The Walton Theater will host a special one-time screening this Sunday of the movie “Orion: The Man Who Would Be King,” a documentary about Orrville’s own Jimmy “Orion” Ellis.

Ellis, who some say sounded identical to Elvis Presley, was part of a charade in the late 1970s that made some people think the king of rock and roll was still alive.

“For those who say they can tell the difference, I’d like to hem them up in a room with a good sound system and say write down who it is,” said Jerry Hatfield, who was good friends with Ellis and helped manage him during his career.

“It can’t be done. They can say Elvis sings a little bit higher or he sings a little bit deeper, but so [did] Jimmy.”

The documentary, directed by Jeannie Finlay, tells the story of the man behind the mask that performed as Orion and was cursed by sounding like Elvis.

Ellis was adopted by R.F. and Mary Faye Ellis in Orrville as a child, according to Hatfield.

“They adopted Jimmy at a very young age,” Hatfield said. “The Ellises were relatively wealthy farmers and raised walking horses. They trained three world champion horses in Orrville, so Jimmy grew up in the horse business.”

Eventually Ellis would begin his musical career.

“He loved horses, but he loved music better than he did the horse business,” Hatfield said. “Around the barn he was always singing and carrying on.”

His first single, “Don’t Count Your Chickens,” was released in 1964, but it wasn’t until 14 years later that he became the “new” Elvis.

Elvis died on August 16, 1977, and soon after Orion was born and Ellis put on the mask and jumpsuit.

“When Elvis Presley died there was a Broadway producer in New York named Michael Harvey, and [he] was going to produce a Broadway play called Elvis Lives,” Hatfield said.

“Michael looked the world over to find someone to play the part in Elvis Lives. It was going to be a multi-million dollar production. He flew in here and interviewed Jimmy.”

Hatfield said after hearing Ellis sing in Macon, Georgia, Harvey worked out a lucrative contract with Ellis.

“It was all set to go and Jimmy had his bags packed. We even made arrangements with a local bank and an attorney to set up a trust to put the money in because it was really, really good,” Hatfield said.

“The phone rang, and it was Michal Harvey. He was really upset, and he said, ‘Jerry, we’ve got a road block that we probably will not be able to get by.’”

Hatfield said Tom Parker, who owned Elvis’s likeness put a stop to the production and the Broadway play never came to be.

Ellis was eventually signed by Sun Records and was part of a campaign that made people believe Elvis might still be alive.

Ellis was called an Elvis impersonator at times, but Hatfield said he hated being called that.

“He was never able to get away from the curse. His voice was a curse. He tried to change his voice, but guess what? He still sounded like he was slaughtering the Elvis sound,” Hatfield said.

“He had no choice. If you look like somebody or sound like somebody, how do you escape them? He would have made it in the music industry many, many, many times over except for that curse.”

Ellis, who was always known for sounding just like Elvis, died on Dec. 12, 1998, after being shot during a robbery at his store in Orrville.

The film will be screened at the Walton Theater at 5 p.m. Sunday and will also include a question and answer session with filmmaker Jeannie Finlay.

“I’m excited and thrilled to bring my film about Jimmy “Orion” Ellis back to Selma, the place where he grew up,” Finlay said. “It really, really means a lot.”

Finlay’s motivation to find out more about Ellis and his story came from a record she bought of his in Nottingham, England.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Walton Theater or at the Dallas County Centre for Commerce.

For more information about the one-time screening, call 878-3456.