Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Memphis Famous Artists, Actors and Writers

By Gary Kalona


The city of Memphis in Tennessee is much more than just the home of many legendary country music stars. Memphis famous artists include a big list of celebrities from many aspects of the performing arts. Memphis famous artists include the king of rock'n'roll, an Academy Award winning actor, and a celebrated author and historian.

Elvis Presley

One can hardly talk of famous artists in Memphis without mentioning one of the country's most noted boys. Elvis commenced a humble existence in Tupelo, Mississippi. He enjoyed singing from an early age and received his first guitar at the age of 11. Elvis, his ma and pa, and extended family moved to Memphis in 1948, where he attended the LC Humes High School. Less than a year after graduation, Elvis recorded his first demo in 1953. By 1958, he used to be a favored singer, but Elvis put his career on hold to serve in the U.S. Armed forces until 1960. By his premature death in 1975, Elvis headlined in 33 films and sold over one bn. records. Millions of adoring fans from across the entire world keep his memory alive and over 600,000 annually tour his Graceland mansion home.

Morgan Freeman

The list of Memphis famous artists includes Mr. Morgan Freeman, who was born here and raised by his mom and motherly grandmother. Freeman developed a love for acting at the young age of 12, when Freeman won top honors after appearing in his school's drama competition. After graduating high school, Freeman served in the U.S. Air Force for 4 years. He went to Hollywood after his army discharge and starred in an African Americanperformance of "Hello, Dolly!" in 1971. Morgan Freeman didn't experience movie mega stardom until the 1980s when he obtained his screen role in the flick "Brubaker". Many film opportunities followed, and Freeman enjoyed starring roles in "Driving Miss Daisy", "The Shawshank Redemption", and "Invictus". Mr. Freeman's recognizable, smooth voice also landed him many narration projects that incorporated the prize-winning "March of the Penguins". Though he is probably one of the famous artists from Memphis, he now lives in Mississippi, where he established the Rock River Foundation. This charity project donates millions of greenbacks for educational projects.

Shelby Foote

Famous Memphis artists include this historian and author, who didn't achieve his due recognition until later in life when he wrote the 3 novel series "The Civil War: A Narrative", which were printed from 1958 to 1974. He was born in Greenville, Mississippi. His dad died when he was only five years old and he was raised by his single ma. His writing career commenced while attending the local high school where he wrote and edited the high-school paper. Foote attended the Varsity of North Carolina and wrote for the university mag. Shelby Foote served as a captain in the U.S. Army and later volunteered for a brief enlistment with the Marines. After the war, he wrote for the Sat. Evening Post. His first novel, "Tournament", was published in 1949. Foote modeled the fictional tale after his late granddad, a plantation owner. He moved to Memphis in 1952, where he remained until the time of his demise in 2005.




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