COUNTYWIDE : Fans Split in Vote for Elvis Stamp

I gave a letter to the postman,

he put it in his sack.

Bright and early next morning,

he brought my letter back.

She wrote upon it:

Return to sender.

Address unknown.

No such number. No such zone.

--Elvis Presley’s 1962 hit

Dead he may be, but Elvis was still packing them in at the Santa Ana post office Monday.

That’s because the man who immortalized the song “Return to Sender” has won the stamp of approval from the U.S. Postal Service, which is letting customers decide which of two likenesses of the King will grace a new 29-cent stamp.

The stamp, which will be issued in 1993 as part of a Legends of American Music series, will be adorned by either a chiseled Elvis with a lock of hair falling from his beauteous pompadour or a more mature, plumper version with mutton chop sideburns.

Opinions of morning postal patrons were about evenly split between the youthful rocker and the older club singer as two Elvis personators pitched their brands of Elvis appeal at the General Mailing Facility on Sunflower Avenue.

“Hi, honey,” the younger Elvis drawled to ladies who strolled into the post office. “Vote for me. Thank you very much.”

This Elvis, alias Raymond Michael, 38, was dressed in black pants and a gold lame jacket trimmed with silver sequins.

His competitor, Steve Peri, 39, was the fuller-figured Elvis, wearing a white, embroidered jumpsuit with red, white and blue sequins. Peri was a bit more subdued as he distributed postcards with the Elvis designs.

Both were hired by the Santa Ana facility to publicize the beginning of the balloting, which runs through April 24.

Post offices nationwide have 5 million pre-addressed cards that can be used as mail-in ballots. Fans can check their preferred design, put a 19-cent stamp on the card and drop it in any mailbox. The winner will be announced on June 4.

Both the pseudo-Elvises posed for pictures with excited customers.

Dianne Carter, 25, a Newport Beach student, voted 18 times for young Elvis, but she also put in two votes for the King in his later years.

“I wanted to give the older one a chance,” she said. “I appreciate him because he’s from the ‘70s, but I want the younger one to win. He’s better looking.”

Saeid Hariri, 35, of Santa Ana agreed.

“There’s no other choice,” he said. “The younger one is much nicer looking.”

For some, the younger Elvis recalled the King’s days as an actor, starring in the films “Love Me Tender,” “Blue Hawaii” and “Viva Las Vegas.”

There were others who favored the portrait of the younger Elvis, but voted nonetheless for the other stamp because it brought back memories of the singer’s glamorous days in Las Vegas.

Peri, who appears as the King every summer at Knott’s Berry Farm, said most people prefer the older Elvis.

“They like seeing him in his jumpsuit,” Peri said. “His voice had matured, and he was a more polished performer.”

There were some who argued that Elvis, who died in 1977 after frequent bouts with drinking and drugs, was a bad role model.

“I think it’s sort of sad,” said Dr. Dan Behling,61. “I don’t think it’s appropriate. It sends the wrong message.”

But Behling was one of the few, if not the only one, who shared that view Monday, as customers poured into the post office, taking pictures of the Elvis personators.

“He’s a living legend,” said 31-year-old Roger Niez of Costa Mesa. “He was the master.”