Billy Gardell has never been shy in proclaiming Jackie Gleason as his entertainment role model.
So it’s no surprise that Gardell found some parallels between Gleason and Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley’s larger-than-life business manager Gardell plays in CMT’s “Sun Records.” The eight-part series recounts the history behind Sam Phillips’ titular Memphis record label/recording studio, which launched the careers of Ike Turner, Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash (among many others).
“The Colonel was a crooked guy who would lie when the truth worked,” says Gardell, 47. “I was very fortunate to get to talk to people who knew him, including the CEO of Graceland, and he gave me a great piece of advice: ‘Play him with a great twinkle in your eye.’ One of the keys to playing this guy is that he got away with a lot of crooked stuff — but he couldn’t have done that without being charismatic.
“That’s where I built the Gleason stuff into the character.”
The Dutch-born Parker remains an enigmatic figure, even 20 years after his death. Born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk in the Netherlands, his early life story is murky at best. He moved to the US around the age of 18, changed his name, adopted the “colonel” moniker and started touring the carnival circuit. When the colonel enters the “Sun Records” storyline, it’s 1950 — and he’s showcasing his sketchy “dancing ducks” act at a county fair.
Parker’s flair for promotion was offset by a gambling problem and shady business dealings. Despite his personal failings, he launched Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow to stardom and, by 1956, had a Svengali-like grip over Presley. Their manager/client relationship lasted until Presley’s death in 1977.
“He had a very weird relationship with Elvis, who was incredibly loyal to him,” says Gardell. “I think the Colonel manipulated that in a weird way, but at the same time he also saw Elvis as the future of rock n’ roll and really had a vision of what Elvis could be. It was an almost co-dependent relationship.
“He was obviously an evil genius, a chameleon con man,” Gardell says of Parker. “Just to play a man with no moral compass was insane. There are two characters I combined to really make him unscrupulous yet charismatic: he’s a mix of Walter White [from ‘Breaking Bad’] and Foghorn Leghorn. He was a guy who would do whatever he needed to do to get his outcome. He could just stare you down without flinching.”
Gardell, who co-starred with Melissa McCarthy on “Mike & Molly” for six seasons, says he “definitely wanted to do something different” after the CBS sitcom ended last year.
“I love John Goodman’s characters and Jackie Gleason’s career when he did drama,” he says. “I’m a [physically] big guy, and as a big guy in Hollywood you get typecast — you’re either the security guard or the neighbor or the guy with mustard on his shirt falling on the table.
“This was more of a subtle performance, and I’m very proud of it.”
“Sun Records” Series premiere 10 p.m. Thursday on CMT