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When NFL Hired Fake Elvis Presley For Worst Super Bowl Half-Time Show
Revisit the NFL's biggest halftime show fail when they hired a bogus Elvis impersonator for an unforgettable Super Bowl XXIII spectacle that overshadowed the game itself.
In 1989, the Super Bowl halftime show was still a modest affair, a simple intermission act to keep fans entertained before the big game's second half kicked off. Little did anyone know, the NFL was cooking up a bizarre Broadway-esque extravaganza fit for a king - well, a fake king, that is.
With the San Francisco 49ers taking on the Cincinnati Bengals, the real drama was about to unfold off the field. The league decided to ramp up the halftime entertainment by channeling a musical legend: Elvis Presley. Unfortunately, the actual King couldn't swing by, having been, well, dead for over a decade.
Undeterred, the NFL hired an Elvis impersonator named Elvis Presto to be the centerpiece of a lavish, wildly misguided halftime spectacle dubbed "Be Bop Bamboozled." This fake Elvis was joined by Bob Costas, who gamely introduced the act like a circus ringmaster, as well as dancers, garish special effects, and a baffling card trick segment.
A Jailhouse Mockery Fit for The King Elvis
From the moment Presto/fake Elvis hit the stage, it was clear the NFL had created a perfect storm of cringe. The impersonator's thin wiggle and weak vocals were a pale imitation of The King's electrifying stage presence.
As fake Elvis flailed about aimlessly, executing the dance moves of an untenured mall Santa rather than a legendary performer, the spectacular production elements only heightened the secondhand embarrassment. Pyrotechnics fizzled, backup dancers floundered, and Costas looked like he wanted to fake his own death to escape the humiliation.
The debacle was so profound that Presto himself, whose real name was Alex Cole, never performed again after that fateful night. An actor who landed the gig a mere three days before showtime when the original Elvis impersonator bailed for Levi's commercial, Cole was in completely over his rhinestone-studded head.
In the aftermath, producer Dan Witkowski, whose affection for kitschy stunts birthed this halftime horror show, remained bullishly proud of the trainwreck Act he'd conceived. Claiming it was all just meant as some harmless, campy fun for nostalgic Baby Boomers, he joked:
"I'm still hoping to get the call that I'm on an Emmy nominee list."
Yeah, keep waiting by the phone for that one, Dan.
An Unforgettable Embarrassment, But the Show Went On
While the fake Elvis catastrophe will forever live in infamy, at least the game itself didn't disappoint. The 49ers emerged victorious over the Bengals in a classic 20-16 nail-biter, though the halftime show did its damnedest to overshadow the on-field action.
Looking back, it's astounding this bizarre halftime fever dream even made it past the concept stage. But it's also a testament to the dizzying growth of the Super Bowl's cultural imprint that the league felt compelled to go so big and bold - well, bold-facedly awful.
These days, the Super Bowl halftime show is a slick, star-studded spectacular designed to entertain rather than baffle and bemuse. But for one glorious car crash of performance, the NFL struck unintentional comedy gold with its fake Elvis catastrophe, cementing it as perhaps the most bizarrely memorable halftime show of all time.
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