In terms of pop culture significance, the induction of Elvis Presley into the army in 1958 was a major event - not just in the way it was handled by the media but how it later became the demarcation point between the groundbreaking music Presley produced prior to being drafted and his post-army career when his focus eventually shifted to Las Vegas extravagance. For playwright Michael Stewart, however, Elvis's induction became the inspiration for the smash Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie in which a famous rock 'n roll star named Conrad Birdie gets drafted, causing mass hysteria among his fans, and gives a farewell performance on The Ed Sullivan Show where he bestows a final goodbye kiss to Kim McAfee, a loyal fan from Sweet Apple, Ohio. The title character was clearly a parody of Presley but also referenced another popular singer - Conway Twitty ("It's Only Make Believe") - who was a formidable rockabilly star before settling into the more traditional country-western genre. For the film version of Bye Bye Birdie (1963), directed by George Sidney, three of the original starring cast members were retained - Jesse Pearson as the swaggering, sneering rock idol; Paul Lynde as Harry McAfee, whose daughter's obsession with Birdie keeps him in a state of nervous agitation; Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson, a struggling songwriter with a domineering mother. (Dick Van Dyke would enjoy a greater musical success the following year in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins [1964] opposite Julie Andrews). Instead of Chita Rivera as Rosie, Albert's loyal secretary and fiancée, Janet Leigh was cast in the part and Birdie's adoring fan Kim was played by screen newcomer Ann-Margret (who played a flashy showgirl the previous year in the 1962 remake of State Fair). Teen idol Bobby Rydell, replacing Michael J. Pollard from the stage show, co-starred as Kim's jealous boyfriend Hugo, Maureen Stapleton made Mama Peterson a suitably nightmarish caricature of motherhood just as Kay Medford had on the stage, and Ed Sullivan played himself in an amusing cameo.