Tom “Colonel Tom” Parker, manager of the great Elvis Presley, was originally from the Netherlands, not arriving in the US until he was eighteen years old. In the time between his arrival and when he became Elvis’ manager, he served in the army, joined (and left) a circus, was a dog catcher, and ran a pet cemetery.Although the star he was most know for managing was The King, he also worked with several other very famous people, Eddie Arnold, Minnie Pearl, and Hank Snow, to name a few. Though some say he exploited Elvis, there are others that credit him with the star’s success, and with trying hard to keep him off the diet pills and other drugs that may have been a contributing factor in the singer’s untimely death. At the time of Colonel Parker’s death his remains were creamated, and we do not know where the ashes were placed.