 Elvis' twenty-eighth movie was the
1968 MGM film "Live A Little, Love A Little" in which he plays Greg
Nolan a newspaper photographer, who, when he meets the Bernice
(Michele Carey), he loses both his job and his apartment. Bernice
manages to get him a new apartment, but it is so expensive that he
has to take on two full-time jobs to make the payments. As Greg
hustles back and forth between the two photography jobs (one for a
stuffy conservative publisher, and the other for a "girlie"
magazine) he still finds time to romance beautiful
Celeste Yarnall
and belt out Almost in Love
and Wonderful World.
Principal photography
began on 3/13/68.Locations included the Pacific Coast
Highway near Malibu, Marineland, the Hollywood Citizen
News building, the Los Angeles Music Center and the
streets of the Hollywood Hills.
Working with musical
conductor and writer Billy Strange,Elvis recorded the
soundtrack at Western Recorders on 3/7/68.Strange's
method of using written charts was foreign to Elvis's
more casual style of recording.
 During this film Elvis' father Vernon
drove Elvis's Lincoln out to California for him.While
visiting with Elvis, Vernon was given a small
nonspeaking part in the movie. He can be spotted
as part of the scene in which Elvis' character Greg is
shooting a photograph of a man sitting in an
ornate
chair at a table.That man was Vernon Presley.
There has been a
long-held myth that Elvis and Priscilla's dog Brutus was
used in this movie as Albert the Great Dane. Not
believing this to be true, we checked with Priscilla
herself. She said it was not their dog but a
professionally trained "working dog that was hired for
the film."
Principal photography
for "Live A Little, Love A Little" ended on May 1, 1968
which was also Elvis and Priscilla's first wedding
anniversary.The
film opened nationwide on October
23, 1968.
Greenburg was born and educated in
Illinois.He received his Masters Degree at UCLA and
became an award-winning ad copywriter. Later he
was managing editor of "Eros" magazine.He became a
best-selling writer with his 1964 book "How To Be A
Jewish Mother." He along with Michael A. Hoey
adapted his novel "Kiss My Firm But Pliant Lips" into
the screenplay for Elvis's movie which would become
entitled "Live A Little, Love A Little," although other
titles also considered including "Bumblebee Oh
Bumblebee" and "Born Rich." Greenburg went on to write
other productions including "Oh! Calcutta!" and the TV
series "Adam's Rib."
Writer, director and
producer Michael A. Hoey was born in London and came to
the U.S. as a child. Son of character actor Dennis
Hoey, he grew up around the Hollywood movie studios.
He worked with director Norman Taurog on several Elvis
movies: "Tickle Me", "Spinout", "Stay Away Joe"
and "Live a Little, Love A Little." He
received two Emmy Award nominations for his work on the
TV series "Fame." Among his credits is having
produced several Emmy Award shows.
 Michele Carey Elvis'
somewhat kooky love interest Bernice/ Betty/Suzie/Alice
was played by actress
Michele Carey who had been a top model for the
Powers Agency. Her film credits include "El Dorado" and
"Dirty Dingus Magee" among others. She was also the
voice of "Effie" the computer on the Robert Conrad TV
series "A Man Called Sloane."
Don Porter began
his career in the 1940s on stage and in films, but he
may be best remembered for his TV roles as Ann Sothern's
boss on both "Private Secretary" and "The Ann Sothern
Show" as well as playing Sally Field's father on the
"Gidget" TV series.
Rudy Vallee was a popular
singer and band leader in the 1920s and 30s known for
his trademark of singing through a megaphone. He
became an actor on stage, screen and TV often playing
comedic roles in a career that spanned over sixty years.
The late Dick Sargent played Harry Baby in this film.
He was born Richard Cox, the son of actress Ruth
McNaughton and Hollywood business manager Elmer Cox.
He had roles in a number of movies and TV series, the
most memorable playing Darrin Stephens on the TV series
"Bewitched." Although he replaced an ailing Dick
York in the part , it was Sargent who was first offered
the role when the series began. Being already
under contract for something else, Sargent was unable to
take the part at that time. Sargent had a bit part
in Elvis's first movie "Love Me Tender" (1956).
Georgia-born Sterling Holloway had the role of the
Milkman in "Live A Little, Love A Little."
Ironically he began his career in silent films, however,
he went on to be the voice of many animated movie
characters. Perhaps his most famous voice was that of
the beloved character Winnie the Pooh.
Eddie
Hodges played the delivery boy Woodrow. Hodges
stage credits include in "The Music Man" and "Critic's
Choice." He has appeared in movies and television
and he had several hit records in the 1960s.
Outside ofa guest appearance on "Law & Order" in 1996,
the Mississippi native gave up performing in 1969 to
become a rehabilitation counselor in his home state.
Among the many models who appear in this film you might
spot Susan Henning as dressed as a mermaid in one of
Greg (Elvis) Nolan's photo sessions. She dated
Elvis for a brief time and appeared in the in the
bordello scene of the big production of his 1968 TV
special - she's the blonde in the pink dress to whom he
sings "Let Yourself Go."
 Michele Carey Actress
Celeste Yarnall also had a role in the film as a
model whom Greg dates. A native Californian, Ms.
Yarnall has a successful career in movies and
television, having acted with many stars such as Paul
Newman, Jack Lemmon, Jerry Lewis, Charles Bronson,
Melanie Griffith and of course Elvis Presley.A lady of
many talents she has also owned a commercial real estate
business, managed screenwriters, bred and shown champion
cats, and having earned a Ph.D. in nutrition, has
written several books on animal nutrition. Today she
still works in commercials and lectures on nutrition.
She has appeared as a very special guest at several
Elvis Week Events in Memphis in the past few years.
It was
Celeste Yarnall to whom Elvis sang the Mac
Davis/Billy Strange song " A Little Less Conversation" in this film.He
recorded another version in June of 1968 that was to be
used in his 1968 TV special. It was not used in
the special, however, in 2002 RCA/BMG and EPE
granted a license to Nike to use it in their televised
World Cup Soccer related promotions in Europe and
elsewhere. For the commercial Dutch
producer/dee-jay JXL was engaged to produce a remix, the
first Elvis remix ever authorized by the record company
and EPE. The Nike promos started airing and the remix
caught fire. A single release had not been planned, but
public demand prompted RCA/BMG to rush-release a single
in June 2002. It topped singles airplay and sales charts
in the U.K. and other territories and topped Billboard's
singles sales chart in the U.S. It has since
become the theme song for the TV series "Las Vegas."
While Elvis was making this movie, Martin Luther King
was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.
Elvis took the news very hard. He was known to
commit famous speeches to memory and would often quote
from or recite them thereafter. Martin Luther
King's "I Have A Dream" speech was one of Elvis's
favorites to recite. Just two months later in
June, while working on his 1968 TV special, Elvis
expressed his deep feelings about the loss of the
Kennedy brothers and Dr. King to producer Steve
Binder.Binder who was so moved by Elvis's comments
said, "I wanted to let the world know that here was a
guy who was not prejudiced, who was raised in the heart
of prejudice, but who was really above all that."
It was then that Binder resolved to have a song written
expressly for Elvis to close his show with. "If I Can
Dream" was born of this conversation. "If I can
dream--of a better land, Where all my brothers work hand
in hand, Tell me why, oh why, can't my dream come true,
Oh why?"
 Soundrack
Wonderful World
Edge Of Reality
A Little Less Conversation
Almost In Love
Recorded at:
Western Recorders Inc., 6000, Sunset Boulevard, Los
Angeles. March 1968.
Musicians: Elvis Presley
(vocals), Joseph Gibbons, Neil Levang, Al Casey, Charles
Britz (guitars),Larry Knetchal, Charles Berghofer
(bass), Hal Blaine, Gary Coleman (drums), Don Randi
(piano)
Live A Little
Love A Little - MGM 1968
Directed by:
Norman Taurog
Writing Credits: Dan
Greenburg, Michael A. Hoey (based on the novel Kiss
My Firm But Pliant Lips by Dan Greenburg)
Producer: Douglas Laurence
Panavision and
Metrocolor.
Cast Overview
Elvis Presley .... Greg Nolan,
Michele
Carey .... Bernice, Don Porter .... Mike
Lansdown, Rudy Vallee .... Louis Penlow, Dick Sargent
.... Harry Baby, Sterling Holloway.... Milkman,
Celeste Yarnall .... Ellen, Eddie Hodges ....
Delivery Boy, Joan Shawlee .... Robbie's Mother, Mary
Grover .... Miss Selfridge, Emily Banks .... RKC & P
Receptionist, Michael Keller .... Art Director, Merri
Ashley .... 1st Secretary, Phyllis Davis .... 2nd
Secretary, Ursula Menzel .... Perfume Model.
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