The “Hawaiian Elvis”
When ETA Rich Purnell, who is known the world over as “Hawaiian Elvis”, was a little boy, he admired superheroes such as Bat Man and Superman. During a father and son conversation, his dad pointed out that his heroes were not real. When Rich was watching an Elvis movie, he asked his dad if this guy was real, and when his dad said “yes”, Rich exclaimed, “Whoa! That is what I want to do! I want to be the guy who sings, and talks to all the ladies, and everybody thinks is a really cool guy.”
Rich related mostly to Elvis in the concert years because Elvis’s hair was a little wild “just like his”, and Elvis’s music in the 1970s was closer to what Rich listened to in his youth.
The highlight of Rich Purnell’s career was being asked by Elvis’s nurse, Marion Cox, to sing at a show at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Rich had no dreams to win an Elvis competition, but he wanted to sing for people who knew and loved Elvis, and to hear them say, “You are good! You sound just like Elvis.”
As an ETA, Rich wants to be appreciated by all people who love his performance, but admits that there is some back lash about looking different than Elvis. He believes that when an ETA performs at the highest level, it transcends race and ethnicity. As seen in the video of Rich singing Elvis’s “Ku-U-I-P0”, Rich Purnell pays great tribute to Elvis with his beautiful performance.
Rich, who lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife, Michele, toured the Philippines and Asia in 2018. SB Mag fans and I hope that Rich will perform his tribute to Elvis in Ontario sometime soon.
Editor’s Note: Information for this article was obtained from a YouTube video interview. Photos, from Rich Purnell’s Facebook page are credited to Michele Purnell (Bohol Tarsier Conservation Area, Philippines and Changdeokgung Palace, South Korea), Arlene Sabian Aguon (photos with American flag, whitle jumpsuit), and Rosario Laruan (Weston Hotel photo). C.M.
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