Parker turned the offer down, and Presley was overjoyed when they replied with another offer of $10 million. Yet, despite Presley's eagerness to do the shows, Parker again turned them down. Promoters in South America also made offers, as much as $2.5 million, and all of them were turned down by Parker; "Well, whenever I need $2.5 million I'll call you," he once said to them. Presley was beginning to consider new management, with Concerts West co-founder Tom Hulett being the clear favorite for the job. Hulett's company had managed tours for Presley, and he had worked with artists such as Led Zeppelin. According to several people who knew Presley at the time, the talks with Hulett got so far along that it seemed almost inevitable the deal would be done. The talks had included details about European tours, and buying out Presley's contract would not have been a problem for Hulett and his company. Despite this, however, the deal never materialized. According to Presley's biographer Peter Guralnick, Presley and Parker "were really like, in a sense, a married couple, who started out with great love, loyalty, respect that lasted for a considerable period of time, and went through a number of stages until, towards the end of Presley's life, they should have walked away. None of the rules of the relationship was operative any longer, yet neither had the courage to walk away, for a variety of reasons." In any case, Parker remained Presley's manager without a break until Presley's death in 1977. By this time, Parker was aware that Presley needed a rest from touring and the chance to deal with his prescription drug addictions. He phoned Presley's father once to suggest taking time off, but Vernon Presley told him they couldn't afford to stop touring due to Presley's constant and lavish spending of money. Vernon also threatened to find a new manager if Parker wouldn't continue to tour Presley. In July 1976, three of Presley's personal bodyguards and members of the "Memphis Mafia", Robert Gene "Red" West, his cousin Sonny West and David Hebler, were fired by Vernon Presley and decided to write a tell-all book about their life in his inner circle, Elvis: What Happened? Worried about the impact such details might have on his career, Presley, through his father, asked Parker to stop the publication. Parker made several attempts to have it stopped, but failed