Elvis has left the building

"Elvis has left the building!" is a phrase that was often used by public address announcers following Elvis Presley concerts to disperse audiences who lingered in hopes of an Elvis encore. Al Dvorin, a concert announcer who traveled with Elvis throughout the performer's career, made the phrase famous when his voice was captured on many recordings of Elvis' performances.

It was originally used by promoter Horace Lee Logan on December 15, 1956, to plead with concert goers not to leave a concert hall to try to see Elvis as he left, and instead remain to see the other acts on the bill. The full quotation was "Please, young people... Elvis has left the building. He has gotten in his car and driven away.... Please take your seats." Former Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville popularized it in the early 80s (to refer to his team's imminent victory over its opponents).

Uses in pop culture

The phrase has since become a pop culture catch phrase and punchline, used to refer to anyone who has exited in some sense. For instance, it might be used when someone makes a dramatic exit, such as at the end of an argument, partly to relieve tension among those who remain. Baseball announcers on radio or television sometimes use the phrase as a humorous way to describe a home run, which is typically hit over the outfield fence and into the stands.

Quotations

* Kim Basinger starred on the "film gris" (not dark enough to be a film noir) Elvis Has Left the Building that bears the same title in 2004.
* The first track on the album Broadway the Hard Way by Frank Zappa also bears this title.
* In the video game Grand Theft Auto 2, the phrase is used when one kills a group of men dressed in Elvis costumes.
* When Elvis Stojko (named for Presley) headlined figure skating tours of Canada in the 90s, the announcers would declare "Elvis has left the building" after the show. When Stojko was battling injuries, it became a catchphrase for TV announcers to say "Elvis is not in the building".
* Pittsburgh Penguins announcer Mike Lange says "Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building" when the team has wrapped up a win.
* The phrase is uttered at the end of Cartoons' video Witch Doctor, featuring a cartoon Elvis Presley.
* In the film The Usual Suspects, Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin) uses the phrase over his hand-held radio, as a code to begin the execution of the job given to them by Keyser Söze.
* In the film Independence Day, Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) uses the phrase as he escapes from the alien mother ship with David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum).
* At the beginning of the film Face/Off, the criminal mastermind Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) is slammed into a wall and falls into a coma, which inspires a policeman to utter the phrase.
* The phrase is heard at the end of the song Elvis Ain't Dead by Scouting For Girls which made the UK Chart Top 10.
* The video game God Hand has a hispanic character named Elvis. After defeating Elvis, the next scene shows the purple-suited man saying the phrase.
* In the Canadian sketch comedy show the Kids in the Hall, the phrase is heard after Elvis, a landlord, enters a bathroom to clean the bathroom of one of his tenents.
* In Choke by Chuck Palahniuk Victor tells us "If you're ever in the Hard Rock Café ... and they announce 'Elvis has left the building,' that means all the servers need to go to the kitchen and find out what dinner special just sold out."
* In the cheesecake episode of Good Eats, an alien who looks like Elvis is on the show. When he disappears, Alton Brown says "The King has left the planet."
* At the end of the third episode of Greatest American Dog, which aired July 24, 2008, the team of David and his dog Elvis were eliminated by the judges. When they left the stage, David turned to the judges and remaining contestants and said (to howls of laughter) "Elvis has left the building."

Paraphrases

* At the end of episodes of "Frasier", Kelsey Grammer says "Frasier has left the building."
* In early 90s World Wrestling Federation (WWF) matches, heel commentator Bobby Heenan would interrupt broadcast colleague Gorilla Monsoon to inform him that "Shawn Michaels has left the building" (usually some time after one of Michaels' matches). At non-televised WWF shows, the ring announcer would make the announcement.
* During the last moments of the song 3 a.m. Eternal (Stadium House version) by The KLF, a voice announces that "KLF has left the building".
* In the film Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Pharaoh begins his Elvis Presley styled "Song Of The King" with the statement "Pharaoh is in the building!"
* In the video game Sam & Max Hit the Road, the phrase "Conroy Bumpus has left the building" can be heard when the performance of this fictional country singer-songwriter is over.
* Right after the musical Altar Boyz ends, Shadoe Stevens' voice is heard saying "Ladies and gentlemen, the Altar Boyz have left the building." He then paused a bit before closing with, "Peace out."
* In Dance Of The Vampires, the English version of the German hit musical Tanz der Vampire, composer Jim Steinman included a song called God Has Left The Building.

External links

* [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021227.html The Straight Dope - What is the origin of "Elvis has left the building"?]
* [http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/index.php/Elvis_Has_Just_Left_The_Building Lyrics to Frank Zappa´s "Elvis Has Just Left The Building"]