HONOLULU, Hawaii (Top40 Charts/ TV Land) - TV Land and the city of Honolulu today honored
Elvis Presley with a life-sized bronze sculpture which portrays the King of Rock 'n' Roll as he appeared in his historic 1973 Aloha from Hawaii concert and pays tribute to him during the 30th Anniversary year of his passing. The statue dedication took place among a crowd of hundreds of people at The Neal S. Blaisdell Center, formerly The Honolulu International Center, the site of this concert. Larry W. Jones, President of TV Land, was joined at the unveiling by Honolulu's Mayor Mufi Hannemann and Tom Moffatt, a former DJ and famed concert promoter who was closely associated with Elvis.
"Elvis Presley single-handedly changed the face of music," explains Jones. "He touched an entire generation of people, and TV Land hopes that this statue will serve as a reminder of his amazing legacy which continues to endure."
"Elvis was more than an idol to the people of Hawaii, he was an adopted son," said Mufi Hannemann, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu. "This monument of the King not only commemorates Aloha from Hawaii - one of the greatest performances of his career - but symbolizes his contributions to the Arizona Memorial, support for tourism and the movie and TV industries, and his genuine aloha for our people. Hawaii loves Elvis Presley."
This bronze sculpture is the network's sixth work to honor people, places and moments from pop culture by recognizing the site as a "TV Land Landmark." The network's other landmarks include: a bronze statue of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners at the entrance of New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal; a sculpture of Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show at Nicollett Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN; The Andy Griffith Show statue in Raleigh's Pullen Park; a bronze statue of Bob Newhart commemorating his role as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show in Chicago and most recently, a tribute to the beloved series Bewitched with a life-size statue depicting a magical view of character Samantha Stevens, played by actress Elizabeth Montgomery, in Salem MA.
Fans can visit TVLand.com on Friday, July 27, the day after the unveiling, to see photos from the day's festivities. They can also watch virtual tours of other statues and streaming video of previous dedications.
In addition to the statue, TV Land will continue its tribute to Elvis in a monumental programming event this August as part of "Elvis Month." TV Land will air a number of Presley's treasured works by showing films, concerts and documentaries starring and about the King of Rock 'n' Roll throughout the month. The network will also premiere an original special, Myths and Legends: Elvis, which takes a look at some of the most popular mysteries surrounding the icon.
TV Land's programming for Elvis Month includes:
- Concert Weekends - Performance specials such as Elvis: '68 Comeback Special, Aloha from Hawaii, Elvis: the Great Performances and Ed Sullivan's Rock 'N' Roll Classics: Elvis Presley.
- Documentaries and Made-for-TV Movies - Elvis By the Presleys, Elvis and Me, Elvis On Tour and Elvis: His Best Friend Remembers.
- Feature Movies - Love Me Tender; Wild in the Country; Easy Come, Easy Go; Fun in Acapulco; Paradise Hawaiian Style; Roustabout; Girl Happy; Live a Little, Love a Little and Speedway.
- Myths and Legends: Elvis
A TV Land Original Special
Thursday, August 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Based on the popularity of season one of TV Land Myths & Legends, this half-hour special coincides with TV Land's month-long salute to Elvis Presley. Thirty years after Elvis has "left the building," TV Land takes an in-depth look at some of the most popularly held mysteries about the King of Rock 'n' Roll and dissects them to separate fact from fiction. Are Oprah Winfrey and Elvis really related? Did he really approach President Nixon in the hopes of becoming a federal drug agent? These, and many other mysteries will be answered in this special.
TVLand.com currently features a sneak peek of "Elvis Month" on TV Land, which includes video excerpts from Elvis's Aloha from Hawaii special and a photo gallery of Elvis throughout his life. Users can also watch movie trailers from Presley's movies Speedway, Girl Happy and Live a Little, Love a Little, clips from his TV specials and concerts, and in the coming weeks, log on to play The Elvis Trivia Game. The site will also feature images from the statue, footage from the dedication and a blog from Ben Fong-Torres, a former senior editor for Rolling Stone Magazine, as he shares his comments and special memories about Elvis. Additionally, TVLand.com will also offer excerpts from a radio interview conducted by former KPOI-FM's DJ Tom Moffatt after Elvis returned from the Army. Finally, fans can watch interviews from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with producers who have worked with Elvis and chat with other Elvis fans on the site's message boards.
Studio EIS, a three-dimensional design and sculpture studio in New York founded by brothers Ivan and Elliot Schwartz, is creating the life-sized bronze sculpture. The studio also created The Andy Griffith Show statue, the statue commemorating Bob Newhart's role as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show and the statue of Samantha Stevens from Bewitched. For more information please visit https://bronzeworks.studioeis.com.
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. has granted permission for this special tribute and is involved in the approval process of the sculpture.
