Elvis rolls back the new year at I-X Center
By Charles Cassady
Insights
Published Jan. 7, 2008

It is a historical fact that Elvis Presley — whose birthday will be commemorated in a big “Elvis Birthday Tribute” gala in Playhouse Square on Jan. 18 – was fascinated by law-enforcement. Once he flew cross-country (having had the Colonel pulling some strings) to receive an honorary FBI badge.

Returning the favor, John Kevin Hupka, of West Park, has made a second career out of being Cleveland's only police officer who is an honorary Elvis.

Hupka, in his sequin-costumed incarnation of “Kelvis,” performs this weekend at the Ohio RV Supershow at the I-X Center. Hupka will do his Presley tribute amidst the recreational vehicles on Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Elvis impersonator Kevin "Kelvis" Hupka grooves his way right into the crowd at the Ohio RV Supershow at the I-X Center. (Photo courtesy of Charles Cassidy)

Hupka is part of a lineup of entertainment booked to guest-star while browsers apprise the Airstreams and Winnebagos. Other artists include the Hastily Assembled Bluegrass Band, from New Philadelphia, Ohio.

As 'Kelvis,' however, Hupka can also be found performing at a variety of venues, including private parties, weddings, retirement centers and, of course, Elvis fan-conventions held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Lake George, New York.

In his day-job guise as police officer, Hupka works out of the former Fifth District in Cleveland. “The Fifth is now the Third — or as we call it, the Fifth/Third,” he said. “I am still `on the job,’ and I still have not met any brothers in blue who wear sequins.”

The patrolman, a longtime Elvis fan, took up the mantle of the King of Rock and Roll seven years ago, as a lark for Halloween. He started practicing singing Elvis hits and studying Elvis on film, and when his act went over well in the neighborhood Hupka realized that an Elvis identity might make a nice supplemental income to his paycheck as a crime fighter.

In 2004 Hupka, after placing highly in the Elvis-impersonation regionals at the Cuyahoga County Fair, he himself went to Las Vegas to compete in a national musical Elvis Presley look-alike contest. Friends and colleagues on the force helped raise the money to send Kelvis to the Westward Ho Casino, where he came in 14th in the non-professional division and won $750.

He hasn’t performed with other bands in his off-hours. “I shy away from bands because due to the number of members - I  would have to take a cut in pay, and, believe it or not, what I do is hard work.

The only time I accept less is for the senior citizens…retirement centers, nursing homes.”

Visitors to the I-X Center get to see Kelvis as part of their regular RV Supershow admission, and it’s the total Vegas-era Elvis experience, with all the signature hits. “I always do the popular ones. `Teddy Bear,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ ‘Suspicious Minds,’ etc.” Sometimes he will throw in “My Way” or “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” songs that Elvis did not release initially but which he made his own.

And after the I-X show? “I have a wedding on the 24th and will be at the VFW hall in Elyria on the 31st. I have a few bookings each month so far thru June.”

Patrons interested in booking “Kelvis” shouldn’t dial 9-1-1 but rather surf online to Hupka’s website, www.kelvisentertainment.com. Right now it carries an amusing `miraculous image’ of Presley that Hupka found created by melting snow on Cleveland pavement.

There are also links to some of Hupka’s favorite place to do Elvis-watch stakeouts. “I would definitely recommend Elvis week in Memphis, Tennessee. It's always held the week of the anniversary of Elvis' death. We are not going this year and didn't last year because we see the guys that perform in that show all the time in Lake George.

“It is a great show and I strongly suggest any Elvis fan to attend.”

Admission to the RV Supershow at the I-X Center costs $11.50 per person. Go online to www.ohiorvshow.com. For more information on Sunday's Elvis Birthday tribute at the State Theatre in Playhouse Square, check out www.playhousesquare.org.

On the Web:

• I-X Center
• Ohio RV Supershow
• Playhouse Square