Some of you may have no idea who Todd is- was. He worked for 25 years at Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE). He was responsible for the deluxe re-editing of 2 major Elvis shows, the '68 Special and the Aloha concert. He was the personification of EPE to the press and to the fans. And he was as big an Elvis fan as any of us. For him it was a dream job. He loved what he did and it showed.
Todd had just been promoted to a new position and was to report directly to Gary Hovey in Los Angeles, though he would remain in Memphis. He was due to go out to dinner Saturday night with friends to celebrate his promotion, but did not show. He had died, apparently of a massive heart attack, at the obscenely young age of 45.
I remember watching Todd watch us a few years ago in Memphis as we took in the revised version of "Aloha" before its release. The look on his face was combined pride and anxiety as he waited to hear our reactions. He was so proud of the work he'd done - and, of course, rightly so. He'd seen every inch of the raw footage of that show and the '68 Special and was such a fount of information he will be impossible to replace.
We got lots of support from many people at EPE, and Todd bent over backwards to help us release "200 Cadillacs". He allowed us to film at the car museum - for free. He (in cooperation with Gary Hovey) got me the names and phone numbers of the people at the Frank Sinatra Estate, SOFA Entertainment, Warner, etc. where we needs rights and clearances. This help was priceless.
For the next project he told me to be sure to use his name with the contacts he gave me. We had talked about this project during Elvis Week and I was supposed to call him when I had some news. Two emails from Todd have been sitting in my inbox - at the top of the list - waiting for news so I could just hit 'reply'.
Last August, during the Elvis Week celebrations, I loved watching his excitement as he told us to anticipate something really cool at the big Elvis concert. It was so cute when he tried to keep all the camera flashes from going off so we could see the special effects at the beginning of the show. His enthusiasm was always contagious.
There is so much more.
I didn't know him all that well, but he was the kind of guy that made everyone feel important when he was with them. I have surprised myself by how deeply this is affecting me. He was quite a guy.
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Todd had just been promoted to a new position and was to report directly to Gary Hovey in Los Angeles, though he would remain in Memphis. He was due to go out to dinner Saturday night with friends to celebrate his promotion, but did not show. He had died, apparently of a massive heart attack, at the obscenely young age of 45.
I remember watching Todd watch us a few years ago in Memphis as we took in the revised version of "Aloha" before its release. The look on his face was combined pride and anxiety as he waited to hear our reactions. He was so proud of the work he'd done - and, of course, rightly so. He'd seen every inch of the raw footage of that show and the '68 Special and was such a fount of information he will be impossible to replace.
We got lots of support from many people at EPE, and Todd bent over backwards to help us release "200 Cadillacs". He allowed us to film at the car museum - for free. He (in cooperation with Gary Hovey) got me the names and phone numbers of the people at the Frank Sinatra Estate, SOFA Entertainment, Warner, etc. where we needs rights and clearances. This help was priceless.
For the next project he told me to be sure to use his name with the contacts he gave me. We had talked about this project during Elvis Week and I was supposed to call him when I had some news. Two emails from Todd have been sitting in my inbox - at the top of the list - waiting for news so I could just hit 'reply'.
Last August, during the Elvis Week celebrations, I loved watching his excitement as he told us to anticipate something really cool at the big Elvis concert. It was so cute when he tried to keep all the camera flashes from going off so we could see the special effects at the beginning of the show. His enthusiasm was always contagious.
There is so much more.
I didn't know him all that well, but he was the kind of guy that made everyone feel important when he was with them. I have surprised myself by how deeply this is affecting me. He was quite a guy.
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I changed the picture. Isn't this a great one of Todd?
3 comments:
Hi Susie: I discovered your blog last August after returning from Elvis Week. I liked it so much that I added it to my list of favorites. So, you can understand my disappointment when no additional articles were posted.
It's nice to have you back. Keep it up.
Phil Arnold, Host of ElvisBlog, www.elvisblog.net
Dear SUSIE, Your "blog" of Mr.Todd Mogan short life,(RIP)was truely amazing.It actually made me feel as if I was there~With your blow by blow reporting (EXCELLANT JOB)and then all the Photos to match up what You/They were all saying was an OUTSTANDING JOB!!
I only hope that sometime soon They will produce a DVD of EP 30 anniversary!!! My Many Thanks to You FRIEND. Bertie @
Cruzn222@aol.com
I was very sad to hear about the death of Mr. Todd Morgan. I hope he will rest in peace.
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