Elvis und sein fans

[MARIE]

Elvis' Hillcrest home in Beverly Hills probably had the most fans hanging around on a daily basis than any of his other homes in Calif. Apparently Priscilla got fed up with the whole scene and had the BH patrol come out and put up cones so no one could park anywhere on the street in front of their house. That didn't deter some who just parked further down and walked up to the gate. That made her even more irritated and she came out to tell everyone, in no uncertain terms that "Elvis doesn't want you here - go home and leave us alone". Ok - I can see her point and I might get testy too in her shoes however, it really upset everyone.

Everyone gathered at the bottom of the hill and once the initial dismay wore off a few of the fans remembered something Elvis had once said - (after a similar incident with one of the boys) namely, "unless you hear it directly from me, don't believe anyone who tries to tell you what I am thinking or feeling". The bottom of the hill had two semi cul-de-sac areas where cars could park so that's where everyone waited for his return from the studios where he was filming.

After a very short wait here comes the Continental which drives right past everyone; then stops - the backup lights go on and back down comes the car. Elvis rolls down the window and says "what's going on?" . Everyone started talking at once and he kept saying ONE AT A TIME. So one gal proceeded to tell him what was going on up the hill.

He didn't say too much....just said "wait here until I find out what's going on". What seemed like an eternity went by but he came back down the hill and in so many words said there were some familly issues so in order to keep the home front stress free (not his words) but the idea; he told everyone to just wait for him at the bottom of the hill and he would stop every day on his way home. He kept his word but after about 4 or 5 days - the cones were all gone and it wasn't long before everything went right back to how it was.

Sandi Miller

[MARIE]

I'll tell a story that alot of people will get a big laugh from.
I had a friend that was crazy about Elvis, not that everyone isn't,
but this guy was kind of wild and crazy. He was a singer himself and had
always wanted to meet Elvis. He had begged me to take him to Memphis. I
had used every excuse I could think of, not to take him. I just couldn't
trust him. I figured he would get us both kicked out. I had a V.W. bug
and the brakes were just about completely gone. I used this as an excuse
for not going. Finally I agreed to take him. I was not going to take him
to the movies but at this time Elvis was coming down to the gate alot,
on his horses and golf carts. I thought maybe he could meet Elvis at the
gate and I could stay out of sight. That way Elvis wouldn't know he was
with me.
We had three days for him to try to see Elvis. I took him to the
gate every evening but as luck would have it, Elvis never came down. I
would have him back at the motel before Elvis left for the movies. It
was his last night in town and I was really starting to feel sorry for
him. I decided I would take him to the parking lot of the Memphian and
he could see Elvis arrive at the movie. Again, I was going to stay out
of sight, just in case he did something stupid.
Cars started to arrive and people were going in, but no sign of
Elvis. I waited until I knew the movies had to have started and tried to
figure out what had happened. I went to the other side of the theatre
and there sat Elvis' car. This guy's luck had gone from bad to worse. I
had rarely if ever seen Elvis park on the other side of the theatre. He
begged me to take him in, but I just couldn't chance it.
He asked me if we could stay there until Elvis came out. At first I
told him no, and then agreed. I knew it would be hours before Elvis
exited, but with this guys luck, if we left, Elvis would watch one movie
and then leave. So we sat there...all night. I had gotten sleepy and
dozed off. All of a sudden, I am awakened by my friend screaming, "HERE
HE IS!". Elvis was driving a black cadilliac, that actually belonged to
Priscilla. I was parked behind it. My friend had gotten to see him come
out and get in the car. I backed out into the street so that Elvis could
get out. My friend said he was happy, he had seen Elvis.
Elvis backed out onto the street, and had pulled up at a stop
sign. I pulled up behind him, because I figured he was going to go on.
He just sat there. He was wating for everyone else to get into there
cars and follow him. You must realize this is the early morning hours
and here is no traffic. My friend ask me to go around him, so he could
see him again. Since there was no traffic, I was gonna pass without
stopping at the stop sign. Just my luck, as soon as I get beside Elvis,
a couple of cars are coming and I had to stop. You guessed it, before
you could say hunka, hunka my friend was out the door. I wanted to drive
off and leave him. I sat in the car hoping Elvis didn't see me. My
friend knocked on Elvis' window and he rolled it down. He had left my
car door opened, so I could see and hear everything.
My friend was telling him what a big fan he was and kept shaking
his hand. Elvis was smiling and seemed to be in a GREAT mood. So I
thought why not join them. Just as I was getting out of the car, I heard
him ask for an autograph. I heard Elvis say sure and saw him put his car
into park. I put the emergency brake on and walked around to where they
were. We talked for a few minutes and I noticed Elvis kept looking at me
and smiling. He appeared to be getting ready to laugh and I could not
figure out why. All of a sudden he said, "Do you have a VW?". I said
yes. He said," You wanna bet?". I turned around and my car was about a
block down the street. There was a slight incline in the road, and as I
had said, I didn't have any brakes. The emergency brake had held up
until now. I turned around and started running after the car, which was
going down the road at a snails pace. As I was running, I could hear
Elvis laughing.
The next week, as soon as I walked in the movies, Elvis ask had I
been chasing any cars lately?

Steve

[MARIE]

Tour buses didn't go through the hills that I ever remember seeing but
occasionally a van of "tourists" would drive by. On one occasion, while Elvis
was in his driveway visiting with a few fans, a large white van filled with
foreign tourists stopped in front of the house. The people in the van wanted
to know what was going on and did someone famous live there? Before anyone
had a chance to say anaything Elvis answered them saying that Danny Thomas
lived down the street, but no, no-one important lived where he was standing.
About that time someone in the van notices that Elvis looked like, well,
ELVIS! He proceeded to very convincingly tell them that he was not but
everyone always told him that. It was pretty hard to keep a straight face
through all of this! The tourists then went on down the street to photograph
Danny Thomas' house. On the way back up the hill they stopped again to talk a
few minutes. After they'd left Elvis gloated "damn, I'm good - ought to be an
actor!!" He was so proud of himself he talked about that incident for a week!!

Sandi Miller

[MARIE]

Okay you guys,

We're in the Mojave Desert...I can see Needles, CA ahead of us... Come
back with me to 1965. We were about 10-15 miles out of town, heading
back from Memphis to LA to make a movie. On all the trips we made,
there was always a caravan of cars following the bus. This time, for
some reason, the other vehicles - with Marty, Richard, Sonny, Mike, Alan
and Joe - had gotten separated from us. It was about five-six in the
morning; the sun was just beginning to come up. Red was driving the
bus, Billy and Jerry were up front with him, and Elvis and I were
relaxing in the back. All of a sudden we heard the guys yelling "Fire!
Fire!" Elvis and I quickly jumped up and ran to the front of the bus as
Red pulled over to the side of the road with a screeching halt. The five
of us jumped out of the bus and ran back to discover that the back axles
and the undercarriage were aflame!

All of us, including Elvis, put our hands in the desert sand and threw
it on the flames to put them out. We didn't know if the bus was going
to explode with us right there...so we worked really fast! After the
fire was put out, the bus was a total wreck - as were we. We had all
been up for several days, and everyone needed a shower and a shave. We
walked down the highway to the still-sleeping town, carrying all our
luggage. Luckily, there was a little motel on the outskirts of town.
Elvis asked me to go into the office and get a room - then we all walked
upstairs, hardly believing our plight.

In the room, Elvis handed me his wallet - bursting with credit cards,
but without any cash inside - and said, "Larry, you better go rent us a
couple of cars, we gotta get out of here as soon as possible." I headed
down the street until I came to an open car rental agency. You can just
imagine the clerk's reaction when this disheviled, grubby character
walks in and says to him..."Sir, I'm with Evis Presley, he's up the road
in a motel, we need two cars, 'cause our bus broke down and we have to
get to LA to make a movie...here's his credit card." After the guy
called me a liar and threw me out...I walked back to the motel, having
to report to Elvis "mission not accomplished." Fortunately, I came up
with another bright idea and said, "Elvis, I know how to get us out of
here." I called the local taxi service, ordering two cabs...only this
time I didn't mention Elvis' name.

Larry Geller

[MARIE]

I don't know that it was a funny story, but it was a fun experience.
I do have a funny story that goes along with it.
Just the night before, I had asked Charlie if Elvis ever watched any
of his own movies. Charlie said "NO WAY".
I was dating a girl at the time that was a Sunday School teacher and
very religious. I had tried to kind of forwarn her that Elvis was not
the milk drinking, Pat Boone type. Earlier that evening I had told
Charlie about how straight laced she was. He got a kick out of us being
together. I told him that I was a little worried as to what Elvis might
say or do. I later found out that when we entered the theatre, Elvis had
asked Charlie about her. Unknown to us, Charlie had told Elvis that I
was afraid of what he might say or do. That was the wrong thing to tell
Elvis.
We all took our seats, not knowing what the first movie would be. Lo
and behold, it was "That's The Way It Is".
When the movie starts out, it shows several shots of Elvis in little
squares. I think one of them was with the strobe light. Anyway, these
are very high action shots. As I have said before, we sat right behind
Elvis and to his right. When these action shots came on, Elvis turned
around, looked my girlfriend right in the eye and said, "Look at that
big M_____ F______ go." He got the shock factor that he was looking
for.
Elvis talked throughout the movie. He would talk about shots that had
been cut out.
There is a girl named Lorraine that is in the movie. She is the one
that says "I got my first kiss from Elvis". She was at the Memphian that
night watching the movie with us. When it came to her part, and she said
"I got my first kiss from Elvis", Elvis spoke up real loud and said,"And
baby you got your last one."
When the guy came on that said, "....I'm going to write a nasty
little letter....", Elvis started laughing so hard you could hear him
all over the theatre. When he finally caught his breath, he said, "Where
in the hell did they get this joker?" Then he said, " I think he's
doing a Buddy Holly Show somewhere on the strip."
It seemed like every scene that came on, he had some funny remark to
make. After that night, I could never watch "That's The Way It Is" in
the same way that I had before.
Steve

[TheKing]

Super schöne Stories, Marie! Das sind Postings die man genießen kann, vielen Dank, keep goin...good girl!

[michael grasberger]

wer isn dieser steve?

[MARIE]

wer isn dieser steve?

Steve Kelly ist ein fan aus Memphis der elvis lange kannte.

[MARIE]

Like I said earlier, more often than not the Palm Springs house was not very
well stocked in food, although there was always plenty to drink. My roomate
and I had started to bring down our own little things to snack on so one
weekend I brought chocolate shavings called Hagelschlaag which, growing up in
Holland, it was common to sprinkle this on buttered bread and eat it.

So, one evening I'm in the kitchen making myself a hagelschlaag sandwich and in
paddles Elvis and stands right behind me. He kind of puts his chin on my
shoulder and watches as I nervously butter, sprinkle, & cut. With some effort
I turn around and find myself face to face and Elvis says WHAT THE HELL IS
THAT!?

I explained it all while he stands there making faces. "What's it taste like?"
he says. Geez, was this a hint or what? I told him it tastes like chocolate
on bread and butter. "Damn furiners" he says. I kind of pushed him out of the
way and called him a damn southerner. Then he stole my sandwiches! He ate it
- the whole thing! To make matters wors could not buy this stuff in the U.S.
It had to be shipped to me from my aunt in Holland and she only did that once
a year and here he was eating my entire years supply!

About a month later, Elvis' LA cook, Alvena Roy told me that he asked her to
find this stuff in the store for him and obviously she had no luck! I'm afraid
to think of how he probably described it to her or heaven forbid, tried to
pronounce it.
Sandi Miller.

[MARIE]

How I met Elvis the first time.
Ok-here goes and don't laugh at me! A bunch of my friends and I decided one
weekend that we would go up to Beverly Hills, buy one of those movie star maps
and go looking at celebrity homes. Elvis was listed on the map but it was the
wrong address which really made us angry since we sat in front of heaven only
knows who's house for over an hour until the butler or whoever drove up.
Feeling a little embarrased asking if Elvis was home and being told that the
map was a misprint (apparently they got alot of this!)

We decided we needed a break and headed for a Denny's on Sunset Boulevard. We
had barely sat down at our table and we look out the window, which faced
Sunset, and there, in traffic, is a long black limo with some guy standing up
thru the sunroof! We broke speed records running out of Denny's, almost
knocked over several old ladies just to get out to that sidewalk in time to see
that car slowly inch down the street. We RAN to the parking lot, couldn't find
the keys, tried to get into the car....we looked like the 3 stooges.

I'll spare you all the hysterics of what went on in my car as we violated every
road law there is but we caught up with him. Then our senses took over and we
decided we best not come across as hysterical fans so we stayed a car length
behind him (with a car between his limo and my car). Then we see the left hand
blinker go on so we did the same....up towards Hollywood Blvd.....down
Hollywood Blvd. Elvis had sat down in the limo while they were still on
Sunset. So now, after driving up and down crowded streets for a good hour it
seems, we're back on Sunset and Elvis is, what it turns out, headed home. We
followed him up a hill, saw big iron gates open up and the car dumbstruck, all
we could do is wave. He waved back, said something to the other fellows in the
car and started to walk towards us. I don't think any of us moved . Standing
before us was one of the most perfect human beings I've ever seen. He was
flawless! He had on a black silk shirt, black slacks, a heavy silver belt and
a scarf around his neck that was black, grey, & yellow. He was soft spoken and
asked if we enjoyed our sightseeing tour. Great! He knew we had been
following him! I'm sure we mumbled something but I don't remember what. All I
do remember is how gracious he was and how easily he made conversation to set
us at ease. Asked us where we were from and we told him Buena Park to which he
replied " home of Knotts Berry Farm". He probably stood there and talked to us
for 30 minutes as we told him about the mess with the movie star maps. Next we
asked how they (fans) found out where he lived. He said "oh some follow me
home" (LOL!) Then he said "they know where I am before I know where I
am--sometimes I have to ask them who am I, where am I" They keep me informed!
He was absolutely charming. He also talked about his upcoming engagement in
Vegas which of course we were planning to attend anyway.

We decided we would be the first to excuse ourselves and blubbered something
about letting him get back to his family. He thanked us, turned and headed
back down the driveway. Then he stopped, turned around and said See You In
Vegas!

And we did......in fact, we made it backstage!

Heather (a fan)

[MARIE]

One afternoon,my family and I was taking a Sunday drive down
highway 51,which is now EP Blvd..I really don't remember where we had
been or where we was going.. I was about 12...Anyways-We were sitting at
a red light and guess who pulled up next to us? Yes,it was Elvis.. I
thought I was dreaming.. My sister, being the oldest and the shy one,was
sitting on the side that Elvis was on...He smile at us and wave and said
how ya'll doing.... My sister,turned her head cause she was
embarrassed...Elvis,just kept waving because my sister face was so
red---Elvis just kept on trying to flirt with her and her face was
turning 10 shades of red...You could tell he was doing this because she
was so embarrassed..She finally looked back at him and he blow her a
kiss and he was laughing so hard at her...

I was doing my best to crawl over my sister to get to him but the
darn light turned green and my sister wouldn't move over.. He drive by
us for a few mins and then drove off....My dad wouldn't follow him and
Elvis was driving faster then my dad :(

Elvis had the prettiest blue eyes...Just looking into Elvis' eyes just
did something to you, like a trance....Oh my- He was sooooo good
looking.....He was the best looking person I have ever seen....I don't
think there is a word for his good looks...I didn't even know what kind
of car he was driving.. All I could see was how gorgeous he was.....

Lena (a fan)

[MARIE]

I was there for years, so it is sometimes hard to pick a story.
Elvis sat about half way down the theatre, and about middle ways of
the isle. They would set a tv tray beside him. There was always an
ashtray, his cigars, Mountain Valley spring water, a flashlight, and
other items on the tray. I have even seen him place his gun on the tray.
One night we had finished watching the first movie, had taken a
break in the lobby, and had sat down to watch the second movie.
Priscilla was still there at the time, and sitting next to him. The
movie started, and it had a VERY long intro. It kept showing these three
airline stewardess' walking through an airport. It was showinging them
from behind and they had on these REAL short mini skirts. Remember, this
is the early '70's. This scene went on and on. They have bags in both
hands. When they get to the airlines desk, they bend over to set their
bags down. You can guess what a sight this was. The name of the film
then appeared on the screen. I am 99.9% sure it was, " Swedish Fly
Girls". Sometimes when Esudden
Priscilla grabbed the flashlight and shined it on the screen and the
movie stopped. Elvis was laughing his head off.
I always swore that someday I woud find that film and rent it, to
see what I missed.
Another movie was put on and the viewing contnued.
Man how I miss Elvis.
Steve Kelly

[MARIE]

I sat right behind,
and to Elvis' right, in the movies. I sat with Charlie and a lady named
Doris Jones. I could have put out my left arm and placed it on Elvis'
right shoulder. Shirley Connell was there and she can vouch for me.
It was about my fifth time to go to the movies, and we were about
ten minutes into the first movie when I feft water hit my face. The
Memphain was an old move house, and at that time in a real bad part of
town. I thought the roof was leaking. I looked around and it didn't seem
to be leaking anywhere else. Alll of a sudden I felt more water. Again,
I looked around and everyone was gluded to the screen. Then it dawned on
me that it wasn't raining when we came in. Then all of a sudden more
water. I thought maybe the airconditioner was leaking. Again, more
water. Then it dawned on me that it was winter, and there wouldn't be an
airconditiner on. Alll of a sudden I looked at Elvis, and he was slowly
comig over his right shoulder with a water pistol. He saw that I had
caught him, and just died laughting. He looked at me so serious and
said, " I have a permit to carry this."
Steve Kelly

[TheKing]

And again many thanks for that, Marie...diese kurzen Geschichten sind sehr interessant und symphatisch...

[MARIE]

This is one of my most special memories.

It was summer in Memphis in the early 70s. And you who go to Memphis often,
can relate to how very very hot and humid it is in that city that time of year.
We were out at the pool, four or five other people were there also, in addition
to Linda Thompson and Elvis.
I was cooling off in the pool, and had swam to the east side of the deep
end of the pool and was resting there a moment with my arms up on the concrete
keeping me from floating back into the water. A few of the guys were standing
over to the side talking, a few more people were in the water in the shallow
end splashing around, and directly in front of me Elvis lay stretched out on
his lawn chair. Linda had gotten in the water to cool off.
Elvis, strangely enough for some to believe, had on his black pajama bottoms
and a short white robe with black and red designs all over it...if I remember
correctly they were oriental looking designs.
Anyway, I was looking at him all decked out in those pjs and robe thinking
how on earth could he stand the heat, and then I looked at his face. His eyes
were closed, his face tilted up toward the sun and yes, there were a few beads
of sweat running down the side of his face, but he didnt seem to mind, he
didn't look uncomfortable at all. In fact, he looked at peace and very serene.
For some reason that just touched me. I just quietly watched his face for a
little while, knowing you just don't get to see people that unguarded like a
sleeping child unless it's a situation where they are truly relaxed, or unless
they are indeed sleeping. And sometimes even in sleep people arent that serene.
The mental picture of his face that day touched me, and will stay for me the
rest of my life.
Steve