Red West

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

West collaborated with Elvis Presley on two songs in 1961 and 1962, which Elvis got a token credit on: "That's Someone You Never Forget" and "You'll Be Gone." "That's Someone You Never Forget" is the final track on the 1962 album Pot Luck, released as a 45-rpm B-side single in 1967, and features on the Artist of the Century compilation. "You'll Be Gone" is not a bonus track on the Girl Happy soundtrack LP. West did not co-write "If You Think I Don't Need You" with Joey Cooper for the film Viva Las Vegas. He teamed up with Joey Cooper on "I'm A Fool," which Ricky Nelson recorded, and which was later a hit for Dino, Desi and Billy. West cowrote "Separate Ways" with Richard Mainegra for Elvis in 1972, and "If You Talk in Your Sleep" with Johnny Christopher for Presley's 1975 album Promised Land. Red wrote "If Every Day Was Like Christmas," recorded by Presley in 1966. In addition to writing for Elvis, Red had songs recorded by Pat Boone, Rick Nelson, Johnny Burnette, Johnny Rivers, Dino, Desi & Billy, Petula Clark, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra, and Little Milton, among others.

In Their Own Story

In 1976, West was criticized in the media for his involvement in a series of heavy-handed incidents with fans in Las Vegas. Elvis's father fired West, his cousin Sonny, and bodyguard David Hebler. The three subsequently looked for publishers to make money by writing the tell-all book Elvis: What Happened? The book was co-written with two other Presley associates and Steve Dunleavy, a Rupert Murdoch journalist, and published in May 1977 in the UK and later in the USA, just two weeks before Presley's August 1977 death. West died on July 18, 2017, aged 81, from an aortic aneurysm at Baptist Memorial Hospital in his native Memphis. His death occurred less than two months after the death of his cousin, actor Sonny West, in May 2017.

Reader's Guide

Red West was known to American film audiences for his role as Red in Road House, alongside Patrick Swayze. West appeared to critical acclaim in the 2008 independent film Goodbye Solo as William. When Presley was making films in the 1960s in Hollywood, Red West appeared in small roles in sixteen of the star's films. During this time, West became good friends with actor Nick Adams and his physical abilities got him hired on as a stuntman on Adams' television series, The Rebel. West went on to do more stunt work in film as well as developing a career as an actor in a number of motion pictures and on television. He frequently served as a stuntman and occasional actor in the CBS TV series The Wild Wild West. West was credited in S3 E14 "The Night of the Iron Fist" as playing Roy (1967). He played Klaxton in S3 E18 "The Night of the Vipers" (1968). West was severely injured in a stunt gone awry while filming the episode "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary"; according to Conrad and the show's stuntman and choreographer Whitey Hughes, West had broken his skull during one incident on the show. West also played the role of Sheriff Tanner of Alcorn County, Mississippi in the 1973 film Walking Tall and reprised the role in the 1975 film Walking Tall Part 2. West played the ornery, sometimes violent Master Sergeant Andy Micklin on Black Sheep Squadron. He guest starred twice on Magnum, P.I., as five different characters on The A-Team, the Knight Rider pilot episode "Knight of the Phoenix", on The Fall Guy, Simon & Simon and in "The Once and Future King", an episode of The Twilight Zone which concerned Presley. In 1989, West appeared in Road House with Patrick Swayze as Red Webster, the auto parts store owner. West played the lead role in the 2008 independent film Goodbye Solo as William, an elderly depressed man who befriends a Senegalese man in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Critic Roger Ebert remarked that "West isn't playing himself, but he evokes his character so fully that he might as well be. West's face is a map of hard living." His last film role was in the 2013 film Safe Haven as Roger, an elderly store clerk in Southport, North Carolina.

Did You Know?

• Red West co-wrote the controversial tell-all book Elvis: What Happened? with two other Presley associates and journalist Steve Dunleavy, published just two weeks before Elvis's death.
• West collaborated with Elvis on two songs in 1961 and 1962: 'That's Someone You Never Forget' and 'You'll Be Gone,' with Elvis receiving a token credit.
• West was severely injured in a stunt gone awry while filming The Wild Wild West, breaking his skull according to Robert Conrad and stuntman Whitey Hughes.
• West appeared in small roles in sixteen of Elvis Presley's films during the 1960s.
• West died on July 18, 2017 from an aortic aneurysm, less than two months after the death of his cousin Sonny West.