Lawyer Bob Lunger portrayed the King of Rock and Roll in “An Evening With Elvis” to benefit the Staunton Performing Arts Center. Photo by Mike Tripp/ The News Leader.
It all started as a stunt in his Bushnell Hall dorm room in the fall of 1988.
Bob Lunger ’93 was listening to an audiotape of a Geraldo Rivera show about whether Elvis Presley was still alive.
The tape included some humorous commentary from Elvis –or someone who sounded a lot like him – and with roommates Mannin Dodd ’95 and Doug Flamm ’93 egging him on, Lunger started mimicking The King’s voice.
“They thought this was hysterical,” recalled Lunger whose pals then urged him to call the campus radio station as Elvis.
Pretty soon, the station sported a banner that said “Elvis Lives and Is Here at Mary Washington,” and Lunger had a new hobby.
A theater major, he did guest appearances on the station, performed Elvis covers with a friend’s band, and gave motivational speeches to the Eagles baseball team – often in a jumpsuit sewn by his mom.
“I put on this suit – and I find this happens a lot – girls think, ‘I’m supposed to fling myself all over him and scream like mad,’ ” said Lunger. “Ten minutes into being Elvis, I’m thinking, ‘This is a whole lot of fun. I wonder if I should wear this all the time.’ ”
These days, Lunger, 42, trots out his sequined Elvis persona primarily to raise money for worthy causes like community performing arts programs near his hometown of Waynesboro, Va.
By day, the father of four is an attorney at Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver, working mostly in the areas of family, municipal, and land-use law.
He originally intended to study marine biology at Mary Washington, but an 8 a.m. biology class his first semester cured him of that. He’d always enjoyed acting, singing, and playing instruments, and it wasn’t long before he was stage managing or performing in just about every production at Klein Theatre.
“The faculty was so great to be around. At some point, I had all these theater credits and I thought, ‘I may as well get a theater degree,’ ” Lunger said.
“I did not necessarily think I’d work in the industry, but it made sense. I think a strong liberal arts education like you get at Mary Washington really leaves a lot of doors open for you.”
He held a number of jobs after graduation, including selling cars and helping adults with disabilities at a Northern Virginia shelter, before attending law school at George Mason University. He graduated in 2002 – only after a photo of him in full Elvis regalia showed up in The Washington Post’s
Style section.
“My law school professors just kind of looked at me and said, ‘We had no idea,’ ” Lunger said.
He clerked for a year at the Arlington County Circuit Court before working for several law firms and serving as the Waynesboro city attorney. He joined Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver four years ago.
Lunger and his family participate regularly in community theater, and he occasionally dresses up as Santa Claus, which he says is “kind of like being Elvis except for little kids.”
But it’s his Elvis impersonation, honed at Mary Washington, that tends to get the most attention.
“It’s so much fun when the crowd gets into it,” he said. “I love being able to make people smile and laugh. It’s an electrifying experience.”