 Was Colonel Tom Parker, as the film alleges, born in the Netherlands and in the U.S. illegally? Yes, the Colonel who was neither a Colonel nor named Tom Parker was born Andreas Cornelis van Kielk in the Netherlands and came to the U.S. without documentation at the age of 20. In an attempt to hide his true status, Parker claimed to be from Huntington, West Virginia and tried to pass off his accent as Southern. Did Colonel Parker assign Elvis to a five-year extension with the hotel on a napkin during that first show? Almost. The hotel did exercise its contractual option for a single return engagement along with a five-year extension the day of the opening. Colonel Parker drew up the terms on a pink tablecloth in the hotel coffee shop. An actual document was drawn up a few days later.