Saturday, Jan. 25, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
About 160 people including Arnold, Parker's wife, Loanne, and Presley's former wife, Priscilla, gathered to say goodbye in a memorial at the Las Vegas Hilton, where Presley entertained 2.5 million people in 837 performances between 1969 and 1977.
Presley's attendance records remain unbroken.
It was a day of praise of Parker.
Priscilla Presley told the group few people realize the role Parker played in bringing Elvis to prominence.
"The Colonel is somewhere working up another great promotion," she said. "I think most of us assumed he would live forever."
The one-time carnival pitchman, who guided Presley's career for 22 years, died Tuesday of complications from a stroke. He was 87.
Parker made 25 percent of Presley's total income at times and 50 percent at other times - figures that some in the Presley circle considered too high. He defended the profits he made, once saying, "I sleep very good at night."
"He was a man of his word," said country singer Eddy Arnold, who was one of Parker's first clients in the mid-1940s. "When I talked to him, I knew where I stood."
The "colonel" was an honorary title bestowed on Parker in 1948 by Gov. Jimmie Davis of Louisiana. Presley affectionately called Parker "admiral."
"Where do you begin to celebrate the memory of a man that's been so dear to us?" said John O'Reilly, chairman of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Reilly spoke in front of a life-size picture of Parker in a cowboy hat.
"If the colonel was here, I know he'd have the thoughts that would guide us."
O'Reilly, sharing a humorous anecdote, told how Parker once worked as a Santa Claus for Walgreen's and urged a little girl to ask her mother for an extra hamburger because he was hungry.
While soft music from a piano and violin played, Mrs. Parker told the gathering she is considering having a monument built to honor her husband.
Parker's friends depicted him as an emotional man, always prompt with his appointments. Many speakers read poems to Parker, who often sent poetry to his confidantes.
"He was the man behind rock ''n' roll," said Bruce Banke, former vice president of advertising and publicity at the Las Vegas Hilton.
He said Parker was asked after Presley died in 1977 if he thought the King was still alive.
"If he is, would you tell him to get in touch with me because I've got work for him," Parker responded.
At the close of the memorial service, the lights dimmed and a recording of Presley singing "How Great Thou Art" filled the room as those gathered held hands.
"You and Elvis are together again," said Henri Lewin, former president of the Hilton. "I know you've looked forward to this part."
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