‘M*A*S*H’ Actor Elliott Gould Once Advised Elvis Presley To Ditch Show Biz

M*A*S*H*’s Elliott Gould recently recalled his first encounter with the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, in the ‘70s. Elvis had just concluded his gig at the Las Vegas International Hotel and was waiting for him along with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. “I had always wanted to meet Elvis. I was deeply involved in musical comedy. I was a chorus boy on Broadway— I was brought up and trained that way,” Gould told Fox News. “So I asked if we could arrange for me to come and meet Elvis… and I got it.”

Immediately, Elvis set his eyes on Gould and he couldn’t resist questioning him on why he and Barbra Streisand decided to part ways after eight years of marriage. “Why did you and Barbra break up? You’re two of my favorite people,” to which Gould responded, “Shut up, Elvis.” In a 2020 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Gould said he and Barbra simply grew apart.

Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand’s relationship

Gould recalled his breakup with Streisand in his recent chat, saying life was not all about “fame and fortune,” adding, “If there wasn’t peace and harmony, I was going to have a lot of problems. But the real question is not why we grew apart, but how could we have grown apart?”

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While writing her book a few years ago, Streisand also posed an honest question to his ex-husband, asking him why they grew apart. “We didn’t grow together, and the reason for that was because she became more important than us,” Gould replied.

Gould advised Elvis to spend some time away

Gould also told the outlet he advised Elvis to seek time to himself— away from his father, Vernon, and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. “He said, ‘Hey, man, you’re crazy.’ I said, ‘I ain’t crazy, Elvis. I’m scared, just like you. Your daddy and the Colonel aren’t going to let us be alone for too long. You’re a cash cow to these people,” he explained.

He also saw through Elvis’ struggles behind the cameras and glamor. “Why don’t you come out and just be free, just be a free spirit? Leave Elvis here and come out and be free,” he told the “Jailhouse Rock” singer. Elvis did not take the tip and died not long after in 1977.