By Woody Baird
The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Elvis Presley might have become a decent actor if manager Tom Parker hadn't been so eager to cash in on a string of lackluster movies, says a songwriter who created music for some of the films.

Mike Stoller and partner Jerry Leiber, authors of the title song for the movie Jailhouse Rock, wrote more than 20 songs recorded by Presley, including his No. 1 hit "Hound Dog." Stoller and Leiber also contributed many songs to Presley movie soundtracks.

Stoller, 70, met with Elvis fans who crowded into the Presley estate's Beale Street club Monday night to watch Jailhouse Rock and begin a weeklong observance of the 26th anniversary of the death of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Presley longed to be a serious actor but Parker, who adopted the title "Colonel," did nothing to help him, Stoller said.

"Unfortunately, the Colonel had the golden goose and he wanted him to keep cranking it out," Stoller said.

Presley starred in 31 movies between 1956 and 1969, each a work only Elvis fans could love.

Stoller said he never understood why Presley gave Parker so much control over his life and career. Many of Parker's decisions appeared to be more for his own benefit than for Presley's - taking 50 percent of the star's income for management fees, while the industry standard was 10 to 20 percent.

'Merely a vehicle'

"The Colonel's only interest was the Colonel's," Stoller said. "Elvis was merely a vehicle for the Colonel's greed."

Presley was 42 when he died Aug. 16, 1977, of drug abuse and heart disease at his Memphis residence. The house, Graceland, draws more than 600,000 tourists a year.

Graceland is the center of an annual string of parties, fan get-togethers and memorials focused on the death anniversary. Over the week, estate managers expect up to 4,000 people a day to tour Graceland and for even more to shop at its complex of souvenir stores and museums.

Like many other fans, Canadians Jocelyne Menard, 56, and Denise Dumaine, 58, attend every Elvis anniversary they can. And they leave their husbands behind in Montreal.

"They don't love it like us. They cannot share like us, so we come together," Menard said.

Susan Ritter, 31, a budding singer from Dayton, Ohio, made her first Memphis visit hoping to pick up some Elvis pointers on pleasing a crowd.

"I've never seen Elvis on a big screen before so I'm really excited," she said. "Elvis is like the consummate performer."

Hall of Fame writers

Leiber and Stoller, 1987 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, wrote hundreds of songs for a long list of entertainers.

They got a major career boost and their first contact with Presley after he recorded "Hound Dog," which Leiber and Stoller originally wrote for rhythm and blues singer Big Mamma Thornton.

Stoller was on vacation in Europe when Presley recorded "Hound Dog." On Stoller's return, Leiber greeted him at the New York harbor.

"He said, 'Hey man, we've got a smash hit,' " Stoller said.

"I said 'Big Mama Thornton's record?' He said, 'No, some white kid named Elvis Presley.' I said, 'Elvis who?' "