UNKNOWN STORIES BEHIND THE LEGEND


STORY #25
During the filming of Kid Galahad in the winter of 1961, Elvis' friends ordered a custom-made director's chair as a prank gift. The chair had "MR. PRESLEY" stamped on the back of it; they presented it to the star on the first day of filming in mid-November. Elvis turned to the crew, the director, and the producer and asked, "Mr. Presley ?. Why so formal ?". Director Phil Karlson said, "Only the best for our star!". Elvis hated the formality of it. He wanted to be treated like one of the boys, and the chair destroyed that illusion. The next day a new chair replaced the formal one. The bright red canvas sported bold print that read "JUST PLAIN OL' ELVIS". Elvis laughed out loud and plopped into the chair.




STORY #26
Elvis gave a couple from Arkansas a check for $1,000 in 1969. The money was to get the couple back on their feet after a series of disasters. When 34-year-old James Bullock was hospitalized with serious injuries, as the result of a car accident, his car was stolen from the hospital parking lot. He was forced to call a taxi and pay the large fare with money he really couldn't afford to spare. To top it off, later that same year, Bullock lost his arm and his leg in a tractor accident. His wife was forced to get a menial job in order to support them. Whatever money she earned went toward bills and a little bit of food each week. They were in serious financial trouble. A local newspaper found out about the couple's bad luck and printed a short article about them. Elvis happened to see the story and, after reading of their tragedies, he wrote out the check. He had one of his men drive to the adjacent state and hand-deliver the check to the couple. The Bullocks claimed that Elvis was an angel sent from God. The money came in very handy and they were able to pay their rent and eat well for a few months.




STORY #27
On June 25, 1973, a summer camp in Holden, Louisiana was robbed by thieves. They stole everything that was not bolted to the floor. A local newspaper covered the story of this misfortune and printed it in their June 26th issue. Several major newspapers picked up the story. When Elvis saw the story in the Cincinnati Post on June 28, 1973, he was shocked at the crass boldness of the thieves and it made him angry. That same day, Elvis ordered new equipment from a local sports store in Holden and had it delivered to the camp. He completely restocked the camp and turned the unhappy situation around.




STORY #28
During a break on the set of Loving You, Elvis allowed his female lead, Dolores Hart, to set his hair in curlers. Elvis had always been curious about how he would look in curly or wavy hair, and let Dolores talk him into trying it. Five minutes later, director Hal Kanter came to Hart's dressing room and burst out laughing. What a sight Elvis was, with little pink rollers all over his head. Kanter laughed so har and for so long that he started to get stomach cramps. He had to leave because he could not look at Elvis anymore. Producer Hal Wallis stopped Kanter and asked why he was laughing so hard. Wallis caught Hart frantically yanking the rollers out of Elvis' hair. Elvis could not believe his bad luck: both producer and director had caught him in curlers!. He was reluctant to come out onto the set, and when he did, he saw both Kanter and Wallis hiding smiles. Elvis reshot his scene with Hart and ran quickly back to his dressing room as soon as it was done.




STORY #29
While Elvis was filming "Live A Little, Love A Little" in downtown Los Angeles in April 1968, two old ladies started running towards him. When Elvis got in their way, they pushed him so hard they knocked him down. Elvis then realized that the women were after his co-star, Rudy Vallee. As he lay on the ground, Elvis watched the women make a mad dash to get Vallee's autograph before he got into his car. Elvis went over to his famous co-star and asked the man how he kept the women interested. Vallee replied, "Sex appeal, my dear boy!". Elvis walked away laughing.




STORY #30
During his senior year at L.C. Humes High School in 1953, Elvis' history teacher was Mildred Scrivener. She was also his homeroom teacher. One day, Elvis was caught eating an apple in her class. This was unusual because the school had a strict rule of no eating outside the cafeteria. Mrs. Scrivener did not reprimand Elvis for eating in class, nor did she stop him from finishing the apple. She knew that he came from a very poor family, and surmised that he did not have any money to buy lunch in the cafeteria. She could not force herself to stop him from eating, even though she knew she was allowing him to break the rules. The following day, Mrs. Scrivener found a bright red apple sitting on her desk. She knew right away that it was Elvis' way of thanking her.




STORY #31
When Elvis was young, he wanted a bicycle so that he could have a newspaper route, but his parents could not afford to spend the $55. In addition, Gladys did not want her son to have a bicycle because she was afraid he would have an accident. After much scrimping and saving, Vernon and Gladys were finally able to purchase a bicycle for their son in 1948. Elvis couldn't thank them enough. His happiness was short-lived, however, when he fell off the bike and couldn't move his arm. Gladys and Vernon drove their son to the hospital where they were given the bad news. Elvis had a broken ulna. The Presleys did not know what an ulna was and they feared for the worst. They were quite relieved when the doctor explained that their son had a broken arm. Elvis would have to wear a cast for two months. The next day, Gladys gave Vernon orders to get rid of the bike and use the money to pay the medical bill. Elvis was silent as his precious bicycle was sold to one of his best friends.


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