THE ELVIS WATCH: He looks ...

THE ELVIS WATCH: He looks like Elvis. He sounds like Elvis. But he’s really actor David Keith, who’s down in Austin, Tex., this month playing Elvis Presley in one of those dueling “Heartbreak Hotel” movies due out later this year. This one’s a fictional tale about a fractured family that is reunited after a visit from the King. Written and directed by Chris (“Adventures in Babysitting”) Columbus, the film features Keith not only in Elvis drag but crooning several of his hits, including “That’s All Right, Mama” and “Love Me.” In fact, Keith has just finished shooting a scene that re-creates an Elvis concert at the city’s Palmer Auditorium, where Elvis actually appeared in the early 1970s.

“Sure, it’s a little intimidating, but the thrill of doing Elvis definitely outweighs the intimidation factor--trying to do Elvis, and do him right, is the kind of challenge I like,” said Keith, checking in with us from Texas via car-phone as he drove to the set. “I spend about 60 to 90 minutes every morning in makeup, where they basically highlight my features.

“But the voice is all mine. I really prepared for this--watching his old movies and listening to the old songs--before I did any recording. And I’m real proud of ‘That’s All Right, Mama.’ I sounded a lot more like Elvis than I ever thought I could.”

Keith isn’t being immodest. In fact, Dale Dudley, the morning deejay at local rock station KLBJ-FM, liked Keith’s version of “Mama” enough to start airing it on his show. “David’s real good--he definitely got the essence of that ‘70s-era, Vegas-style Elvis,” said Dudley, who frequently does Elvis humor on his show. “David does the hiccupy vocals and everything. He’s from Tennessee, so I think he’s pretty hard-core about the whole Elvis thing.”

No kidding. Keith isn’t crazy about all those sick Elvis jokes. “Hey, nobody likes cruel humor--in its place--better than me,” said Keith, who grew up in Knoxville. “But I’m really tired of everyone always wanting to tear Elvis down. You hear the same jokes about Michael Jackson--it’s just cheap stuff. I think people just don’t like anyone being that famous or mega-successful, so they try to cut ‘em down to size.”

When Keith was on his show, Dudley shrewdly refrained from doing any Elvis gags. But he volunteered one to us. “Priscilla’s TV show, ‘Elvis and Me,’ was real big down here, so we did a fake commercial for it called ‘Elvis and Pee-wee,’ you know, as if Elvis and Pee-wee Herman had a relationship,” he explained. “I’d come on as Elvis and say, ‘Wait a minute--who’s this little thing? Pee-wee Herman? What’s he doing here?’ ”