Book Soup hosts Robert Relyea on Sept. 10

Movie executive was assistant director on Jailhouse Rock

Producer Robert E. Relyea, a fifty-year veteran of the movie industry and assistant director on Elvis Presley's most iconic film, Jailhouse Rock, will appear at a world famous book store on the Sunset Strip this month to promote his new action-packed autobiography.

The two-hour signing will take place 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 10 at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Relyea will be signing copies of Not So Quiet On The Set: My Life In Movies During Hollywood’s Macho Era, which promises to become a must read for anyone who yearns to know the “real” stories about the movies.

Co-authored by son Craig Relyea, Not So Quiet On The Set provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes, first person look into Hollywood’s movie-making landscape during the turbulent pre-and post-Kennedy years in America. The book also chronicles Relyea’s relationship with Elvis Presley on the set of Jailhouse Rock and Kid Gallahad.

Tidbits include:

• When Relyea rushed Presley from the MGM soundstage to Cedars-Sinai Hospital because the singer had swallowed a tooth cap.

• A behind-the-scenes look at the famous dance sequence that became Presley's most enduring image on celluloid.

• How Presley won over the film's veteran cast and crew with his polite manners and sincerity.

• Relyea's take on Presley's romance with co-star Judy Tyler, who died in a tragic automobile accident shortly after Jailhouse Rock was finished.

• Having fun with Presley and the Memphis Mafia on the set of Kid Gallahad.

The 348-page work includes candid photos of Relyea on the sets of epic films and presents rare insights into the mechanics and politics of film making, defining a dynamic period in motion picture history. A unique collaboration between father and son, Not So Quiet On The Set not only illustrates how the movie industry really works, but also provides a revealing portrait of Hollywood’s loss of innocence.

For more information, go to www.booksoup.com or www.NotSoQuietOnTheSet.com.

Asbury Park Press says "West knows Best"

Friday, May 18, 2007


WEST KNOWS BEST

Outside of his family, the people who probably knew Elvis Presley the best were the members of his entourage -- the guys known as the Memphis Mafia.

Sonny West was part of Presley's crew for 16 years, and he reflects on his days with the icon in his recently released book, Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business (Triumph Books).

There is plenty about Presley's appetite for women, food and prescription drugs, but the best parts are the stories involving other notable names.

West recalls that Presley was set to release a version of Chuck Berry's "Memphis" in May 1964. But Johnny Rivers, who listened to Presley's rendition over and over while visiting the King's Los Angeles-area house, beat Presley to the punch, issuing his version first.

That ruffled the King's feathers, remembers West, and Presley made it clear he didn't want Rivers coming around anymore. And a few weeks later, when Rivers did stop by, two members of the Memphis Mafia "called him a thief and every other name in the book," writes West, before ordering him to leave.

The legendary meeting between Presley and The Beatles in August 1965 gets its own chapter. And there are some funny bits in West's recollection of him and Presley meeting President Nixon and ordering a robe for Presley pal Muhammad Ali.

West says he's about to do an audio version of the book, and also on the horizon is a DVD of West's one-man show of Presley stories.

Visit www.sonnywest.com for updates.