Just Having a Little Fun
Dr. Ronald Hill is a very talented man. He's a cardiothoracic surgeon, which means he operates on hearts, lungs, and other vital organs. As a professor of surgery in the WVU School of Medicine, he runs a research laboratory and supervises surgery residents.But this isn't why women throw garments at him, ask for his autograph, or faint dead away in his presence.They do these things because Hill is an Elvis impersonator. Specifically, he impersonates the Elvis of the 1973 Aloha from Hawaii television special.Hill relies on a wig, dark glasses, sequined jumpsuit, and cape to achieve his Elvis illusion. He doesn't have an "Elvis head," which, according to experts like Professor Leslie Rubinkowski, is an attribute of the most successful Elvis impersonators.But he does have a nice voice, and he can do the lip thing. And that's enough to get his audiences into the right mood.Hill has been appearing as Elvis in public for about six years, ever since an assistant in his operating room suggested that he might be able to pull it off. He sounded good singing along to "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" during surgery.Thirty shows later, Hill says his experience shows that "not all Elvis impersonators are crazy." He's even performed as Elvis before his peers at the West Virginia State Medical Association convention. "It's not my life," he says. "It's just a way to have a little fun." Before becoming an impersonator, his interest in Elvis was mostly the music, not the man. But he has become interested in Presley's life and has studied many biographies.The few of Hill's patients who know about his sideline activity "get a kick out of it," he says. One Elvis fan, on whom Hill performed a double heart valve replacement, gave him a prized Elvis whiskey decanter as a Christmas gift.Hill, who was born in Parkersburg and earned his B.A. and M.D. from WVU, says he's never met any other Elvis impersonators. He once saw the real Elvis getting out of a limousine in Chicago, but has never been to Graceland.—Tony Cook
Elvis Impersonators
technorati tags:cardiothoracic, surgeon, elvis, impersonator, fun
