BERLIN, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- American pop singer Dean Reed, a star in communist bloc countries but a relative unknown elsewhere, is the subject of a new documentary, "The Red Elvis."
"The Red Elvis" premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, piquing interest in the capitalist-turned-communist, Der Spiegel said Friday.
Even Tom Hanks optioned the story of his life for a possible film.
Reed, from Denver, started out in Hollywood and went to South America, where he converted to left-wing causes. He traveled around, eventually landing in East Germany in 1972.
Reed made party-line records, made party-approved movies and appeared at party events. Government leaders from the era admit they used him for propaganda.
Reed was 48 when he died, the victim of an apparent suicide -- his body was found in a lake on the outskirts of East Berlin in 1986 -- but the mystique lives.
"He was a good looking guy and the girls liked him," said Stefan Ernsting, who wrote a book about Reed. "Elvis was sex, Frank Sinatra was promising sex, and Dean Reed was somewhere in between."
