Why Elvis Turned Down "True Grit"

Above, an original movie poster for True Grit at the True Grit Cafe in Ridgway, Colorado.

According to an article in the Daily Express (U.K.), Elvis Presley was originally approached to co-star with John Wayne in True Grit (1969) in a role that eventually went to Glen Campbell. But Presley declined.

They wrote:

The storyline saw Duke play Rooster Cogburn, a tough one-eyed old United States Marshal who helps a 14-year-old girl track down the drunk who killed her father.

They did this with the help of Texan Ranger LaBoeuf, a part that initially was set for Elvis.

However, in the late 1960s, Elvis was tired of making poor musical rom-coms and returned his focus to live performances with his 1968 Comeback Special and subsequent Las Vegas residencies.

The King’s cousin Billy Smith described on his son Danny’s Memphis Mafia Kid YouTube channel how John Wayne asked Elvis to co-star in a few of his movies. He said: “In fact, he asked him a couple of times.” 

In the end, his manager The Colonel pushed it too far by demanding that  Elvis should receive top billing above Wayne if he were to play the Texan in True Grit.

To read the full article, go here.