7 Chapter 6 Movie Star

Chapter 6 Movie Star Once again, Elvis's timing was right. The young actor James Dean had died in a car accident in 1955. Elvis was a great fan of Dean's. He had seen Rebel Without a Cause more than forty times. James Dean and Elvis Presley were both young, handsome, and sexy.

第6章电影明星埃尔维斯的时机再一次对了。 1955年，年轻演员詹姆斯·迪恩死于一场车祸。 埃尔维斯是迪恩的忠实粉丝。 他看过《无因的反抗》四十多次了。 詹姆斯·迪恩和埃尔维斯·普雷斯利都年轻、英俊、性感。

Movie producers were desperate to find the next James Dean. They thought Elvis might do the trick. Elvis signed a deal with a big Hollywood movie studio. In 1956, he arrived on the set of Love Me Tender. It took place during the Civil War. Elvis played a singing farmboy. Movie critics didn't like Love Me Tender. Elvis didn't know the first thing about acting. How could he? He'd never done it before. They also thought it was silly for his character to sing in the middle of scenes. Colonel Parker didn't care about the critics — neither did fans. Love Me Tender was a big hit. Elvis's fans filled up theaters, many fans seeing the movie again and again. The movie people were excited. Here was their new James Dean. They were willing to pay a lot of money to keep Elvis Presley. Before long, Elvis was making one movie after another. He made thirty-one between 1956 and 1969.

电影制片人迫切希望找到下一个詹姆斯·迪恩。 他们认为猫王可能会成功。 猫王与好莱坞一家大电影制片厂签订了一份合同。 1956年，他来到《温柔地爱我》的片场。 它发生在南北战争期间。 埃尔维斯扮演一个会唱歌的农家男孩。 影评人不喜欢《温柔地爱我》。 埃尔维斯对表演一窍不通。 他怎么可能呢?他以前从来没有这样做过。 他们还认为他的角色在戏中间唱歌很傻。 帕克上校并不在乎那些批评——粉丝们也一样。 《温柔地爱我》大获成功。 猫王的粉丝挤满了电影院，许多粉丝一遍又一遍地看这部电影。 看电影的人都很兴奋。 这是他们的新詹姆斯·迪恩。 他们愿意花很多钱来留住埃尔维斯·普雷斯利。 没过多久，埃尔维斯就拍了一部又一部电影。 他在1956年到1969年之间赚了31个。

Making movies kept Elvis so busy, he barely had time to record music. He certainly didn't have time for concerts. Colonel Parker didn't mind. Why did Elvis need to tour? His records sold even if he didn't appear before an audience. In 1957 Elvis bought a mansion in Memphis. He called it Graceland. He planned for the whole family to live there. But in less than a year, something happened.

拍电影让埃尔维斯非常忙，他几乎没有时间录制音乐。 他当然没有时间去听音乐会。 帕克上校并不介意。 为什么猫王需要巡回演出? 即使他没有出现在观众面前，他的唱片也卖得很好。 1957年，埃尔维斯在孟菲斯买了一栋豪宅。 他称之为“雅园”。他计划让全家都住在那里。 但在不到一年的时间里，发生了一些事情。

Elvis was drafted. Today, people decide whether to join the armed forces. But before 1973, men had no choice. They had to serve. (Women were not drafted.) Not even Elvis Presley could avoid the draft. And even Elvis had to get an army crew cut. "Before" and "after" photos of Elvis made newspaper headlines all over the country. Elvis was no longer a rock star. He was Private Elvis Presley. Then something terrible happened. Gladys became very sick. She couldn't eat anything and had to go into the hospital. Elvis kept her pink Cadillac parked right outside her window so she could see it from bed. Elvis was allowed to come home to visit her. For a while, Gladys seemed better. Then, in the middle of the night, the doctors called Elvis. He rushed off to the hospital. But his mother had died before he got there.

埃尔维斯应征入伍。今天，人们决定是否参军。 但在1973年之前，男性别无选择。 他们必须服务。(女性没有应征入伍。)就连猫王埃尔维斯·普雷斯利也逃不过兵役。 就连猫王也得剪个军中平头。 埃尔维斯“生前”和“生前”的照片登上了全国各地报纸的头条。 埃尔维斯不再是摇滚明星了。 他就是列兵埃尔维斯·普雷斯利。 然后可怕的事情发生了。 格拉迪斯病得很重。她吃不下东西，只好进了医院。 埃尔维斯把她的粉红色凯迪拉克停在窗外，这样她在床上就能看到它。 埃尔维斯被允许回家看望她。 有一段时间，格拉迪斯似乎好多了。 然后，在半夜，医生打电话给埃尔维斯。 他匆匆赶往医院。 但是他的母亲在他到达之前就去世了。

It was the biggest loss of his life. Gladys hadn't just been his mother. She was his best friend, the person closest to him in the whole world.

这是他一生中最大的损失。 格拉迪斯不仅是他的母亲。 她是他最好的朋友，是世界上和他最亲近的人。