Elvis Presley turned down iconic movie role over manager’s fear he’d be ‘overshadowed’: book
One of Elvis Presley’s biggest regrets was not sharing the screen with Barbra Streisand.
The claim was made by Norman Brokaw’s son, Joel Brokaw, who wrote a biography about the late Hollywood agent titled "Driving Marilyn."
Brokaw, who represented Presley, as well as Marilyn Monroe, Clint Eastwood and other top stars, died in 2016. He was 89.
"I had interviewed Priscilla Presley, who was also a client of my father’s," Joel told Fox News Digital. "I had asked her about the relationship with [his manager] Colonel [Tom] Parker. She mentioned that there was only one time in which they had any differences."
According to Joel’s book, Presley had the opportunity to star alongside Streisand in 1976’s "A Star is Born." However, Parker "discouraged it," believing that "Barbra might minimize him."
"It was a decision that Elvis regretted," Joel wrote.
Joel told Fox News Digital that at the time, Presley was yearning to be taken seriously as a Hollywood actor. He looked to "Rebel Without a Cause" star James Dean as an inspiration. However, Parker wanted Presley to prioritize performing – even if it meant taking on mediocre musicals.
"Elvis wanted to branch out into meatier… acting roles," said Joel. "[But] Colonel Parker really liked the status quo that Elvis was making these movies that had soundtracks. Lots of songs… were coming out of the movies. [And the films] were fun and light. It complemented the first residencies that any artist was doing in Las Vegas… Elvis, I think, was one of the first people to do that."
WATCH: ELVIS PRESLEY REGRETTED TURNING DOWN ‘A STAR IS BORN’: BOOK
"It was a very convenient… marketing strategy," Joel shared. "But Elvis wanted to develop himself as an actor. And so, Colonel Parker turned down the opportunity, the offer for Elvis to star in ‘A Star is Born’ with Barbra Streisand… He didn’t want to see Elvis being overshadowed by Barbra Streisand."
"That was the only blemish on their relationship, according to Priscilla," Joel added.
The author had his theories about why Parker was adamant that Streisand would overshadow Presley.
"Perhaps part of Colonel Parker’s trepidation about the pairing of Barbra Streisand with Elvis maybe would have something to do with their current trajectory and their careers," he explained.
"Elvis had been at the top for so long. And as we were coming into the 1960s and the British invasion, the Beatles coming out, Elvis was beginning to lose a lot of his luster and popularity.
"Barbra Streisand was on her way up," he pointed out. "I think that [Parker] felt that maybe the momentum was more on her side at that time."
The original 1930s film starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, with Judy Garland and James Mason in the ‘50s remake. Streisand starred in her version alongside Kris Kristofferson.
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A fourth version of the romance between a rising young performer and a fading one premiered in 2018. It starred Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, with Cooper directing.
In November, Priscilla confirmed that Streisand had Presley in mind to play her onscreen love interest, but Parker told him not to take the role.
"Barbra had offered him the part," Presley’s ex-wife told People magazine in November. "Colonel talked him out of that, saying, 'Oh, it's not going to be good. She's going to be in charge, not you. Her movie, not yours.'"
"Elvis regretted that because he felt he could have played that part," the 79-year-old added.
In 2023, Streisand wrote in her memoir, "My Name is Barbra," that she considered Presley to appear in the music-centered drama before the role went to Kristofferson. She flew to Las Vegas to meet with Presley in an attempt to convince him.
"We talked about the film, and Elvis was interested," the 82-year-old wrote, as quoted by USA Today. "But obviously it didn’t work out. Marty [Erlichman, her manager] says that Colonel Parker asked for more money than we could afford. And [producer] Jon [Peters] says the Colonel wanted to produce the film. I’m not sure about that."
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"I do know that Elvis had gained a lot of weight and was no longer at the top of his game, although he was still drawing big audiences," she shared. "Maybe the story was a little too close to his own life, and the Colonel talked him out of it."
Presley’s complicated relationship with Parker is explored in a new Netflix documentary, "Return of the King: The Fall & Rise of Elvis Presley." It features interviews with Priscilla and his close confidante/business partner, Jerry Schilling, among others.
In the film, Presley is heard describing how frustrated he was about making cash-grab musicals, versus taking on more serious roles.
"Hollywood’s image of me was wrong, and I knew it, and I couldn’t do anything about it," said Presley. "I didn’t know what to do. I just felt I was obligated to things I didn’t fully believe in."
"They couldn’t have paid me no amount of money in the world to make me feel I had any satisfaction inside," Presley added.
Presley’s Hollywood career had gotten so low that the Grammy winner is heard singing the children’s melody "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" in the 1967 film "Double Trouble."
"That to me is a crime," said Priscilla in the film while watching the scene.
"It is a crime," she stressed. "To put him in that situation and sing that song. It made him a laughingstock. And he knew it."
Filmmaker Jason Hehir said Presley felt so defeated and trapped by his film career that he would at times get "physically ill."
"He was deeply dissatisfied. He couldn’t get out of bed," said Hehir. "Many… don’t realize how disappointed he was… He was taking these movie roles and seemingly just taking the easy way out and cashing enormous checks. But it wasn’t his ambition as an artist."
"It had always been a frustration for him," Hehir shared. "… He couldn’t even get out of bed because he was so starved for an artistic challenge. But he had locked himself into these movie contracts, and his management had allowed him to be locked into these movie contracts."
"It shined a light on what truly mattered to him – to perform," Hehir continued. "And I think that frustration of seven years of not being in front of a live audience and instead, just being on movie sets doing increasingly more mediocre films – a light bulb went off over his head.
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"He wanted to do something for himself, not for his management. Not for movie audiences. He wanted to get back to the Elvis he wanted to be."
Presley died in 1977. He was 42.