"Did you know that he was a very popular
Elvis impersonator? He performed in my hometown in 1978.
The reason that I started researching him was because of a story
about a "man in white" haunting our local Elms Hotel. After
much digging and talking to people, I discovered that a man using the
stage name, Terry Tigre played at our then local "honky tonk", the
Ozark Inn, as an Elvis impersonator. It was rumored
that he fell or was pushed off of the 3rd floor balcony of the hotel
and that he haunted the halls. I found a newspaper article
telling of an incident in 1978 that did happen at the
Elms. Terry, his manager, and his booking agent were in a
room on the 3rd floor. The booking agent went out on the balcony
alone and fell to his death. The gentleman that had owned
the Ozark Inn told me that Terry died in an auto accident not long
after this happened. "
The above email was forwarded to me last week at the office of SPA - Special Projects Associates - A Research Group, with questions as to how our information on Terry Tigre could expand into a mini-documentary to use in promoting tourism in our area. SPA researches history of the Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA area, presenting the research for further investigation, publication or web presentation.
Terry Cobb aka Terry Tigre was apparently well known throughout the midwestern United States an Elvis "look-alike" and sounded much like him as well. He created an Elvis tribute show in the very early 1970s, performing both the early rock-and-roll songs, also performing the later LasVegas style songs. Before Terrys death near Tupelo, Mississippi in 1983, he often worked as opening act for notable country and rock-and-roll artists, sometimes performing with Elvis' own backup artists, The Jordanaires and others. We have yet to document his actual meeting with Elvis, however we believe it is entirely possible.
Terry Tigre frequently stayed at the Elms Hotel when he was performing in the area, so the reports of his ghost still haunting the Elms is one we are very interested in pursuing as well.
Any Elvis aficianados on this forum are encouraged to share with us reminisence, pictures, articles or recordings - anything you know about Terry Tigre. Proper credit for any contributions will be given in any presentation or publication. Clues to other Internet sites beyond the usual Google/Dogpile/Ask.com searches would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading this. I look forward to hearing your stories.
Shirley Griffin
Researcher, Vice President
Special Projects Associates
- A Research Group
Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA
shirlgrif@gmail.com
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Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:36 pm