French Canadian Elvis Impersonator Amazes Crowds
ASIEH NAMDAR, CNN ANCHOR: They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and countless have tried to imitate singer Elvis Presley.</s>SHIHAB RATTANS, CNN ANCHOR: And a French Canadian has taken center stage with an Elvis act that's getting quite a bit of acclaim. Raymond Filion of Canada's Global TV takes us on the road with this Elvis story.</s>RAYMOND FILION, GLOBAL TV, CANADA, REPORTER (voice-over): For decades, hundreds of imitators have tried match Elvis Presley's style. Now, meet this young French Canadian: Martin Fontaine is the star of a hit show called "The Elvis Story." "We wanted a show that would fill a newly renovated concert hall," he says. "It turned out to be a huge success." The show worked so well in Quebec, producers decided to take it to Mississippi, Elvis Presley's home state.</s>MARTIN FONTAINE, ELVIS IMPERSONATOR: I was afraid of playing in front of Americans because, you know, what would they think about a guy from Canada, about a French-speaking guy that would do their icon?</s>FILION (on camera): Now, I can understand a guy from Montreal being a Canadian hockey fan, but were you an Elvis fan when you were...</s>FONTAINE: People always told me, like Martin, you look like just like Elvis. And I was like this -- I was red and I had my Army haircut, and I said, well, how can you say that I look like Elvis? Well, I don't know, you've got that something.</s>FILION (voice-over): It's the night of the big premier in Biloxi, Mississippi.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Elvis Presley's No. 1 fan.</s>FILION: As people start packing the concert hall, backstage Fontaine is becoming Elvis Presley.</s>FONTAINE: I'm not a real Elvis look-alike, so it takes a lot of makeup to become Elvis Presley.</s>FILION: After two hours, the resemblance is stunning.</s>ANNOUNCER: The new recording artist from</s>RCA: Elvis Presley.</s>FILION: The show lasts 90 minutes and reviews the different stages in Presley's career, from the young Elvis, Elvis in the movies, and the older Elvis.</s>FONTAINE: We start at Sun Records and we finish at very end in '77 where he almost died onstage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was absolutely gorgeous and sang just -- my heart is still not right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had every move. It was wonderful. I loved it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's French Canadian this young fellow?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen a lot of them, but he's the best I've ever seen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did it!</s>FILION (on camera): They sure did it in Mississippi, and they're doing it again this summer here in Quebec City. Producers say they expect to sell 120,000 tickets this summer alone. Their next goal now is to bring The Elvis Story to the Los Vegas Hilton, where the real Elvis Presley performed many, many times. In Quebec City, this is Raymond Filion, Global TV, Canada, for CNN WORLD REPORT.