The 1957 movie Jailhouse Rock is considered one of Elvis Presley's best movies, but the King of Rock 'n' Roll refused to watch it.
That's because his leading lady, 24-year-old Judy Tyler, died from injuries suffered in a car wreck just three days after the filming was completed.
She and her husband, Gregory LaFayette, were driving back east from California for a television show in New York City.
They were near Billy the Kid, Wyo., when LaFayette swerved to avoid hitting a truck, but their car collided head-on with another vehicle. He died that night, and she the next morning.
Jailhouse Rock was only the second movie for Ms. Tyler (born Judith Mae Hess). She had starred in a film called Bop Girl Goes Calypso . Her father had been a trumpeter in the Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman bands, and her mother a Ziegfeld Follies dancer.
It was on Halloween night 1957 that Jailhouse Rock had its "gala Southern premiere" at the Miller Theater in Augusta.
You can see it at the Imperial Theatre at 7 p.m. Saturday, when it will be screened by Augusta Amusements LLC as part of its Classic Movie Night series.
Tickets cost $10-$15. Elvis tribute artist Jason Sikes will perform an Elvis show with the Sassy Brass Band immediately after the movie. Call the Imperial at (706) 722-8341 or visit imperialtheatre.com.
SAVE THE AQUARIUM: Country music singer and songwriter Bryan Clees, formerly of Tampa, Fla., and now of Sylvania, Ga., will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bo Ginn Aquarium at Magnolia Springs on U.S. Highway 25 north of Millen, Ga.
The free concert will offer free refreshments, but donations are being sought for the aquarium, which costs $40,000 annually to keep open. The state apparently was planning to close the aquarium, but the Jenkins County Development Authority agreed to run the unique facility.
GOODBYE, DAVE: It felt strange to be standing near an open casket, laughing at stories being told about the deceased, but that's what several of us were doing last week at the Poteet Funeral Home visitation for longtime Augusta radio personality Dave Hensley, who died July 29 at 65.
Dave was a great guy I was privileged to know since the early 1970s, when I moved to North Augusta, and he was working as a popular announcer for country music station WGUS in North Augusta. He later worked for WKXC and WMTZ.
He wrote songs with Terri Gibbs for her early singles, and he rarely let his polio crutches interfere with his bright and cheerful attitude. Condolences go to his widow, Judy, and family.
Don Rhodes has written about country music for 38 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Screening of Jailhouse Rock, Elvis tribute artist Jason Sikes, Sassy Brass Band
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Imperial Theatre, 745 Broad St.
COST: $10-$15
LEARN MORE: www.imperialtheatre.com
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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