pictures. In 1953, she debuted briefly as a French girl in the cornball comedy Ma and Pa Kettle Go on Vacation. 1954 found her hanging on the arm of Kirk Douglas in the Disney blockbuster 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Several cameos later, Miss Pall landed the leggy role of a stripper in Jailhouse Rock. Elvis fans will recall the scene in the 1957 movie in which Elvis, at the La Florita night club, first meets the young record promoter who takes him under her wing. Gloria plays the part of the

stripper who is seen briefly walking in front of the camera. Other bit parts included The Brothers Karamazov(1958 - with Yul Brynner), the film noir Crimson Kimono(1959 - with Elvis alum James Shigeta), and Elmer Gantry(1960 - the Burt Lancaster/Shirley Jones award-winner).
Meanwhile, though her name was never a household word,during the 1950s, Gloria Pall's face became well-known for adorning hundreds of magazine covers (and centerfolds). She became an internationally famous pin-up girl. Likewise,as Miss Pall relates today, her experiences put her "in touch with the most famous and infamous people alive including royalty and Elvis Presley. I dated the world's richest men such as Howard Hughes."
Today, Miss Pall enjoys sharing her experiences by meeting fans at memorabilia shows and by writing books on the ever-popular 50s era and the superstars with which she appeared. Drawing from her active TV and movie career, her engaging and informative books appear in the research libraries of both USC and UCLA. One of her publications, a pictorial entitled Let's Get Under My Covers features scores of her magazine covers, as well as a chronological table of contents that parallels events in the world at the same time she appeared on those covers. Miss Pall is currently working on a trio of new books about her earlier life. Fans will also be pleased to know that the veteran actress is the subject of a "quirky and engaging" new video release, The Cameo Girl of the Fifties.
Jailhouse Rock fans and those of Gloria Pall will want to check out the actress's book about her work and relationship with The King. The book is entitled, I Danced Before the King (Elvis). As she recently related to the author of this website, "I didn't think much of [Elvis] as a person when I first met him in April 1956 before he was a movie star. I found him to be rude and crude." However, she continues, "After working with him in Jailhouse Rock, I saw a complete different side to his character, especially when he apologized for his behavior. Then I enjoyed working with him."

Click here to see my Gloria Pall autographs.

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