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Interview with Norm Crosby

Q : When did you first meet Elvis?

A : I met Elvis first in Las Vegas. I think I was appearing with Tom Jones and he came backstage to say hello to Tom or we went to his dressing room to say hello. And then I was working at Harrah's up in Lake Tahoe and Elvis I believe was at the Sahara across the street. And we renewed our friendship. You know, we used to go over after the show and in the evening and hang out a little bit and got to chat with him in his suite and all the guys would go up for get together. And just he was a delightful person.

I always remembered him with such affection because he was kind and he was polite and he was courteous and he was always what you'd want a superstar to be'.

Interview with Norm Crosby
Merv Griffin, Tom Jones, Elvis Presley, Norm Crosby

Q : What did you think of Elvis' sense of humor?

A : I thought he had a great sense of humor. I remember him sitting in a circle after the show when all the guys would sit around and start talking about current events and things in general. He was very interested in what was going on in the world, which I respected a lot because unfortunately people in our business have a tendency to get so involved in the business that they forget there's a real world out there. They forget that there's things happening every day in the newspapers and they don't even care. You know, you can say to a guy, 'God, there's a bomb went off somewhere' and they say, 'Yeah, how do you like my makeup?' I mean, you know, that's it. They're all focused on them. Elvis never ever gave me that impression.

Q : Did you talk about show business with Elvis or current events?

A : I was with Tom Jones of course and being on the road and I knew what road was like. You know, they think it's all fun and games that we do, but it's difficult, making connections, flying from one job to the next, catching your mail and your information and talking to your families and you're people on the run. And we chatted about that. That was part of the conversation'.

Q : What are your memories of seeing Elvis perform in Vegas?

A : I remember one particular performance I caught his, he was having a concert at the Hilton and I believe that's the time that they were interviewing some of the celebrities in the audience and I was on his video. I was on that particular evening. They caught me in the doorway and we did a little chat. And then of course to sit down and watch him was an experience because he would just, the enthusiasm and the excitement that he created, the mystique of just being somebody that people envisioned as someday I'm gonna go and see Elvis, and there he was. And it was this awesome audience reaction. You could look around the audience and see people who were actually mesmerized by him, some girls crying because he was in person. I mean it was just something that they couldn't. The emotion that he created was so unbelievable. The ovation after every number. You know, It was planned but it wasn't. It was all spontaneous and it was all real. It's just for another performer to sit and watch that is like, you wanna go home and quit the business, you know?

Q : Getting back to the film, ' That's The Way It Is ', do you remember what you said?

A : No, I don't really.

Q : I came to see that pectoral descreption.

A : No, I don't. That was some time ago. I was speaking coherently then.

Q : Did you get to see Elvis and Tom Jones sing together?

A : Well Tom Jones and I became very close 'cause I did his first three or four years when I did his first American tour, which was an incredible tour. The Count Basie orchestra, Gladys Knight and the Pips, myself and Tom, that was the package. And we went out and did 48 one-nighters one year. That was his first year, one after another. I mean he collapsed at the end of it, had to go to the hospital, but it was an incredible, unbelievable tour. And subsequently I followed. Of course he was living in England then, so he would come over for a month or two or three and then go back. And then eventually he moved to California so he was here all the time. But we became really good friends. And Elvis we would see somewhere on the road. You know, wherever we had occasion to bump into him, we'd always go and visit.

Q : Did you and Tom go together to see Elvis?

A : I don't think so. In fact when Tom went to see Elvis or when Elvis went to see Tom they kinda played it low because I do remember Elvis coming over to Caesar's Palace one night to see Tom. He sat way in the back. He had a cap on. He just didn't wanna interfere in Tom's performance by being recognized and having people run to

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