This Elvis Impersonator Does It For Love… And Money
Death, Sex & Money
Slate Podcasts
4.6 • 7.6K Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2022
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul marries as many as 75 people a day in the Las Vegas wedding chapel he owns. But while his portrayal of Elvis generally leans into kitsch, his view on The King's life goes deeper. "A lot people go, 'I bet you wish you were Elvis,'" he told me. "And I always go, 'Not really.'"
This episode is a collaboration with Condé Nast Traveler and their new love and travel series. Read more about Brendan and find other essays about love and travel here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As an almost impersonator, I meet fans and they're like, |
| 0:04.0 | they, you could do no wrong to them. |
| 0:06.0 | But I zoomed in on the flaws and I found that way more interesting than the, |
| 0:11.0 | just selling a million records. That's boring. |
| 0:17.0 | This is Death, Sex, and Money. |
| 0:21.0 | The show from WNYC about the things we think about a lot |
| 0:25.0 | and need to talk about. |
| 0:27.0 | I'm Anna Sale. |
| 0:37.0 | Brendan Paul is an Elvis impersonator who owns |
| 0:40.0 | Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. |
| 0:43.0 | When I spoke with him over FaceTime, Brendan was home off the clock. |
| 0:47.0 | But the look was unmistakable. |
| 0:49.0 | Jet Black hair, Moose Stubbed Cowlick in front, |
| 0:52.0 | sideburns down below his ears. |
| 0:54.0 | I wear a hat a lot. I'll just put a hat on if I want to try to just, you know, |
| 0:58.0 | go out and not have someone go. |
| 1:00.0 | Thank you. Thank you very much. |
| 1:04.0 | People have gotten married at the Chapel Brendan Oens since 1939. |
| 1:08.0 | It took on the name Graceland Chapel in 1977, after Elvis died. |
| 1:13.0 | The king had stopped there once before while shopping for wedding locations. |
| 1:17.0 | The chapel claims to be the site of the world's first Elvis-themed wedding. |
| 1:22.0 | Today, they offer wedding ceremonies in six languages, seven days a week. |
... |
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