Kurt Russell has the distinction of playing Elvis Presley more than once, but he actually made his movie debut by kicking the music icon. Russell is coming up on his sixth decade as an actor working in Hollywood, and just about any way one chooses to slice it, has had an incredible career. Russell has gone through many stages as a performer too, beginning as a child star in the 1960s, and eventually becoming a regular fixture of Disney's live-action output during the 1960s and 1970s.
The 1980s and 1990s were when Kurt Russell's star really took off though, becoming a true leading man and making a mark in multiple genres. To horror, sci-fi, and fantasy fans, he is best known for his collaborations with director John Carpenter, including Stargate to his impressive resume.
As mentioned, Kurt Russell also has a habit of associating with Elvis, first playing The King in John Carpenter's critically acclaimed 1979 biopic miniseries, then voicing him in 3000 Miles to Graceland. Before all that though, a kid Russell offered Elvis himself a little "Sweet Shin Music" in a bit role during the 1963 film It Happened at the World's Fair.
It Happened at the World's Fair stars Elvis and Gary Lockwood (2001: A Space Odyssey) as two friends named Mike and Danny, who hitch a ride with a farmer and his young niece to the titular World's Fair in Seattle. The farmer is called away, and the two friends are left to watch over the niece, but once at the fair, Mike has other things on his mind after meeting an attractive nurse named Diane Warren (Joan O'Brien). When she brushes off his advances, Mike hires a ing boy to kick him in the shin for a quarter, giving him an excuse to get examined by her and spend some time together.
The boy, who goes uncredited, was a 10-year-old Kurt Russell in his feature film debut. Before leaving, the boy makes a crack about how adults are weird. He shows up later to inadvertently reveal Mike's ruse to Diane, asking Elvis' character if he wants another kick. Russell would later say publicly that Elvis was nice to him on set, although being a kid, he didn't really grasp the magnitude of his co-star's fame. Interestingly, Elvis was 27-years-old when he made It Happened at the World's Fair, and Russell was ultimately 27 when he played Elvis in Carpenter's biopic. Had Elvis Presley not ed away in 1977, it would've been interesting to hear if he still ed a young Russell from decades prior.
