| Genre: | Drama Musical |
| Director: | Gus Trikonis |
| Executive Producer: | David Gerber |
| Producer: | Charles B. Fitzsimmons |
| Starring: | Don Johnson Stephanie Zimbalist Ann Dusenberry Rick Lenz |
| Music: | Allyn Ferguson |
| Cinematography: | Thomas Del Ruth |
| Editor: | Fred A. Chulack |
| Location: | Los Angeles |
| Company: | David Gerber Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Network: | NBC |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Elvis and the Beauty Queen is a 1981 American made-for-television drama musical film starring Don Johnson and Stephanie Zimbalist.[1] It aired on NBC on March 1, 1981 at 9pm.[1]
Don Johnson stars as Elvis Presley in this made-for-TV true story about Elvis's love affair with Linda Thompson (Stephanie Zimbalist), a young beauty pageant contestant who was his live-in girlfriend and traveling companion for four of the last five years of his life.[1] The story begins with their first meeting and traces their years together when Thompson tried to keep Presley off drugs in the last years of his career.[2]
Seven songs were recorded for the soundtrack in Nashville, Tennessee, with country singer Ronnie McDowell providing the vocals.[1] The band that backed Ronnie McDowell was The Glass Hammer, a Nashville-based band. The Glass Hammer consisted of Joe Meador: Guitar, Don Lee: Lead Guitar, Bill Conn: Keyboards and Horns, Larry Leath: Bass, and Rick Judkins: Drums.
People Magazine said, "Don Johnson is praiseworthy as the King, but did Elvis really lounge around in tight leather pants and metal-studded capes?"[3]
The Chicago Tribune, reviewing the movie after Johnson became famous for Miami Vice, said, "Every time Don Johnson delivers a line you find yourself rolling onto the floor as you howl with laughter."[4]