I vaguely recall the announcement of his death at Grandma’s house (my parents were on vacation in Canada). It occupied most of the evening news but I don’t remember if the afternoon cartoons were interrupted over it. My brother and I only recognized him as the guy in those commercials for two-record sets on television and Channel 3 always did a week of his movies every year at 3 PM. Little did we know he was bigger than Star Wars.
As I got older, I remember all the jokes, the sightings, the rumors, etc. My favorite conspiracy is the Outfit having him killed and there’s someone else’s corpse in his grave so he’s really in hiding. Personally, I’m of the opinion that he is dead. Elvis was pretty broke in the Seventies so he had to tour extensively to pay the bills and debts Colonel Parker saddled him with. Performing, traveling, making appearances and still living beyond his means took its toll. The drugs that made it possible were what did him in and when someone is surrounded by flunkies who won’t tell the truth, it’s amazing he lived to be 42.
I have also been to Graceland three times, something I always try to make time for whenever I’m passing through Memphis. It’s quite a spread but rather dated, in a time-capsule way, not kitschy or tacky. If you’ve watched those other shows on cable about other celebrities’ mansions, Elvis was subtle, modest and I know there were bigger places in his day. His ex-wife Priscilla did an amazing job on the place and contrary to her critics, opening the house to the public was something she did reluctantly. I would agree with her decision; it was either make Graceland a tourist attraction to cover the remaining debts or liquidate the more lucrative parts of his estate: merchandising, publishing rights, etc. My friend Christina was in the area recently, it’s $30 now. I’m not sure if the price included the whole package of his cars, planes and more personal effects (tasteful stuff such as how much fan mail he received on a daily basis) or it only covered the house.
Whether or not you like the guy, Elvis is a large part of the American psyche and story for better or worse and his premature death today secured his iconic position.