DEC4 Podcast Clip: Aloha From Hawaii - Marty Pasetta Meets the Memphis Mafia
With Gary Wells
In this clip from our podcast series taking a deep dive into Elvis' 1973 satellite concert broadcast, Aloha From Hawaii, our leading contributor, Gary Wells, joins us to discuss the importance of producer-director Mary Pasetta, perhaps the most accomplished maker of event, variety and entertainment television in the 1970s and 80s.
In preparation, Pasetta attended Elvis’ concerts in Long Beach, California, in November 1972, to get a feel for the show. He thought the music aspect was strong, but the performance visually boring.
Pasetta was not one to compromise in the cause of creative excellence. He came up with set designs that featured Elvis’ name in lights in different languages, and a lower than usual stage and catwalk into the audience. The stage rig and television equipment would reduce the capacity of the HIC Arena by around 2 500 and Colonel Parker rejected much of this outright, but Pasetta persisted and asked for the opportunity to present his ideas directly to Elvis.
There followed a slightly bizarre meeting with Elvis and members of the Memphis Mafia (whom Pasetta referred to as ‘goons’) during which they wore their sunglasses indoors and prominently displayed their handguns.
Despite feeling thoroughly intimidated, Pasetta presented his designs, and told Elvis face-to-face he needed to lose weight and move more on stage. The tension broke, and Elvis hugged Pasetta, promising that they would work to ‘make super magic for the tube together’.
Sample Short: Lessons from the Dress Rehearsal
Additional background to the podcast series can be found in our archive here, or at dec4podcast.com.
Very special thanks to all our readers and listeners, Gary Wells, to Detlef Wolff and Gainesville, and to Steve Collins.