It’s June twenty-sixth, and on this day in 1909… Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk was born in Breda, Holland. The man who would later become known as Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s lifelong manager, immigrated illegally to the United States in 1929, reinventing himself as a native of Huntington, West Virginia. After serving in the U.S. Army, Parker launched a colorful career in carnivals and fairs, eventually managing artists like Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow. In 1956, he took on Elvis Presley as a client—his only client—and remained by Elvis’s side as manager, promoter, and gatekeeper for the rest of the King’s life.

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