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Robert Washington (impersonator)

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Robert Washington
Also known as"Black Elvis"[1]
Born (1958-08-16) August 16, 1958 (age 66)[2]
St. Louis, Missouri, United States[3]
Occupation(s)Entertainer, singer
Years active1983 – present

Robert Washington (born August 16, 1958) is an American Elvis impersonator who has won many Elvis competitions in the United States. Washington is African American,[4][5] and was the first African American to win the World Champion Elvis Impersonator title. Sam Thompson, a former bodyguard of Elvis Presley, once commented on Washington's close resemblance to Presley's sound.[3]

Personal

Washington grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.[2] In 1974, he attended an Elvis Presley concert. The day that Presley died in 1977, Washington was at Marine boot camp, and it also happened to be his 19th birthday.[2] He served in the United States Marine Corps until 1981.[6]

Career

Washington's early performances were singing for family and friends, after Presley's death.[3] In the early 1980s, Washington lip-synced Elvis tunes in a stage act.[7] He quotes 1983 as his first career stage appearance.[3] He later branched out into competitions using his own voice.[7]

Washington's act has concentrated on the 1968 era of Presley, around the time of Elvis's comeback television special.[1]

He appeared in the 2000 television documentary Elvis and the Men who would be King.[7] Footage of Washington was also included in the 2001 documentary Almost Elvis, which filmed him during 1999.[7][8]

Contests

By August 2001, he had appeared at ten "Images of the King" impersonation contests in Memphis.[9] He won the event in 2003.[3]

In December 2013, he was voted number one in the Online Viewer's Choice Award on the Elvis World Championships website.[10]

Shows

In 2007, Washington toured Europe with the "Original Elvis Tribute" and received many positive reviews.[11]

In January 2013, he appeared at the Capitol Theater in Olympia, Washington.[12] In July 2012, he was booked to do two shows in Aroostook County. His show at the time consisted of two sets: one from Presley's earlier days, and a second from his 1970s Las Vegas period.[3]

Films

  • Elvis and the Men who would be King – 2000, television documentary[7]
  • Almost Elvis – 2001, documentary[13][14]
  • The Notebook – 2004, feature film[14]
  • Baby Let's Play House – 2008, short film[11][14]
  • The Faithful: The King, the Pope, the Princess - in post-production As of 2016, feature film[11][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Martin, Philip (1997). The Shortstop's Son: essays and journalism. Fayetteville, Arkansas: The University of Arkansas Press. pp. 156–157. ISBN 1-55728-484-9.
  2. ^ a b c Kirk, Virginia (January 5, 1993). "International Elvis Competition: Auburn man dreams of being top winner". Sun Journal. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ezzy, R (June 24, 2012). "Music, Elvis is in the County". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Haithman, Diane (May 17, 1991). "'Seoul House': Rap Opera to Social Commentary: Stage: Set in a Korean-owned store in a black neighborhood, the multimedia piece has found itself mirroring recent news events". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Adams, Jessica (2007). Wounds of Returning: Race, Memory, and Property on the Postslavery Plantation. The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 51–52. ISBN 978-0-8078-5801-1.
  6. ^ Henle, Mike (June 11, 2014). "Maine's Robert Washington could be riding a winning streak heading into the fifth annual Elvis Rocks Mesquite June 20–21". Mesquite Local News.
  7. ^ a b c d e Bolduc, Ben (December 9, 2000). "Don't be cruel to a filming crew". Sun Journal. p. Section B.
  8. ^ Almost Elvis (2001 Video) at IMDb
  9. ^ Snow, Donnie (August 15, 2001). "Fit to be King: Fans love to Impersonate Elvis". Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky. p. 3-B Living.
  10. ^ "Official Results: 2013 KING OF THE WORLD". Elvis World Championships. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c Deelen, Arjan (2008). "Robert Washington: Biography". Elvis News. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
  12. ^ McCoy, Nikki (January 17, 2013). "Saturday, Jan. 19: Elvis Birthday Bash". Northwest Military.
  13. ^ Webster, Dan (February 21, 2003). "Videofile: 'Almost Elvis' follows men who would be the King". The Spokesman-Review. p. 8.
  14. ^ a b c Robert Washington (II) at IMDb
  15. ^ "THE FAITHFUL The King. The pope. the princess". Annie Berman. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
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