Larry Geller

American writer and speaker

Writer
public speaker
former hairstylist

LanguageEnglishNationalityAmericanSubjectsElvis Presley, Health, and SpiritualityYears active1989–2012SpousesStevie (1963–1972)
Shira (1995–present)Websiteelvispresleybiography.net

Larry Geller (born August 8, 1939) is an American writer, hairstylist, and public speaker.^[1] He was a spiritual advisor and personal^[2] hairstylist to Elvis Presley.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] He "played a major role in shaping the King's iconic hair looks".^[6] Elvis hired him on April 30, 1964^[7]^[8] during the filming of Roustabout.^[9] He became "the man in whom [Elvis] confided in matters of the spirit."^[10]

Career

Geller's career began when he joined forces with famed hairdresser Jay Sebring, opening the first men's hair salon in America in 1959. This salon provided services like women's hair styling salons as opposed to the traditional barber shops.^[1]

Their salon, Sebring International, attracted Hollywood's A-list. Film stars, TV and recording artists such as Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Peter Sellers, Steve McQueen, Henry Fonda, Robert Wagner, Glen Campbell, James Garner, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Rock Hudson, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, and Jackie Gleason were among their clientele.^[1]

Personal hairstylist to Elvis Presley

Beginning in 1964, Geller left Sebring to accompany Elvis and style his hair^[6] for entertainment engagements, including film productions,^[6] concert performances,^[6] and reception of guests at Graceland.^[1] Their relationship went far deeper than hairstylist and client. Geller was Elvis’ confidant and friend. He brought Elvis many new age ideas on "[r]eligion, philosophy, ... life, and anything else you can think of",^[6] and books which contained them, which helped Elvis in his search for identity and purpose.^[1]

Geller styled Elvis’ hair for nearly a dozen movies: Roustabout, Girl Happy, Double Trouble, Easy Come, Easy Go, Frankie and Johnny, Harum Scarum, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Tickle Me, Clambake, and Spinout. Geller prepared Elvis’ hair for the last time for his funeral in August, 1977.^[1]

Personal life

Geller was first married to Stevie,^[7] from 1963 to 1972. Geller remarried in 1995. He and his wife Shira lived in Los Angeles,^[1] and now live in Sedona, Arizona.^[11] He has twin sisters.^[8] Elvis studied with him for years.^[7]

Notable appearances

In November 2010, Geller appeared on the Elvis Cruise 2010, which sailed from Jacksonville to Nassau, Bahama on a Carnival Cruise Lines ship named the Carnival Fascination.^[2]

Bibliography

If I Can Dream: Elvis' Own Story. Simon & Schuster. March 1989. ISBN 978-0-671-65922-6. (with Joel Spector and Patricia Romanowski)
Elvis' Search for God. Greenleaf Publications. November 1998. ISBN 978-1-883729-07-3. (with Jess Stearn)
Healthy Life, Great Looks, Healthy Hair!. Beverly Hills: GellerCare Press. 2005. ISBN 978-0-9764350-3-7. A "small printing".^[12]
Leaves of Elvis' Garden: The Song of His Soul. Bell Rock Publishing. 2008-03-01. ISBN 978-0-9764350-0-6.
Elvis & Larry: A Journey Shared. Pan Pacific Productions. 2012. ASIN B009GNGBAA.

In popular culture

Played himself and was a technical advisor in Elvis, a 1979 TV movie with Kurt Russell^[13]
Portrayed by Patrick O'Connell in Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story, a 1993 TV movie^[4]^[14]
Portrayed by Robert C. Treveiler in Elvis, a 2005 TV mini-series with Jonathan Rhys Meyers^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Geller, Larry. "Elvis Presley Bio: Larry Geller: Hairstylist, friend, mentor". Bell Rock Publishing. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
^ ^a ^b ^c Emmrich, Stuart (2009-12-15). "Cruising with the King of Rock 'n' Roll" (Broadsheet). The New York Times. New York City. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
^ "Elvis turns 80: 10 fascinating facts about The King". cbsnews.com. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
^ ^a ^b Prouty (1996-09-01). Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews, 1993–1994. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8240-3797-0. Retrieved 2015-11-18. Weekly January 10, 1994, Daily January 14, 1994. P. viii.
^ Ponce de Leon, Charles L. (2007-08-07). Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley. Macmillan. pp. 144–149. ISBN 978-0-374-70733-0. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Marcus, Lilit (8 January 2015). "Elvis Presley's Hairstylist Spills the King's Secrets". Yahoo!.
^ ^a ^b ^c Presley, Priscilla Beaulieu; Harmon, Sandra (1985-09-19). Elvis and Me. Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-399-12984-1. ISBN 978-0-399-12984-1, ISBN 978-0-425-09103-6. Pages 225, 226, and 254.
^ ^a ^b Keogh, Pamela Clarke (2004-07-06). Elvis Presley: The Man. The Life. The Legend. Atria Books. ISBN 978-0-7434-5603-6. ISBN 978-0-7434-5603-6. Pages 48 and 157.
^ Nash, Alanna (2003-07-08). The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1301-1. ISBN 978-0-7432-1301-1. Pages 216, 232-244.
^ Tillery, p. 2
^ Glinsky, Lisa Schatz (February 2015). "The Oneg Corner" (PDF). Community Update: 5. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
^ Beagley, Piers (2007-06-26). "Larry Geller interview 2007 - Elvis Information Network". Elvis Information Network, ElvisInfoNet.com.
^ Elvis (1979 film) at IMDb Retrieved 2015-11-28.
^ Elvis and the Colonel: The Untold Story at IMDb Retrieved 2015-11-28.
^ Elvis (miniseries) at IMDb Retrieved 2015-11-28.

External links

Geller, Larry (2010). "Official website 1, LarryGellerAuthor.Com". Bell Rock Publishing. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
Geller, Larry (2015). "Official redirect 1, BellRockPublishing.Com". Bell Rock Publishing. Retrieved 2015-11-18.^{[dead link]}
Geller, Larry (2010). "Official website 2, ElvisPresley-Biography.Com". Bell Rock Publishing. Archived from the original on 2010-07-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
Geller, Larry (2015). "Official website 3, ElvisPresleyBiography.Net". Bell Rock Publishing. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
Larry Geller at IMDb