Costumes from Charlestown to the Oscars

Jan. 27—CHARLESTOWN — Elvis Presley, one of the most iconic rock stars in U.S. history, has inspired many people across the world with his music and influence, including costumer maker Butch Polston of Charlestown.

"All through the '70s, there were two people who I really, really worshipped," Polston said. "That was Elvis and Clint Eastwood. I always thought 'Man I wish I could look like Elvis and have the swagger of Clint Eastwood... I would have been named Clint Presley.'"

Now Polston finds himself with a tie to Elvis he never dreamed would happen.

Costume designers for the 2022 movie "Elvis" had help from Polston when obtaining outfits for Austin Butler, who plays Elvis in the movie.

The film has eight Oscar nominations including film editing, sound, costume design and more.

B&K Enterprises Costume Co. Inc. at 11452 Highway 62 has made costumes for 30 movies and 27 shows, with "Elvis" only one of the most recent movies.

"I'm just the guy that makes the costumes," said Polston, who owns B&K Enterprises. "I was thrilled and very proud of the fact that we were involved with this movie."

His mother got Polston into Elvis at a young age and also had an appreciation for movies as well. That's how Clint Eastwood became Polston's favorite actor.

After Polston grew up, he started working for a knife-maker in Louisville. While working there, they got an order for 100 knives to be made for "Rambo III."

"I was the one who tempered all the blades for that movie," Polston said.

This was his start into the movie business.

Polston made around 30 costumes for the "Elvis" movie including a sundial, conch shell, tiger, eagle and many more suits. Making the costumes was a very long and very time-consuming process, Polston added.

"For instance, the young lady who played Priscilla, total screen time was probably under 15 minutes," Polston said, "Tom Hanks was probably 45 minutes or more (in screen time)... I would venture to say they spent less time doing their part in the movie and rehearsing than it took us to make all the costumes."

Out of the 30 movies he and his company have worked on, "Elvis" is the first to be nominated for an Oscar.

Most of the movies he worked with did not use Elvis or an Elvis-like character in a serious way like the 2022 film did.

"Those types of movies are movies that basically have an Elvis character but they're not about Elvis himself," Polston said.

When the movie was having its premier in Memphis, Tennessee, Polston and his company were unfortunately not invited.

"While the stars and all of the people involved were sitting on stage after the movie, talking to the press and to the fans," Polston said, "I was fixing my toilet at home. When you do something like this, it's a pretty thankless job. You get a paycheck for it and you're appreciative of it."

He added that he does not care about getting credit for the costumes because at the end of the day, it is a job for him and he gets to do what he loves. And, the people involved in the movies help him continue to do what he does.

Despite all the work for Hollywood he has done and all the celebrities he has met, Polston is still a proud Southern Indiana resident.

"I'm probably the most unfamous person you'll ever meet," Polston said.