[msb-alumni] Red West, Elvis Presley's friend and film and TV actor, dies at 81
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2017 16:36:12 -0400
BlankRed West, Elvis Presley's friend and film and TV actor, dies John Beifuss,
The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal
Red West, the longtime and sometimes critical
friend and bodyguard of Elvis Presley died Tuesday night. Kyleah Dunn, USA
Today
Network - Tennessee 16 Jan 1971 - Photo by Dave Darnell. Elvis Presley
(cq) signs autographs for fans after leaving a luncheon at the Holiday Inn
Rivermont. At left is Red West (cq). Behind West is William N. Morris (cq),
former sheriff of Shelby County. Presley was being honored by the Jaycees as
one
of the Outstanding Young Men In America. This photograph appeared on Page
One of The Commercial Appeal when Presley died in 1977. (Photo: Dave Darnell,
The Commercial Appeal) MEMPHIS ' Red West, the longtime and sometimes critical
confidante'and bodyguard of Elvis Presley who became a successful film and
television actor after the singer's death, died Tuesday night after suffering
an aortic aneurysm at Baptist Hospital. He was 81. Born in Bolivar, Tenn., the
athletic Robert Gene "Red" West befriended Elvis at Humes High School, where
the 6-foot-2 redhead protected the smaller pre-fame Elvis from bullies on at
least a couple of occasions, according to Presley lore. He worked for Elvis
for some 20 years, occasionally taking small roles in such films as Flaming
Star' and writing or co-writing such memorable Elvis songs as the 1972 hit
Separate Ways ,'the holiday favorite If Every Day Was Like Christmas 'and the
1975 masterpiece of infidelity, If You Talk in Your Sleep ,'recorded at Stax.
West also composed or contributed to songs recorded by other artists, including
Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone and Johnny Rivers. Related: An ex-Marine,'Golden
Gloves boxer, karate instructor and genuine'tough-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold (at
least in his later years), West said it was his protective streak that motivated
him to co-write Elvis: What Happened? ,'a tell-all best-seller published only
two weeks before Elvis' death on Aug. 16, 1977, that documented the singer's
drug dependency and unhealthy lifestyle. West and his co-authors, fellow
'Memphis Mafia' members and Elvis bodyguards Sonny West (a cousin) and David
Hebler,
assisted by Steve Dunleavy, a journalist, said the book was an attempt to
encourage Elvis to give up his dangerous ways, but some outraged fans said the
memoir was written out of spite, since the three men only a year earlier had
been fired from Elvis' employ by Elvis' father, Vernon Presley. As Elvis'
friend, driver and bodyguard, West was among Presley's closest associates
during
the singer's meteoric rise, Army tour of duty, Hollywood stardom, late
1960s so-called comeback and 1970s decline. West's father, Newton West, died
the
same day as Elvis' mother, Gladys Presley, which only strengthened the
men's bond. When Elvis was in the Army, West traveled to Germany to be nearer
the singer, at Presley's request. Elvis Presley and wife, Priscilla, stand
as he is introduced at a luncheon in Memphis Jan. 16, 1971. Seated and
applauding to right of Priscilla Presley (and staring at the camera) is Red
West.
(Photo: Dave Darnell, The Commercial Appeal) Before being fired, West and some
of Presley's other bodyguards had received criticism for what the reference
book Elvis: His Life from A to Z' describes as "heavyhanded tactics" involving
"too much physical persuasion," in an attempt "to keep the weirdos away
from Elvis. West always defended his work for Elvis, while Vernon Presley said
the firings were an attempt to cut Presley's expenses. Post-Elvis, West
became a full-time actor, earning a regular role opposite star Robert Conrad in
the late 1970s series Black Sheep Squadron '(originally titled Baa Baa
Black Sheep ), about a squadron of World War II fighter pilots. West's most
famous role was in the 1989 Patrick Swayze cult classic Road House ,'but major
critical acclaim eluded him until late in life, when he landed his first top
billing and the first lead role of his career as an old-timer contemplating
suicide in the acclaimed independent drama Goodbye Solo' (2008), which critic
Roger Ebert labeled "a masterwork" and The New York Times called "a near
perfect film. 'It took me 59 years to be an overnight success,' West told The
Commercial Appeal , in a 2009 interview timed to the local release of the
movie 'I started out in this business as a stuntman, and it's taken its toll'on
me,' West added. 'I've had knee replacements, and I've got big calcium
deposits in my neck from falling on my head so many times. So this is just in
time. Red West was a mysterious old man while Souleymane Sy Savane was a
Senegalese taxi driver in "Goodbye Solo" (2008). (Photo: Roadside Attractions)
According to The Commercial Appeal , the mature West onscreen was 'a sort
of deglamorized Robert Mitchum 'a weary but tolerant tough guy, with Sad Sack
saucer eyes that try but fail to conceal a lifetime of hard-won wisdom and
painful lessons. Said Goodbye Solo 'director Ramin Bahrani: "I wish Clint
Eastwood would quit casting himself and realize that this guy's better. Eastwood
never called, but others did. West appeared in such movies as Francis Ford
Coppola's The Rainmaker' and Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blues ,'both shot in
Memphis, as well as Robert Altman's made-in-Mississippi Cookie's Fortune
,'Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers ,'Bahrani's At Any Price '(with Dennis
Quaid),
the horror sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer 'and the true-sports
story, Glory Road. On TV, he could be found in episodes of Mannix, The Six
Million Dollar Man, Magnum P.I. 'and The A-Team. 'A 2015 appearance in the
series Nashville' was his final credit. Related: In a 2011 episode of Memphis
Beat, 'a TNT crime series set but not shot in Memphis, West played a
cancer-stricken inmate serving time for the murder of the father of the series'
star,
an Elvis-impersonating police detective played by Jason Lee. Red West and his
wife, acting coach Pat West, had celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary
on July 1. They met while she was working as a secretary for Elvis, Pat West
said Red had complained of pains Sunday afternoon and was taken to Baptist
Hospital. Early in the evening, he died after suffering what she described as
an
abdominal aortic aneurysm. 'From the very start, we had a bond that was
just unusual,' Pat West said of her husband. 'He was just a straight shooter.
Pat West said she and her husband usually skipped "Elvis Week," marking the
August anniversary of the singer's death, but they had been planning to
participate in some activities organized this year by friend and longtime Elvis
associate George Klein. "We wanted to go this year, this special year," she
said, referring to the 40th anniversary of Presley's Aug. 16, 1977, death.
According to most sources (including Wikipedia and the Internet Movie
Database),
Red West was born on Nov. 20, 1936, which would make him 80 at the time
of his death. But Pat West said his actual birthday was March 8, 1936. In
addition to his wife, West is survived by two sons, actor John Boyd West, of
Tampa, and Brent West, of Memphis; a brother, Harold West of Olive Branch,
Miss.; and six grandchildren. Follow John Beifuss on Twitter: @JohnBeifuss
Actress
Priscilla Presley has opened up about her life with Elvis. Presley said she and
Elvis "truly lived in a bubble."
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