Editor’s note: The following article appeared in the Dec. 16 Journal-Tribune, however a photo meant to appear with the column was inadvertently omitted. The entire column is being run again in its entirety.
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It was sometime in the early 1990s, and I was working on a “rush” print ad for a client of mine. The deadline for submitting it was only a couple days away. I wrote the copy that afternoon, but to complete the ad I needed a photograph of an Elvis impersonator.
Someone gave me the name of a man in Columbus who did Elvis impersonations at parties, corporate events and things like that. I contacted the guy, and he was interested, but he was leaving that night for a two-week vacation. Oh boy, it looked like I would have to cancel the ad.
That’s when my wife, Janet, stepped in. She suggested that I try to find an Elvis costume, and then we could find someone to wear it. So the next day I went to a couple of costume rental places in Columbus. The first place, on North High Street, had all kind of costumes: Superman, pirate outfits and things like that. But they had no Elvis costumes.
In the second store, however, on East Broad Street, I found an Elvis costume. It was the only Elvis costume they had in the store, so I rented it. They also sold wigs, and I bought a black wig to go with the costume.
Our daughter, Jenny, and her husband, Mike, joined us for dinner that night. As we sat around the table, we talked about finding someone to be our model, someone who was the right size to fit into the costume. We found no size tag inside the garment, so Mike put it on. By golly the costume was almost a perfect fit. Aha, I had found my Elvis impersonator … my own son-in-law.
Mike wasn’t camera shy. During the 1980s, he was part of a popular central Ohio band called “The Danger Brothers.” That group did a lot of crazy things in front of cameras, so I think he relished the idea of playing Elvis.
The following day we shot the Elvis photo shown here. We met the ad deadline, and the client loved it. I returned the costume the next day, but I kept the wig I bought. I still wear it once every year … on Halloween. The “Trick or Treaters” seem to like it.
Those wishing to contact Bill Boyd can e-mail him at bill@davidwboyd.com