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Post by Joanna on Aug 16, 2017 16:06:51 GMT -5
Five of the Weirdest Elvis Sightings/Theories Forty years ago today, the legend that is Elvis passed away, or did he? Official records show the King had a heart attack and died August 16, 1977; but many fans have always adamantly claimed he faked his own death. Over the years there have been countless alleged sightings – from immediately after his death to the present. Here are some of the more farfetched theories and Elvis spottings:
The first sighting. Shortly after Elvis’s death, a man headed to Memphis airport and purchased a one-way ticket to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Reportedly the man looked like the pop star and gave the name “John Burroughs,” an alias Elvis used when booking hotels. Could it have been the King in disguise?
The headstone theory. On his gravestone, Elvis’s middle name, “Aron,” is spelled “Aaron.” Some fans believe the misspelling was intentional, a way of letting his fans know that he wasn’t buried there.
Elvis had Mafia connections. Gail Brewer-Giorgio, author of the 1988 book Is Elvis Alive?, told Time that after reviewing tons of FBI documents, she concluded that Elvis had been forced to go into witness protection after he assisted the FBI in taking down a criminal organization called “The Fraternity.” Elvis had to fake his own death when he was found to be a mole. “Elvis faked his death because he was going to be killed and there was no doubt about it,” Brewer-Georgio insisted.
On his 82nd birthday. What would you do on your 82nd birthday if you were one of the biggest stars in the world and had been pretending to be dead for almost four decades? Head to Graceland, obviously. A photo appeared on the “Elvis Presley Is Alive” Facebook page in January of a white-bearded man with security personnel in the top left hand corner of the picture whom fans speculated could be guarding Elvis.
In Home Alone. There’s a mad theory, discovered by Noisey, that Elvis made an appearance in the 1990 film 13 years after he died. As Kate checks flight availability, a bearded man (above) is seen in the background and the theory is that fellow is Elvis. He looks the right age – Elvis would have been 55 in 1990 – and there’s some similarity in the eyes and his hair color is his natural shade – Elvis dyed his hair black. It’s tenuous, but stranger things have happened. Right?Source: Hannah Mylrea Hemmings, NME, August 16, 2017.
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Post by pat on Aug 17, 2017 0:39:24 GMT -5
But there was no way that Elvis would have ever had that "life-altering surgery" because it would have meant wearing a colostomy bag.
Can you imagine the jokes on Saturday Night Live and Johnny Carson if he'd had that operation? I can understand why he chose to die rather than have it.
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Post by kitty on Aug 16, 2018 5:28:41 GMT -5
I had forgotten that this was the day Elvis died until I read the Thought for the Day. I haven't seen anything about it on TV or on any of the news sites that I read.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Aug 16, 2018 14:46:58 GMT -5
The King’s Mobile Home, Other Items Up for AuctionHe may have sang about Heartbreak Hotel, but when it came to his own vacations, Elvis preferred to spend time in his 60-foot, two-bedroom mobile home at his Circle G Ranch in Mississippi.
The iconic rock ‘n’ roll star had about eight different motor homes parked on this 163-acre property near Graceland, his main residence. Now, you could own a slice of music royalty history as one of these motor homes is going on auction – as part of GWS Auctions: “Legends: Iconic Film & Music Memorabilia” sale, on Saturday, August 25. (The King’s private jet was sold at a major auction in June.)
“The mobile home, it’s just one of the coolest pieces we’ve ever had,” Brigitte Kruse, lead auctioneer and co-founder of GWS Auctions tells CNN Travel. “There’s a lot of history behind this particular mobile home.”
Circle G Ranch was a getaway for Elvis, Priscilla and his gang of close friends, nicknamed the Memphis Mafia. There were enough mobile homes to house them all when they wanted to escape media attention. “They would all congregate there in their secret little hideaway ... It’s a neat idea for that time. So it just shows a lot of his personality – and he loved his fans, but he also needed to be a human being and have some privacy too,” Kruse explains.
Elvis purchased this particular motor home in 1967. After his death, the vehicle changed hands twice. “No one’s ever changed their registration because they always wanted it to be in Elvis’ name,” she adds.
Inside, the motor home has recently been carefully restored to look as it would have in the 1960s. “It took about a year for them to do this and it was very meticulously done and they put a lot of love and care into it,” says Kruse. It’s a pretty simple interior, wood paneling and a small kitchen – but the Elvis’ touch can be seen in the quirky gold accents. “It was very important to them to keep it as much in original condition as they possibly could – keeping the paneling, the original kitchen, the restroom,” she continues. “Of course, it was finished with gold lead paint in the restroom, which is typical of Elvis fashion. He loved gold finishings.”
The lucky buyer will get not only the motor home, but the original paperwork featuring Elvis’ signature. “It’s incredible to have a notarized signature of Elvis Presley,” the auctioneer explains. “It’s really a very, very special thing and it is a museum-quality piece.” The motor home could be purchased by someone who might want to create a traveling Elvis museum. As well as private bidders, there has been interest from museums and companies. “We also heard that they are, I guess, restoring Circle G Ranch,” she adds. “So it will be interesting to see if those folks get interested in the bidding as well.”
Unlike the times when Elvis’s various childhood homes have gone on the market, this motor home wouldn’t need to be de-constructed and put back together again, which could make it more appealing to overseas buyers. “It is sitting on an axle where it’s ready to be moved,” Kruse notes. “It is literally a traveling attraction as it is.”
There are some other exciting items up for bid in this pop culture-themed end of summer sale. “We put a lot of love and care into putting together this particular auction. It’s probably one that I’m most proud of at this point,” she says. “We have one of Michael Jackson’s gloves and we also have a pair of coveralls from Titanic [the movie].” In addition, there’s a coveted prop from the The Wizard of Oz. “Things from that movie just don’t come up for auction very often – most of these pieces were destroyed or lost,” Kruse observes.
There are also other items on sale associated with Elvis – including three cars and a traveling replica of Graceland.
If you fancy owning Elvis’ motor home, what are you waiting for? A little less conversation, a little more action and you can register your bid online now. Sources: Francesca Street, CNN, August 16, 2018, and GWS Auctions.
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Post by Kate on Aug 16, 2018 15:30:23 GMT -5
On the auction site, the bids on the 3 Elvis cars are only $2,500, $2,300 and $1,100. That's very reasonable for a car owned by Elvis and they all seem to be in good condition.
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Post by kitty on Jan 8, 2019 18:57:18 GMT -5
I just read the Thought for the Day and realized this is his birthday. He would be 84.
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Post by Kate on Aug 16, 2019 6:09:53 GMT -5
Elvis died 42 years ago today. He's now been dead as long as he was alive.
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Post by JoannaL on Aug 16, 2019 7:01:38 GMT -5
Radio/TV Personality Recalls Last Time He Saw ElvisWink Martindale (above with Elvis) had no idea his life would forever change when he met a truck driver named Elvis Presley in 1954. After listening to the aspiring singer’s new track titled “That’s All Right Mama,” the radio and game show personality knew there was something magical occurring. And sure enough, Presley quickly transformed into the king of rock ‘n’ roll.
Martindale, 85, spoke to Fox News about how he met his beloved pal and their heartbreaking final meeting.
Fox News: How did you meet your pal, Elvis Presley?
Wink Martindale: I met Elvis Presley on a hot July night in 1954. I was morning man at WHBQ Radio in the Chisca Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. I did the morning show called Clockwatchers. At night from 9 to midnight, we had a wild DJ on the air who played black music for white kids in those days. They called it race music, rhythm and blues music. He had 65 to 70 percent of the audience.
Now, even though I worked mornings, I happened to be there this particular night showing some of my hometown buddies around the radio station. I heard this commotion coming out of the studio where Dewey Phillips was doing his show called Red, Hot and Blue. I excused myself from my friends and I walked into the studio. I discovered that Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, had walked in with an acetate – not a finished record – but an acetate of a recording he had made just two hours earlier by a truck driver for Crown Electric Company whose name was Elvis Presley.
He wanted [DJ] Dewey Phillips to test it on the air to see if he had anything. Dewey Phillips played it. The switchboard lit up. It was called “That’s All Right Mama.” It turned out to be his first hit. He played it seven times in a row. I was the one delegated by Sam Phillips to call Elvis’s parents, who lived in low rent housing out in east Memphis called Lauderdale Courts. They were very poor. I got on the phone and I called the Presley residence and Gladys, Mrs. Presley, answered the phone.
Fox News: Was Elvis’s family aware of what was happening on the radio?
Martindale: They were listening, of course, and they were very excited about the way the audience was reacting to “That’s All Right Mama,” Elvis’s first record. I said, “Mrs. Presley, Dewey would like him to come down to the studio. He wants to interview him. Where is he?” She said, “Well, he was so nervous about his record being played, he went to see a double-feature Western. You’ll find him at Suzores Theatre on Decatur Street.”
They got in their truck, and they went over to the Suzores and walked up and down the dark aisles. There was Elvis sitting all by himself watching this Western movie. They whispered to him about the excitement being generated by “That’s All Right Mama.” He, of course, was excited. They came down to the station. Dewey put him on the air and interviewed him. It was his very first interview as a pro. I met him that night and he remained my friend until the day he died.
Fox News: What surprised you the most about Elvis?
Martindale: He was a giver. Very few people knew that he gave away literally millions and millions of dollars to charitable organizations, not only in this country, but all over the world. He was a great giver. If he was your friend, he was your friend until the day you died. I mean he would always be your friend and do anything for you that you needed him to do. He was that kind of a person.
Fox News: Do you remember the last time you spoke to Elvis?
Martindale: Yes, I do. My wife, Sandy, ... took me to Las Vegas to see Elvis’s show at the International Hotel on my birthday in 1976. He knew we were coming. He was doing two shows a night at that time at the International. Between shows, he wanted Sandy and me to come backstage to his dressing room to chat … He had just seen us that day on a show called Tattletales on CBS. … He was astounded to see how much we knew about each other. Little details we knew about each other because he had dated my wife for six years before I ever met my wife.
I remember so well [Elvis] making this statement, “Gee, Wink, look, how well you’ve done. Look at how successful you’ve become. I’m so proud of you.” We jokingly said many times since then, “What’s wrong with this picture? Elvis Presley telling me how well I’ve done.” Well, we walked out of there that night very sad because he was already big. He was overweight. He was pasty looking. He didn’t look in good health.
Fox News: How did Elvis’s surprising look make you feel?
Martindale: I remember so well saying to Sandy as we walked out of the International Hotel, “Sandy, that’s the last time we’ll ever see him alive.” When we got back to our hotel, we close the door behind us. We just broke down and we both cried because of what we had just witnessed. We tried to put the best face on it. But that was the last time that we spoke and the last time we ever saw him alive.
Fox News: How did you make sense of his passing?
Martindale: Well, it didn’t come as a shock that he passed because most people knew that he had been in and out of hospitals for over two years and we knew he wasn’t in good health. He didn’t eat right. Nothing was right about his diet. I wasn’t shocked. But I remember I was on the air ... I was working for Gene Autry on KMPC in Los Angeles. The newsman came in because he knew of my relationship with Elvis and he didn’t want to just break in with a bulletin about his passing.
I just broke up and I just played records and played commercials for the rest of my 40 minutes of my show because I was so broken up by the news, although I knew it was going to happen because of his being in such bad health.Source: Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, August 16, 2019.
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Post by LostLenore on Aug 18, 2019 16:33:13 GMT -5
I was just reading through these posts. I knew someone who was working at the hospital when Elvis died and saw them bring him in. He said that the man they took out of the ambulance weighed at least 350 pounds and he knew that to be true because his father was 6-feet-tall and weighed around 350 pounds. But I just saw the photo on page 3 of these posts of Elvis on June 26, 1977, and he isn't even close to weighing 350 pounds. I realize that this has already been discussed, but I thought that maybe someone had some idea how he could have gained what must have been over 100 pounds in such a short time? What is the most that a man can gain in say, a month's time? I've read that he spent days in bed and didn't get any exercise, but the night before he died, he had played a game of racquetball.
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Post by Graveyardbride on Aug 16, 2020 2:00:32 GMT -5
Former Elvis Home in Tupelo up for Auction Although Graceland’s Elvis Week is coming to an end, you can still bid on a house where Elvis spent the 8th year of his life and the minimum bid is only $40,000. The residence in question is located at 1241 Kelly Street in Tupelo, Mississippi. The address was 605 Kelly Street when the Presley family lived there.
No one knew about the home’s famous resident until Buddy Palmer, a member of the city council, purchased the property, which is located behind his family grocery store’s parking lot. He had been eyeing the old grey, shake-sided house a long time. “I knew if ever this house was going to be sold, I’d like to have it in case I wanted to expand my parking lot,” he said, and when the opportunity arose, he seized it.
It was Palmer’s intention to bulldoze the place, but there were rumors that Elvis, Tupelo’s most famous son, once called on George Thompson, the owner of the property. Elvis, it seems, told Thompson he had lived in the house for a couple of years as a child.
“I spent a night or two or three or four when the Presleys lived there,” recalled Guy Harris, a well-known childhood friend to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “I would have been about 6-years-old, or 7.” Harris was also able to rattle off the names of other residents who once lived nearby. “It was like a big old family out here,” he added. “You’d run from pillar to post doing this and doing that.”
The old dwelling has changed since the 1940s, but Harris described what the landscape was like in those days and Julian Riley, a local Elvis researcher, is convinced the Presleys moved into the home in 1943 and lived there around two years.
The decades had not been kind to the place and when Palmer bought it, the house was deteriorating. He wasn’t eager to take on the responsibility of restoring it. “I’d like to see it left in Tupelo and we might be able to work it out to leave it here, but I am not a landlord,” he told a local reporter at the time. “A lot of people said ‘make it a bed and breakfast, do this, do that,’ but I am just not a landlord.”
Palmer offered the home to the City of Tupelo, free of charge, if the city would move it. He also offered it to the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum, as well as the Elvis Presley Fan Club, but both organizations declined.
“This is a very important piece of property,” Palmer insisted. “I just wanted to be sure that I had exercised every opportunity I had to let this stay in Tupelo.” Back in 2017, a pair of Elvis Presley experts deconstructed the house and stored the elements in a 30-foot trailer which will be included with the purchase of the house, according to Rockhurst Auctions. Among the items is a 60-minute documentary of the building’s deconstruction.
The auction will end August 27. Sources: WMC, August 14, 2020; Rockhurst Auctions; and Caleb Bedillion, The Tupelo Daily Journal, May 18, 2017.
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Post by pat on Aug 16, 2020 23:35:00 GMT -5
The $40,000 seems cheap until you realize you have to put the house back together and buy land to put it on.
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Post by Kate on Aug 16, 2021 11:00:54 GMT -5
This is from the article "Conspiracy Theories Continue" on page 2. Why would Vernon want his autopsy report sealed for 50 years? What could be so damaging in an autopsy report that he didn't want anyone to know?
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Post by JoannaL on Jan 8, 2022 20:07:57 GMT -5
Priscilla Still Communicates with 'The King'Today Elvis would be 87-years-old and his former wife, Priscilla Presley, gathered with others at Graceland to commemorate the birth of The King.
Following speeches by representatives of Elvis Radio, Elvis Presley Enterprises and Memphis Tourism, Ms. Presley, now 76, addressed the audience, saying, “Y’know it’s bittersweet for me to be here in front of Graceland. Y’know, it’s 45 years since his passing and I still can’t believe it. I still think he’s here. I still feel him here. I go in Graceland, I feel his spirit. It’s honest God’s truth. I know he’s living there! He’s there, trust me!
“Elvis, yes, he was an image,” she continued. “But for you to get to know him as the person, as the man who he really was. [He was] a lot of fun ... his humanity was very touching and very true. I know I’ve never met anyone like him. He was unique, special and he was meant to be here for a purpose. And he is!”
When asked if she still communicates with Elvis, she replied, “It’s more ... his spirit is communicating to me. When I go to Graceland, my gosh. I can walk in that door and see him walking down the stairs, I can hear laughter, I can hear the music playing in the music room. It’s a very surreal feeling. But it’s not scary, it’s beautiful.”
Specifically, she explained, when she’s taking on a new project relating to The King and wondering if he will be comfortable with what she’s doing, she will ask herself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Then, she will realize she is. “It’s as if Elvis is guiding me,” she insisted. “I’m being guided by this energy.”Sources: George Simpson, The Express, January 8, 2022; Bob, Mehr, The Memphis Commercial Appeal, January 6, 2022; and USA Today.
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Post by pat on Jan 22, 2022 15:33:41 GMT -5
I realize this is a couple of weeks late, but why is Priscilla Presley still acting as a spokesperson for Elvis and Graceland? She cheated on him while they were married -- although from what I've read, she had reason -- and divorced him in 1973, yet she acts like she's his widow rather than his ex-wife. It's Lisa Marie who should have been there, even if she is a spoiled bitch who didn't inherit any of her father's talent or good manners.
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Post by JoannaL on Aug 16, 2022 4:27:24 GMT -5
Too Many People Depended on ElvisThere are too many people that depend on me. I’m too obligated. I’m in too far to get out. – Elvis.
In her 2020 book Elvis: Destined to Die Young, Sally A. Hoedel wrote that during the final months of his life, Elvis was in severe pain. Kathy Westmoreland, one of his backup singers, told the author he complained of leg pain and would often say, “God, I hurt all over,” and Dr. George Nichopoulos (“Dr. Nick”) confirmed he “suffered from chronic pain from degenerative problems in his back and neck as a result of severe arthritis.”
The King’s hairstylist Larry Geller also was aware of his client’s deteriorating condition. “Elvis knew there was something terribly wrong with his body, something more than the colon, the liver, the medication. ...”
According to Hoedel, touring was extremely hard on the singer and he was even more dependent on medication when on the road. By the 1970s, he had become a hopeless insomniac and had to take Valium and other drugs just to sleep. At one point when Dr. Nick wanted to see if his patient could sleep without the medications, Elvis remained awake for three days straight.
“In the last few years of his life, he was very aware of how ill he was,” Hoedel wrote. He also was overwhelmed by the number of people who depended on him for their livelihoods. “It’s been documented,” she continued, “that right before he went on his last tour, he had phone conversations with several people where he said, ‘I just don’t feel good.’ He was encouraged to cancel the tour. And he would say, ‘I can’t. Everyone’s relying on me. I have to make payroll, you know?’ He had such an obligation as a provider. He pulled his whole family out of poverty. That always stayed with him. He felt the pressure. So when he was sick, he didn’t stop as he should have. He just took more medication to keep going.”
The fifth tour of the year 1977 included 10 cities – 10 shows in 10 days – that began June 17 and ended June 26. At his final concert, which took place in Indianapolis, Elvis was heard saying, “My body really hurts, but no matter what, I’m going out there tonight and giving everything I have … no matter what.” Westmoreland was disturbed that even in his condition, Elvis was already gearing up for another tour. “I can’t stop right now,” he told her. “The Colonel owes a lot of money in gambling debts and some of the guys will be in bad financial shape if I don’t keep working. They have families to look after.”Sources: Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, August 16, 2022; The Memphis Commercial-Appeal Archives; and Remembering the King.
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