UNKNOWN STORIES BEHIND THE LEGEND

STORY #32

On occasion, Elvis would allow some of the fans waiting at the Graceland gates to come up to the house. One night in 1963, he told one of his men to invite all the girls at the gates. He was very surprised when approximately 150 girls walked into Graceland. Elvis chose his ten favorites and told his men to select theirs and enjoy themselves. Each man had to entertain ten girls. Everyone had the time of their lives that night. Whenever the word "party" came up in conversation, Elvis would mention that party and he and his friends would howl like wolves at their fond memories.





Story #33

During one party, Elvis was desperately craving peanut butter cups. When he was unable to find any in the house, he asked a young boy to go down the street to buy a carton of his favorite candy. The boy, all too eager to run an errand for Elvis, agreed. Elvis gave him $10 and told him where to go. The boy ran to the store, bought the candy, and ran all the way back. He did not want to make Elvis wait. Elvis ripped open the carton, took two packs of peanut butter cups for himself, and distributed the rest amongst his guests. After devouring the candy, Elvis approached the young boy and asked, "Can I have my change back, please ?"




Story #34

Elvis was talking to several girls at a party one day when he noticed a girl sitting all alone, crying. He excused himself from his adoring harem and went over to the sad guest. He sat next to the girl, put his arms around her, and let her cry on his shoulder. He asked her to explain why she was crying before she flooded the entire room. In between sobs, the girl explained that she was unhappy about turning 27 the following day. Amused by her reason for crying, Elvis laughed. He hugged her closer and said, "Honey, don't worry about it. You'll grow out of it". He exploded in a fit of laughter, and then the girl began to laugh as well. She kissed Elvis and thanked him for making her feel better.




Story #35

Elvis was reunited with his co-star Yvonne Craig the day before they began filming Kissin' Cousins in October 1963. He invited her out to dinner, and she gladly accepted. Afterwards, they decided to go to Elvis' house to watch some television. Elvis fell asleep while watching an old movie and Yvonne decided to leave. Not wanting to disturb her sleeping date, she covered Elvis with a blanket, turned off the tv and the light, and went out the door. Just before locking the door Yvonne remembered that Elvis hated the dark. She went back inside. After turning on a light, Yvonne went to the front door and walked out, closing the door behind her. As she turned to walk away, she saw five police cars in front of the house. Policemen, guns in hand, were aiming their weapons at her. Yvonne had activated a silent alarm. The sergeant in charge questioned her about who she was and what she was doing there. The policemen then rang the doorbell and woke Elvis up. He verified Yvonne's story and they let her go. Elvis laughed at her for getting into such a situation and called her a silly bird. The following morning on the set, Elvis popped into her dressing room and asked her if she'd set off any more alarms. Yvonne told him to shut up and get out; she was embarrassed enough and did not want to keep being reminded of the incident. Although she was a little piqued at Elvis when the scene was finished they walked hand in hand back to his dressing room.




Story #36

This is one of my Favorite stories. It's adorable.

As Told By..... SAM THOMPSON - One time my sister Linda, my wife Louise, and I had been down with Elvis to see the old Circle G Ranch in Mississippi and were on our way back to Memphis in Elvis' Stutz Bearcat. We passed a little black boy, maybe ten or eleven years old, by the side of Highway 51. It was summer; it was hot - dust in the air. The kid was caked in dust, sitting at a little watermelon stand. We had the entourage, about four or five vehicles, and Elvis was in the lead. {As we go by} Elvis pulls over. Of course, everybody pulls over after him. Everybody jumps out - Red and everybody. They're looking around. This is in the middle of nowhere. This little kid - I'll never forget his face. I know he knew who Elvis was, but he wasn't gonna let Elvis know that he knew. He was a businessman, this kid. He sat there and waited for Elvis to walk up. Elvis had to initiate the conversation, "How much are the watermelons ?" A price was established. The kid was real tough and he wouldn't come off the price. So finally Elvis just turned around and said, "We'll take the whole stand. Pay him". That's the only time the kid's visage cracked. Elvis took one watermelon, the choice one, and put it in the back of the car. Off we drove and left the entourage down there to settle up. Elvis bought the whole watermelon stand, bought all those watermeons, and took them back to Memphis.




Story #37

As Told By..... CHERYLE JOHNSON - Elvis again had to cancel shows, this time {May 4-16, 1973} at the Sahara Tahoe {Statelie, Nevada}. He canceled out four days early because, it was reported, he was ill.

JAMES BURTON (musician) - We cut "Are You Sincere" at the Palm Springs house. We had a remote truck brought up from Los Angeles. Elvis cut the record right in the living room with his pajamas and robe on the whole time. We did a couple more songs, but that's the only one that was a hit.

ALEX LOGAN - The Palm Springs house was different back then. The rooms were papered red and black, and the carpet was mostly red. I remember that Elvis had a big round bed and a red bedspread. I came into the room one day, and he was in bed by himself. I kidded him about how he knew what side of the bed to get up on. Elvis had buttons that controlled all the lights, all the sound, and the security system. He finally had to have bars put on the windows because people would climb the fence and get in there. We were building him a master bedroom that overlooked the valley, but after he and Priscilla split up, he never completed it. He never even put carpet in it; it just sat there. We put a playroom in for Lisa Marie. It took us about a year and a half to finish it. They had her fourth birhday party there.

CHARLIE HODGE - Elvis liked to lay out by the pool, but he didn't want to get his body tanned, just his face, so he wore his robe. He'd have {an electric} fan on him to keep cool. He would eat a pan-fried hamburger steak and mashed potatoes from the kitchen, but he liked to grill steaks out by the pool and do a hot dog for Lisa Marie.


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