My week in show business — On the road with the ghost of Elvis

Rehearsal for “Rendezvous With the King” Harrah’s showroom, Reno, Nevada

When 84-year-old veteran actor and stand-up comedian Cork Proctor, got the call to play the ghost of Elvis Presley, he invited me to go with him. The show, Rendezvous With the King, would run for three special nights in Sammy’s Showroom at Harrah’s in Reno, Nevada.

For decades, Cork Proctor was the comic relief in many stage shows in Las Vegas, Reno, and around the US, designed and produced by Greg Thompson. This would be a kind of old-home-week for Cork, as he already knew the company manager, the back-up singers, Sammy’s Showroom, some of the crew, and the producer.

Pick up at the airport in a Harrah’s limo made up for the bus tire explosion in the Andes crossing the mountains to get from our home in Cuenca, Ecuador down to Guayaquil for the flight to the US.

Not even out of Ecuador, and already a delay.

Day one, Monday, 12:00 noon. 79.5 hours to SHOWTIME!

We meet Number One Worldwide Elvis Tribute Artist Pete Storm for the first time. Pete is from London, England, so it was bizarre to hear “Elvis” speak with an English accent! When I asked Pete how tall he is, he said, “Oh, six-three and a bit.”