Retrofit for a King : Elvis Worshiper Returns to Rebuilt Replica of Graceland

All shook up. Now, nearly rebuilt. In the two years since the Northridge earthquake damaged his replica Graceland Mansion, Elvis Presley impersonator “Danny U” has been on the road or stayed with relatives.

But with repairs on the Georgian-style mansion nearly finished, the 41-year-old faux Elvis has checked out of heartbreak hotel and is heading home.

“I finished it one time and I’m going to do it again,” said Danny U, whose real name is Daniel Uwnawich. The three-bedroom, two-bath house is a scaled-down replica of Graceland--which sits on 13 acres--and includes a heart-shaped swimming pool, an upstairs ballroom and a 1956 Cadillac Eldorado in the driveway, some of the King’s favorite toys.

Uwnawich said that living at Graceland--or a reasonable facsimile--”was always my dream.” He plans to finish work at his mini-mansion, christened Melody Land, by Aug. 17, so fellow Elvis enthusiasts can tour the house on the 19th anniversary of Presley’s death.

He plans to add an Elvis museum, a disco room and a pond on the one-acre property, which is located at the corner of Parthenia Street and Zelzah Avenue, he said.

Uwnawich said he started impersonating Elvis as a teenager in Louisiana, finally meeting his idol in 1973 at a Las Vegas hotel while both were performing in town. “Back then I was the only one doing Elvis, except for Elvis himself,” he said.

In 28 years as an Elvis impersonator, Uwnawich has traveled throughout the country--armed with his sideburns, jumpsuits and 22-piece band. Along with investments, he said, he has earned enough through the Elvis gigs to pay for the 8,000-square-foot, $1.5-million house.

The property, which he finished building in 1991, “was for California people who have never seen Graceland in Memphis,” he said.

A stickler for accuracy, Uwnawich even keeps the living room furniture covered with plastic, just like at Graceland.

In the back and front yards, he parks five of Elvis’ favorite classic cars, including a 1971 Corvette. He also has a Great Dane he named King that matches Presley’s pets of the same breed named Snoopy and Brutus.

But King’s king-size doghouse in a corner of the backyard was about the only structure on the property that didn’t break during the Northridge quake. Inside, the chandeliers came crashing down, marble and glass shattered and walls cracked. In all, damage was estimated at about $500,000, Uwnawich said.

Before the earthquake, several hundred people a year would come to see Melody Land, he said. Uwnawich plans to reinstate the biannual tours of the house--on Presley’s birthday, Jan. 8, as well as Aug. 17, the anniversary of his death.

The career, the house, the tours, the impersonator said, are all “to honor Elvis.”