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On the heels of his televised audition on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” this spring, Mountain View mailman Charles Dupree was ready to sing his heart out on the Las Vegas stage, dressed in his classic Elvis attire. At his side was his wife, Rose Hill, in a shimmering yellow dress and an impressive headpiece. Together they were performing in the “Legends in Concert” tribute show at the Flamingo.
“Never in my whole life did I imagine I’d be on a Vegas stage performing in my favorite show,” Hill said. “There’s no way anyone could have told me, ‘Rose, this is going to happen to you some day.’ I still don’t believe.”
The story of the couple’s whirlwind success starts more than ten years ago with a postal worker and his passion for karaoke. Dupree, a self-proclaimed old soul, said he had always loved listening to Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the other Rat Pack crooners. He especially admired Presley’s style and voice, but said he put Elvis out of his mind as soon as he entered the workforce.
“All the girls liked Elvis so I wanted to be like that, but I never thought at the time about doing anything like this,” Dupree said. “I never thought about doing anything musical or any type of act because I joined the Marine Corps when I turned 18.”
Then, he discovered karaoke. At a coworker’s farewell party, he sang an Elvis hit and dazzled the attendees with his Elvis impersonation. From that moment on, Dupree pursued his karaoke hobby earnestly, using the long hours on his mail route to hone in on his talent.
“I knew it was going to evolve into a huge part of my life,” Dupree said. “I wanted to eventually end up in Las Vegas and get really big, but at the time I was almost 50 years old. Now I’m almost 60, so time is not on my side, but I’m going to get as much accomplished as I can.”
Along the way, he met Hill. They met at bereavement counseling after both had lost loved ones, but Dupree and Hill overcame the tragic circumstances to forge a strong connection from the start. Reflecting back on their first meeting, Dupree jokes that they got kicked out of counseling for flirting.
“He started singing like Elvis from the first minute I met him,” Hill said. “Because we got kicked out of bereavement counseling, he asked me to go a bar. He got up there and started singing ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love.’ I wanted to show him my talents, so I started hula dancing. Every time he sings, I dance.”
Although the two have been together ever since, Hill did not became a part of Dupree’s act until much later. In fact, she almost wasn’t a part of it all. Before auditioning on the televised variety competition “America’s Got Talent,” which aired in May, Dupree was used to doing parties and events by himself. He had even auditioned for the televised talent show headed by impresario Simon Cowell before, with no luck. Feeling discouraged, Dupree was weary of auditioning again and wouldn’t have gone to the San Jose auditions this past December if it didn’t happened to fall on his day off.
“I was a last minute throw-in. Basically I told him, ‘Well, you’re not going to make it through because you didn’t before, so why don’t I come and dance?” said Hill.
Dupree had amassed a following of support from coworkers, family, and even the Mountain View residents on his mail route. They were as excited for his chance at fame as he was, he said. Hill, however, was so sure she’d get voted off that she refused to tell anyone about it.
“I thought after the first show they’re going to vote us off,” Hill said. “It’s not like we’re doing some amazing tightrope or doing magician tricks. We’re not anywhere near any of these talented people.”
For the first round of live auditions, Dupree settled on “Viva Las Vegas” for the first performance while Hill danced in a white, fringed mini-dress as he sang. Hill, a former San Francisco 49ers cheerleader and makeup artist, was not nervous to perform in front of judges like Cowell and Heidi Klum. Dupree, however, admits to getting a little overwhelmed.
“I was nervous enough to flub some of the lines,” Dupree said. “Songs that I do over and over, thousands of times, but as soon as I get on stage I flub the line. That’s how the Olympics is, they practice for years and years and then when the time comes, they flub it.”
For their second performance, Dupree sang Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” in Spanish. After enamoring Simon Cowell and the other judges at the first performance with her burlesque-inspired dancing, NBC thought it would impress the judges if Hill wore tear-away clothing during the number. Sure enough, Cowell and Howie Mandel gave the pair a standing ovation.
Despite Cowell and Mandel’s enthusiasm, Dupree and Hill did not make it past the judge’s cuts. But their wild ride didn’t end there.
Producers of the show followed them around Mountain View and filmed their daily lives for a segment of the show, all as an elaborate surprise. The real reason they were filmed was to get their on-camera reaction when they were invited by the Flamingo Hotel and Casino to perform in its Legends in Concert show. According to Dupree, those moments on the Flamingo stage were the fulfillment of their dreams.
Since getting back from Las Vegas, Dupree and Hill said they are keeping busy. It seems like just about everyone wants to hear from them, if the free gifts they’re receiving and their bursting email inboxes are any indication They said they feel compelled to never leave the house under-dressed, now that people recognize them on the street.
The couple is hoping to find more opportunities for their act on the Las Vegas strip. Dupree is thinking of putting up songs on YouTube and is considering retiring soon in order to dedicate more time to his true passion.
“You’re never too old or too young to do the things you want to do. I’m 57 years old and life right now is really good for me,” said Dupree.
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From left, Judy Foley, Bob Foley, Casey McGlynn and Kathy McGlynn take a selfie at the starting line as they wait to begin the 5k walk during last year’s Moonlight Run & Walk. File photo by Veronica Weber. -
Before the Moonlight Run & Walk starts, runners warm up with upbeat music and Zumba. File Weekly photo.
Congrats to our wonderful mailman. I’ve always loved chatting at the mailbox and shouting hello from across the street. You’re a wonderful person and we wish you all the best!
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I love this feel good story. I’ve seen Charles Dupree around town looking like Elvis Presley in the flesh. It makes me happy to see him fulfilling his dreams and sharing his passion with people outside Mountain View.