- DE BARBIN
ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? THE UNTOLD STORY OF ELVIS PRESLEY'S ONE TRUE LOVE - AND THE CHILD HE NEVER KNEW by Lucy de Barbin and Dary Matera, Villard, New York, 1987.
1975? -
A few days later ... I received a call from a man with a deep southern accent. He refused to identify himself and told me never to contact Elvis again if I valued my life.
"If you know what's good for you, don't try and see him when he comes to Dallas," the voice threatened.
... I had a good idea why the man called. Elvis was coming to Fort Worth to give a concert in a few days, in early June, then was returning for a second concert in July. They didn't want me around. It verified all my fears from the beginning. His associates would forever prevent our being together.
... Those around Elvis knew he was seriously ill and they wanted to keep it a secret. ...
p.253
... Yet if those who knew Elvis personally saw him up close, they would instantly know something was horribly wrong. These were the people Elvis's controllers must have feared. Someone like Lucy was certain to raise hell. ... [Currie Grant:] "A lot of people, close friends of his, tried to get to him, but they couldn't get through those jerks around him. They weren't letting anybody through."
p.254
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- GELLER
ELVIS' SEARCH FOR GOD by Larry Geller and Jess Stearn, Greenleaf, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 1998. ISBN 1-883729-07-6
1970s -
At first [Elvis] liked Las Vegas. It gave him the opportunity to perform for people from all over the world. And Las Vegas liked him. ... But Vegas and its grind of gambling and girls palled as the inner man grew. He was not the same Elvis who lost fifteen thousand dollars at the tables in five minutes during his first stint in Las Vegas and ruefully exclaimed, "I could have given away a car instead." It was a timely lesson, and it bothered him that other performers, and his manager, Colonel Parker, should fall into the trap he avoided. "There are great entertainers who are prisoners here, and can't get away, because of the gambling debts they owe. They'll sing forever, trying to get their heads up. Otherwise it could 'Jailhouse Rock'". He promised his father he would never gamble again, and he kept the promise.
p. 42.
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- GELLER
IF I CAN DREAM: ELVIS'S OWN STORY by Larry Geller and Joe Spector with Patricia Romanowski, Arrow, London, 1989. Pbk.
1973? -
One day when Elvis returned from a trip to Hawaii, there were some businessmen waiting for him. He met with them privately for a while, and later he nervously told me about it. He didn't tell me what they had said, but he let me know what their visit meant.
"Larry, this is a dangerous universe," he said ominously. "It's dangerous. No matter who you are, the higher you are, the more dangerous it is. In the twenties and the thirties the gangs would mow you down in the streets, or they'd dump your body in the river. Now those people are in legitimate business. They're businessmen, they run corporations. They own the great things of America, so they go about things in a different way now. They're very nice, and they negotiate, and they'll talk to you."
The sadness and resignation in his voice made me want to scream. What those men had said to him I could only guess.
p. 183.
Singer Sam Cooke was shot to death in a Los Angeles motel. The official story portrayed Sam as a man who, after luring a woman to his motel room, attacked her. When she ran to the motel office for help, the manager, a middle-aged black woman, shot Sam three times and clubbed him with a stick.
For people who knew Sam, no matter how casually, the story didn't hang together. ... The effect Cooke's death had on Elvis was unusual. Now and again he would allude to it, and after he was refused "permission" to tour outside the country the subject arose again.
"Why do you think Sam Cooke is dead?" he asked me. "Everyone thinks he was murdered in a motel. Oh, he was murdered, all right. He was murdered because he got out of line. I got it from the horse's mouth. Cooke was told that he had a big mouth, to stay in line, and he didn't do it.
p. 184.
[Elvis's] main concern was Lisa Marie, obviously an attractive target for kidnappers. After heiress Patty Hearst's abduction by a radical terrorist group in early 1974, Elvis became more cautious than ever. We were all extra vigilant whenever Lisa was around, taking turns accompanying her between Graceland or wherever Elvis was and her home with Priscilla in Los Angeles.
p. 185.
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- Vellenga
ELVIS AND THE COLONEL by Dirk Vellenga with Mick Farren, Grafton, London, 1989. Pbk.
1970s - "His big change came when Elvis started working in Vegas. Before the time they went to Vegas, Colonel Parker was an extremely conservative, extremely friendly family-oriented man. ... Down at the grass roots, someone on the Sahara casino staff referred to him as 'our favorite roulette junkie'.
In Vegas, they're kind to their favorites. As the highest of high rollers, who had an insurance policy against his debts singing in the lounge, Colonel Tom was accorded every privilege. ... The hotel staff had instructions never to say no to the Colonel. Even when he went home to Palm Springs, he was still permitted to gamble by phone. ..." p. 158-9
COMMENT: Allowing someone to build massive gambling debts is strong indication of mafia enmeshment.
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- Whitmer
THE INNER ELVIS by Peter Whitmer, Hyperion, NY, 1996. Hbk.
Late 1950s - "Esposito endeared himself to Elvis because of his knowledge of the real Mafia. 'I knew the Accardo Family' Esposito said of the Chicago-based gangster, best known as Al Capone's chauffeur, who later rose through the ranks. Accardo once killed a burglar with a baseball bat and allegedly was one of the gunmen at the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre. 'Elvis was always intrigued with the Mafia,' Esposito said. ..." p. 331
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- Dundy
ELVIS AND GLADYS by Elaine Dundy, Pimlico, London, 1995. Pbk.
Late 1950s, early 1960s - "... The Mafia, alert to moneymaking record kings, decided to dip into the country music field. They decided to dip into a piece of 'the Presley action.' They'd had no trouble buying percentages of new singers. With their controls in the pop-music world and juke boxes they could make or break young singers. 'How about this new freak Elvis?'
Colonel Parker wasn't selling Elvis in any percentages. 'Cut up my boy? I should say not!' he ignored the Mafia's offers and later on their warnings. No one was going to muscle in on his boy. Elvis was becoming so sensationally big worldwide, 'the dark-suit boys' decided not to press the action. The powerful Mafia, for once was forced by the sheer spotlight of Elvis' popularity to lay off!" p. 250
- 1956 - "... The front page of Billboard magazine carried an item about Elvis, dateline Fort Dix, new Jersey, which purported to come straight from the army itself ... It contained, among other bits of misinformation, one very odd sentence that has struck aficionados of Mafia codewords as useful for possible study: 'High on Presley's agenda,' goes the article, 'is extensive dental and periodontal (gum) work.'" This could have been the Mafia's fine hand at harassment, a warning to "keep their mouths shut, do what they are told or they will get gum 'poisoning'". p. 262
- post 1956 -"... This same writer, Gehman, in Elvis Presley: Hero or heel, refers to the December 1956 issue of the magazine Tip-Off - an article titled 'How racketeers Tried to Silence Elvis Presley' - and states that the article contained 'information on how the Mob threatened to reveal Elvis Presley as a $100-a-day dope-user.'
The fact that no other mention of the above can be found in any other publication during this touchy time, when the anti-Elvis groundswell was gathering strength in lengthy newspaper editorials, indicate that no amount of further investigation could produce any truth behind the Mafia smear and that the Mafia was indeed bent on harassing Elvis with a view to cutting themselves in on him." p. 253
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- Brown & Broeske
DOWN AT THE END OF LONELY STREET by Peter H. Brown and Pat H. Broekske, Signet, NY, 1998. Pbk.
October 12 1973 - "Elvis's stomach, colon and chest cavity appeared to be painfully bloated with edema - much as it had been during the February overdose. He had hepatitis, caused by massive overdoses of cortizone and steroids, plus a gastric ulcer. During the preceding five days he had somehow suffered a major concussion ..." p. 382
"When the physicians gathered around the lab analyses, one of the doctors .... said disgustedly: 'What kind of doctors did this to the boy? He didn't know what hit him'." p. 384
"'Elvis, do you have any idea how this happened?' asked Dr. Nick.
'Honest, sir, I don't.' Elvis glanced at Joe before saying, 'The only thing I've had is some acupuncture treatments for my back, but he wasn't using any drugs, just needles.' ..." p. 385
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- Stanley
LIFE WITH ELVIS by David Stanley, MARC Europe, Bromley, Kent, c1986. Pbk.
1975/76 - "'This is something Dr. Nick gave me to help with my sinuses. Maybe you should try some.'
'Sure.'
As soon as it hit my nose, I knew exactly what it was: 100-percent-pure pharmaceutical cocaine.
'Elvis,' I yelled, 'This is pure cocaine!'
'Come on, David,' he said sarcastically. 'Nick's not gonna give me liquid coke for my sinuses.'" p. 150
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- Strausbaugh
Told to Larry Geller, in E - REFLECTIONS ON THE BIRTH OF THE ELVIS FAITH, by John Strausbaugh, Blast Books, NY, 1995. Pbk.
1977? - "There's a war going on. I mean, behind the scenes it's a spiritual war of light versus the darkness, and I'm proud to be a part of it." p. 97
- Elvis Presley
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