October 28, 2003

The following is an excerpt from the October, 2003 edition of  Video Collector magazine.

Finally On DVD!  The '76 Elvis Comeback Special

    Good Times Video has finally released a definitive 2 DVD edition of the Elvis fans' Holy Grail:  the infamous, never broadcast "'76 Elvis Comeback Special."  Often discussed by Elvis scholars but never seem, the aborted program was to have been titled "Elvis: A Rockin' In Reno Thanksgiving."  It was planned as a holiday special for CBS featuring both live performance footage from a concert to open the new Reno Palace Theater as well as "behind the scenes" footage of Elvis staying for five days with a typical suburban Reno family.  As the Osgood family prepared for their Thanksgiving meal, Elvis would live with them and prepare for his big concert. 

    Seen in a contemporary light, "The '76 Comeback Special" plays like a precursor to current reality television programs.  A documentary film crew followed Elvis with handheld cameras for the five days prior to his show with full access to show Presley as he settled into the Osgood household.  From a historical perspective, 1976 was a pivotal year for Elvis.  His original "68 Comeback Special" had been a huge success bringing Presley back into the public spotlight after years wasted in Hollywood turning out bad films.  However, his popularity had again waned, and Elvis and his handlers were anxious to connect with his audience again.  The live concert footage demonstrates that though encumbered by a severe chronic weight problem Elvis was still a lively and dynamic live performer.  It is the "Behind the Scenes" DVD that gives a hint as to why Elvis and his managers prevented the program from ever airing.  The initial scenes of Elvis entering the Osgood home for the first day of his visit are easygoing and fun as the King of Rock and Roll charms Elaine and her husband Chip as well as befriending their lovely teenaged daughter Ella, a high school junior, their son Joshua, a fourth grade honor student, and even little baby June, who had just turned two at the time.  Elvis and his two associates, Red and Sonny, bantered with the typical Reno family and impressed them with their down home warmth and relaxed "just folks" style.  Sadly, as noted on a commentary track by noted Elvis scholar and apologist Gerald Chumley, Presley at this point was on high dose allergy medication to combat the effects of the Reno ragweed on his vocal cords prior to the big show. 

    Within minutes of sitting down for a typical supper of pot roast and potatoes, Elvis collapsed head first into him meal.  Red and Sonny managed to rouse the King of Rock and Roll and help him stagger into the living room to rest on the couch.  Though his handlers had seen this kind of troublesome reaction to medicine before, the Osgoods were clearly shocked.  Baby June burst into tears, and Elaine was reduced to hysterics.  Calm was restored as the family finished their meal and Elvis rested on the sofa snoring gently.  Later as the family and guests gathered to watch TV in the living room, Elvis suddenly awoke.  Disoriented and seeing a shoot out on the television as the Osgoods watched "Gunsmoke," Elvis still reeling from the effects of his prescription medicines leapt to his feet, produced a pearl handled 45 revolver, and shot the television set repeatedly as Red and Sonny wrestled him down to the shag carpet.  Roused by the gunfire, Elvis sheepishly apologized for shooting the family's TV and impulsively ordered Red to leave immediately and procure brand new Cadillacs for each member of the family.  Moved by Elvis' generosity, the family relaxed.  At Elvis' urging, they gathered around their humble upright piano as Presley sat and played beautifully, leading the family through an old-fashioned gospel sing-along.  Even Joshua and his dad joined in on "How Great Thou Art" and "Peace in the Valley" until Elvis suddenly passed out again breaking the piano seat and twisting Chip's ankle as he landed on him as he crashed to the floor.  Pleading severe jet lag, Sonny apologized profusely and with the help of Chip, Elaine, and Ella they managed to get Elvis upstairs and onto the bed in the guest room.

    The second and third days of the King's visit were less eventful.  Elvis remained unconscious most of the time as Red and Sonny set about their work of covering all the windows in the Osgood home with a double layer of aluminum foil and installing big TV sets in every room.  The quiet times were punctuated by frequent visits from Elvis' personal physician, Dr. Rick, who had flown in from Memphis.  Under his close supervision, Elvis was up and about by day four and ready for some down-home fun.  The camera crew captured scenes of a relaxed, easygoing Elvis waddling awkwardly through the narrow hallways and playing piggyback with Baby June who clearly doted on Elvis.  She called him "Mister Santa," perhaps because of his red jumpsuit.  Feeling fit, Elvis made his way downstairs and even took time out to show young Joshua  some of his famous kung fu moves.  Sadly, the fun was cut short when during a series of windmill kicks Elvis accidentally shattered a lamp and then collapsed, his massive bulk reducing a coffee table to kindling.  Not letting a little set back get him down, Elvis proceeded to insist on making triple chocolate, banana, fudge, caramel sundaes for everybody.  After gorging himself on ten of the tasty treats, Elvis staggered back upstairs.  The crew tiptoed behind him and captured priceless shots of the King curled up on the floor of the nursery snuggled up and napping with Baby June, pacifiers in each of their mouths.  Though a special, heartwarming moment, Elaine Osgood when she saw the precious scene insisted on whisking Baby June away for fear that the recumbent King of Rock and Roll might roll over and crush the toddler while she slept curled up on his massive paunch.

    Sadly, the fifth and final day of the concert was marred by a series of mishaps.  The restored footage shows Elvis waking up at three in the morning and rifling noisily through the Osgood family medicine cabinet and wolfing down handfuls of Elaine's birth control pills and suppositories, apparently mistaking them for his allergy medications.  After several futile attempts to visit with teenaged Ella who had wisely locked and barricaded her door, Elvis then staggered downstairs into the kitchen.  Pawing through the refrigerator and pantry, Elvis gorged himself on the entire Osgood family Thanksgiving meal including a twenty pound uncooked turkey. 

    On coming downstairs bright and early at seven o'clock to start preparing the Thanksgiving meal, Elaine was shocked to find Presley passed out on the kitchen table bloated and dressed only in briefs with a turkey leg hanging out of his mouth.  Her outrage turned to concern as she noted Elvis' shallow breathing and his waxy, blue-tinged complexion.  Red and Sonny, passed out in the living room in a huge pile of empty beer cans, were no help.

    The "Behind the Scenes" DVD concludes with a worrisome montage showing a team of paramedics trying to hoist the King onto a stretcher  and then somehow shoehorn  him into a Reno County ambulance.  Amazingly, the subsequent two hour "Rockin' in Reno" concert that night went off on schedule without a hitch.  The King appears in fine, relaxed form onstage though on close slow motion review of some of the footage a careful observer can see the round burn marks on his left chest where the electro-shock paddles had been placed earlier.  In retrospect, it is not hard to see why "The '76 Elvis Comeback Special" never saw the light of day.  However, the thoughtfully assembled and well-researched, well-restored program remains a compelling portrait of one of America's great artists.

Coming next week:  In depth reviews of new releases including the hotly anticipated Criterion Collection seven disc boxed set "The Pauly Shore Collection Volume Two:  The Masterworks."