MURDERED: Dana MacKay & Mary Huffman
Elvis was the king of rock and roll but the king of Elvis impersonators was Dana MacKay.
Known to some as “the original Elvis impersonator”, Dana was a well known personality in Las Vegas in the late 70’s and through the 80’s.
Dana was the image of the King, and even in candid family photos, he looks like he could pass for Elvis. He didn’t just look like Elvis, he sounded like him, too.
Dana was able to perform the king's hits with a backup band and his own vocals; There was no lip syncing when it came to Dana’s shows.
Dana proved he could act like Elvis, too, and in 1980, he was cast in a made for TV movie entitled This is Elvis, and he helped with a 1982 Hard Copy called I-Elvis where he played a 35-year-old Elvis.
In 1983, Dana played Elvis for the Legends in Concert stage show at the Imperial Palace hotel, a show that still plays to this day, making it the longest running and most awarded show in Vegas.
By 1990, Vegas was overrun with Elvis impersonators and despite being the first and the most well known, Dana struggled to find enough work due to the increased competition.
Dana decided to hang up his white rhinestone jumpsuit and focus on his other passion which was landscaping. However, Dana wouldn’t be able to fulfil his new dream of running a successful landscaping business…
Resources
Researched by Haley Gray
https://www.newspapers.com/image/477131989/?terms=dana%20mackay%20mary%20huffman&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/477132502/?terms=dana%20mackay%20elvis&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/153126376/?terms=dana%20mackay%20elvis&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/538355184/?terms=dana%20mackay%20elvis&match=1
https://torontosun.com/news/world/crime-hunter-cold-case-murder-of-elvis-imitator
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75133899/dana-christopher-mackay
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/08/detective-wont-let-case-murdered-elvis-die/
https://www.lvmpd.com/en-us/Homicide/Pages/casesbyyear1990-1999.aspx
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0083193/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3624-Edmond-St-Las-Vegas-NV-89103/7121292_zpid/?
https://www.8newsnow.com/news/i-team-cold-case-murder-of-elvis-impersonator-heats-up/
Hard Copy, October 7, 1993, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRokNgMwRxA
I-Team, May 5, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTpbsrp8oJI
https://www.newspapers.com/image/109731534/?terms=dana%20mackay%20elvis&match=1
https://www.history.com/topics/us-states/las-vegas#section_3
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-05-mn-54241-story.html
https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/the-mirage-turns-20-today/
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=92624&page=1