this story involves Elvis's living
girlfriend
two jealous sisters a real bonafide cat
fight
and Elvis going completely off the hook
wild man ballistic
in a frenzied fit of rage so extreme
that it took three grown men to restrain
him
the ensuing collateral damage was so
substantial
it can be clearly evidence to one of
elvis films that he was shooting at the
time
if you know where to look fasten your
seat belts
it's about to get real
it's a true story and i'd like to share
the story with you
the other thing is the story is too
crazy to be believed
but the price that he faced was
the image he made was so hard
to live up to it very hard to live up to
an image
there's a man
so
elvis has an incredible fan base as much
as they adored him
elvis really loved and respected his
fans whom he attributed much of his
success
something elvis told his fans from the
stage at the end of his closing show in
las vegas on september 6
1971 says it best
elvis once told his uncle vester the
head of security and gatekeeper at his
graceland home
now you'd be good to those cats uncle
vester they put me up on that hill
now how many mega stars of much lesser
fame and popularity than elvis to this
day
would spend as much time personally
mixing it up with his fans as elvis did
well today we're going to discuss a
little known true event
that takes elvis mixing it up with his
fans to a whole new level
we're going to explore a bizarre
incident that happened back in 1966 and
trust me
this is gonna blow your mind i can't
believe it either
it all started many years earlier
outside the pressley's autobahn drive
home in memphis tennessee
at the start of his career in the 1950s
elvis local fans would congregate
outside the front of his house
and when elvis wasn't on the road
touring he'd often visit with fans who
gathered at his gates
he would graciously pose for photos and
sign autographs right in front of his
private residence
this was actually the start of a mutual
love affair that elvis had with his fans
that would continue on at other homes
throughout the rest of his life and
career
when elvis wasn't home his parents would
occasionally visit with fans who
gathered outside the house
his mother was even known to
occasionally bring them out plates of
freshly baked homemade cookies some they
would even invite inside if you can
believe it
and give them a tour of the house i mean
can you just imagine
chewing the fat with gladys presley
about her famous son
over a plate of piping hot
snickerdoodles and a cup of butch
as she would take you to his bedroom
proudly show you the better he sleeps
when he's not on the road
yeah that really happened and in case
you didn't know it
butch is the name that elvis and his
mother called milk
they had their own special language of
pet names for things like
cities for feet elvis affectionately
referred to his mother is satin
uh did you by chance get a chance to see
the parade today no so we didn't get
here in time to see that we was being
told about that
and everyone was having such a fine time
and i i
know that you saw you missed it and i
know that you've heard it was a
wonderful parade
well i'm sure that you know that the
whole town is just wide open to the
presley family
thank you very much
graduated from a status of local
hometown celebrity
and quickly transitioned into national
stardom in 1956
after his television appearances on
popular shows with famous television
personalities such as
the dorsey brothers milton berle
hi gardner steve allen and ed sullivan
his 1956 film love me tender was the
first of 33
and instantly catapulted elvis into
worldwide fame
from that point there was no looking
back for it
everything about his life was
substantially different from just a few
years prior and drastically different
from the humble origins of his family's
early years
from a two-room shotgun shack in tupelo
where he was born in poverty
to the public housing facility in
memphis to his very own home on audubon
drive and then eventually a stately
southern
mansion called graceland in memphis
elvis presley's life story is one of the
greatest rag to riches sagas ever told
and many comprehensive variations of
that story can easily be found most
anywhere you look
but not here holy fellas
and don't move me let's get real real
gone
for a change
you know the legend here we discuss the
man behind the image
so back to the story
the move to graceland in 1957 offered
much more
security from the increasing number of
fans but elvis still took time to come
out and visit with them for most of the
rest of his life over the following 20
years
i've always treated people just like i
would like to be treated
myself i consider other people's
feelings i don't uh
i don't assume the attitude of get these
people out of here
you know like i have heard of being down
and
i don't i don't uh just sign the
autographs and the pictures and so forth
uh
to help my popularity or to uh to make
them like me
you know i do it because i know that
that they're sincere and and they see
you and they want an autograph to take
home they got an autograph book
they've got their little camera and
everything so uh you have to know that
now try to wrap your head around all
this it's about to get good
the picture that i'm painting for you
here now is an insider's look into the
world of first-hand elvis encounters
it's told to me personally by the fans
who were there when it all took place
the lucky few who would sometimes
regularly get to see elvis in the flesh
standing on the ground right next to
them no makeup and props like in the
movies
no sequence jumpsuits and capes high up
on a stage with high-tech lighting and a
30-piece ensemble behind him i'm talking
about a man
just as mortal as you and me who may
have just come from the dinner table
after eating pork chops and collard
greens with his family before rubbing
his belly belching and deciding to go
out and shoot the breeze with some of
his fans
ironically enough that man just happened
to be the extraordinarily handsome
king of rock and roll slash
international film star
known around the world merely by his
first name
in memphis the fans would see him as he
came and went through his famous
graceland gates
and ran around the city just like any
other memphis resident
only driving a much nicer car as you can
imagine usually accompanied by a pack of
friends and bodyguards
although many times he'd come to the
gates and visit with fans all by himself
then there were elvis as many california
homes where he periodically resided for
extended periods
they were necessary when making films in
hollywood
the fans would also see elvis at the
gates regularly as he came and went from
his homes in california
between the shooting schedule at
paramount studios
these included homes in bel air on
perugia way where he entertained the
beatles on one historic night in music
history
elvis homes at various times were on
bellagio road
raqqa place monavale drive and holmby
hills
and a well-known home on hillcrest
avenue in beverly hills
also elvis had two different homes in
palm springs
but it is the house on raqqa place where
this story takes place today
unlike many of elvis's later california
homes
the raqqa house was situated with the
front gate a good distance from the
house that was at the end of a long
driveway
there was a buzzer and intercom system
outside the gated entrance to elvis
property
fans would learn elvis shooting schedule
and try to make sure they were there
when he left for the studio in the
morning
and when he arrived back home later that
evening i mean these were some loyal
fans who were dedicated and thank god
for him because
many of the candid photos that appear in
books and documentaries to this day were
taken by many of those diehard fans
one of the loyal fans who used to see
elvis at the gates of his home in the
1960s
was sandy miller
sandy later became a friend to elvis and
a regularly invited guest to elvis many
california homes
she also was on the sets of his films as
well as his private suite during his las
vegas
but in 1966 sandy was just another star
struck fan who gathered at the gates of
his california home
and hopes to see elvis in person
when we first started going up my
roommate and i when we first started
going up to the house
this would be in the 60s at the raqqa
house
we didn't really know him other than
he'd stopped
in his car always talked to everybody
in fact for the longest time we never
saw his body he just stayed in the car
and he rolled on the window he talked
we take photos he'd joke
we'd ask you know how was the movie
today you know what did you do and he'd
always make some
snappy little snide remark like oh today
i
sang to a bird he'd just make fun of the
movies and then he'd go in the house and
that was kind of the extent of it
with exception of elvis later palm
springs homes
the california fans regularly gathered
at the gates of elvis's los
angeles area homes and just like always
when elvis came and went from his homes
the fans were usually there words spread
within the group of fans when elvis was
in town making films in hollywood
and rarely did elvis come and go when
there weren't eager fans waiting to get
a glimpse of him and
hopefully snap a photograph as he drove
through on many occasions elvis would
stop the car and chat and sometimes
later walk back to the gate and pose for
photos and sign autographs
again it's important to understand how
impressive this is for any star
much less the most popular rock star
slash movie star slash
sex symbol on the planet and at the
height of its career nonetheless
it's been said that within just about
any group of people
everyone knows someone who's an idiot if
you don't
well then you're most likely the idiot
having said that
the combination of human nature and the
odds of probability both dictate
whenever you get that many different
people with a wide variety of
backgrounds together
coming to the gates of your home for
that many years
there's bound to be a few with
irrational behavior that undoubtedly has
the great potential to spur some
bizarre incidents there's been too many
weird things happening to me lately
and although elvis was most definitely a
chick magnet
many of those who were at the gates back
then well let's just say
the butter had definitely slid off their
dish
sometimes that's all one needs to know
enter the sisters mary and marion
ironically enough they had visited the
gates along with other fans since the
early 1960s
mary had even attended some of the
parties inside the house when elvis
lived on perugia way
before moving to the raqqa house so
elvis and the guys all knew them both
fairly well
marion the more boisterous of the two
was well known among the gate fans by
her self-proclaimed nickname
tiny just look at the expression on
elvis's face while standing next to him
i could only imagine what was going
through his mind at the time
why me lord it was tiny whose
belligerent behavior
in combination with their unfiltered pie
hole that started the surreal chain of
events that were to follow
you have to remember that back then it
was a totally different world
i mean it wasn't really considered
ethical
for people to live together outside of
marriage and
you know even frank sinatra back in his
early days was arrested on a morals
charge
and his crime was having sex with a
woman outside of wedlock so you have to
keep that in perspective even though
this was several years later
in 1966 elvis was still unmarried
although his future wife priscilla
boleyu had been his living girlfriend
for the previous four years
if they don't pop the big question they
can't get the big answer
it was always talk of marriage in the
relationship so i i just didn't know
when
and i actually liked not being married
because
um everything was always it went so well
i mean there was and at that time there
was pressure there was a lot of pressure
because you did not live together at
that time you know
although elvis would go on to propose to
priscilla at the end of that same year
then merrier the following year
some of the female fans that regularly
congregated at the gates of his home on
raqqa place in bel air
were delusional enough to think that
they actually had a chance in hella
snagging elvis for themselves
those few conversely had bitter disdain
for priscilla
and considered her a whore for shacking
up with elvis outside of wedlock
as far as they were concerned as long as
there was no ring on priscilla's finger
every girl still had a fighting chance
to win the ultimate prize
and they were fair game for elvis well
it was that very insult
along with several other colorful choice
adjectives hurled at miss bull
that turned an otherwise peaceful
evening in bel air into a full-blown
knock-down drag out
hair pulling vixen throwdown i mean
before was over it involved the king of
rock and roll himself
shattered glass and i would imagine some
soiled underwear from the fear of god
that elvis put into those misguided
young girls
those two sisters unwittingly let the
genie out of the bottle when they
mistakenly invoke the ferocious wrath of
a sleeping lion
elvis was an overly gracious individual
but even the king has a breaking point
it's not often that one gets the chance
to splash in the puddle of their own
ignorance
but the consolation prize for such a
foolish mistake in this case
ended with an encore elvis performance
that they would not soon forget
quite literally on the hood of their own
car
when elvis was filming double trouble um
in that time frame there were two gals
that were
semi-regulars up at the house two
sisters
and they didn't have a real big fondness
for priscilla
and priscilla came home one day and
these two gals were
at the gate and when priscilla went to
push the speaker the speaker button
opens the gate this is at the raqqa
house
they pretty much reached in and grabbed
her and yanked her out of her car
and pulled it to the ground i mean they
these were big girls and priscilla was
this little five foot two
ninety pound little girl and these were
big girls
they started beating her up according to
other eyewitnesses to this event as it
took place
priscilla had left earlier in the
evening and the two sisters followed her
in their car
she was visiting with her friend joanie
wife of elvis's friend and memphis
mafia member joe esposito when priscilla
later got back in the car and headed
back
the girls followed her home clearly
stalking is defined by today's laws
after arriving back at elvis home as the
sisters pulled into elvis's drive to
turn around
priscilla blocked the only entrance out
with her car
she got out of her car stomped over to
the girls and demanded to know why they
were following her
heated words were exchanged and after
being called a whore by tiny you
are a whore priscilla rang her bell by
socking her squaring the chin
from there the cat fight was on as a
dust cloud arose from a cartoon-like
tornado
of twisted arms and legs as they
literally rolled in the dirt
slapping kicking and wrenching down on
fistfuls of each other's hair
according to the witnesses the portly
contender in the black trunks from
california
outweighed the pint-sized petite
challenger in the pink trunk from
elvis's corner by at least a hundred
pounds
realizing she was literally outmanned
priscilla ran over the intercom
by the gate and yelled for help
priscilla had already pushed the button
and once you push that button it
activates the speaker in the house which
means
anyone in the house can hear what's
going on
and they didn't take them long inside
the house to figure out what was going
on
and next thing we hear the guys
running down the driveway again this is
a very long driveway
and i think it was jerry and charlie and
richard davis they're running down the
driveway
and here comes elvis
they couldn't elvis couldn't get the
gate open the gate has to be opened up
from inside the house and he was shaking
that gate and trying to push that gate
open
he was he was a crazy man
he was ballistic he reverted to
he had a southern accent but he really
had a southern it just like seemed to
come back
and intensified you crazy idiot
he got out of the gate these girls by
now the
raqqa house had a hill that went up
their their car was parked at the top of
the hill
when they saw him trying to get out of
the gate they ran to their car
got into their car lock the door as well
elvis ran right up the hill
behind them that's not gonna do any good
he lifted up his leg and
it just came down on the roof on the
roof of the car i mean he lifted his leg
clear up and banged
and he started shaking that car and
rocking it and just calling them
every name in the book and at one point
oh now the guys are on his back trying
to get him off the car because if he
gets to those girls he'll kill him
i mean there was no doubt i mean he was
he was livid he
this was another elvis i mean he didn't
even
resemble i mean we were all just
standing there going
he had three guys on his back and they
couldn't they couldn't budget
and they the girls by now have started
up the car
and they're trying to move forward
they're trying to leave
and he takes his fist and he pushes it
right through the windshield
i mean it went this far from their face
the handful of unsuspecting fans that
were i witnessed to this surreal event
said you could almost see the steam
billowing from elvis's nostrils
he was that livid the frantic girls had
not been able to just drive off because
as you remember
the driveway had been blocked by
priscilla's car before the cat fight
elvis's friend charlie hodge moved
priscilla's car so they'd have a clear
path
out and he told the girls to start the
car and get the hell out of there while
they still could
as they drove off elvis was still so
infuriated that he was literally trying
to pull the guard rail out of the ground
by the road
while still carrying his friend in
memphis mafia member richard davis on
his back
richard was doing his best to keep elvis
at bay but wound up on an unexpected
ride of his life that was equivalent to
being saddled
to a freshly gelded bucking bronco
now if there's one thing that would make
even the most soft-spoken guy loses cool
it's to mess with his girlfriend
as those who knew elvis well attested
elvis definitely had a bad temper if you
pushed his buttons
now having said that he was not
necessarily quick to anger
but he was definitely not someone to be
trifled with
and it was nothing for him to flare like
a pack of hemorrhoids if you ever cross
the line with it
seeing the disheveled priscilla her
beehive hairdo pulled every which
direction
fake eyelash dangling from the tip of
her nose covered in dirt from rolling
around on the ground with a bird that
was
twice her size was bad enough but
finding out it was two against one
in addition to the fact that they called
her a whore for living out a wedlock
with him
now that's what caused the needle to get
ripped from the record
and the music come to a screeching halt
i will pull your goddamn tongue out of
the roof
too much in this case elvis immediately
forgot the image of who he was supposed
to be
and reverted back to the mere man that
had always lived quietly inside of him
the malicious behavior of these girls
pushed him one red
short hair past the threshold of his
tolerance level
king or no king elvis wasn't having it
i want to shove this smile right down
your throat
as it turns out these two girls were up
to some no good from the get-go
these same two girls used to follow him
like
right on his bumper and then they would
like get in front of him
and slam on the brakes hoping that he
would and
i mean they would tell us all this ahead
of time we're going to get in front of
him we're going to slam on the banks
he's going to run into us and we're
going to sue him and we're like
hey elvis got some wackos here but we
would tell him
so he was aware what was going on that's
a
dirty trick
you know when you think about it it's
hard to believe that someone as gracious
as elvis would be maliciously taken
advantage of by the very people who were
the recipients of his kindness and
generosity
like the lamb that licks the hand that
holds the knife that slits his throat
for slaughter
elvis may have been a superstar but as a
man
he deserved the same respect as everyone
else
and no one on god's green earth deserves
one ounce of respect more than they're
willing to extend to others
and that goes without saying but as you
will see in future episodes of elvis
behind the image
this was far from the last time someone
had the misfortune
of mistaking elvis kindness for weakness
was elvis justified in his actions you
decide for yourself
but just remember that elvis was only
human and how would you react in the
same situation
he could get so angry and as much
talent and much love as he had
he had to have that much anger
just to balance himself but he he was
human
he said himself hey man if you cut me
i'll bleed i get in my pants
one leg at a time just like you
also bear in mind the words of elvis
close friend and founder of kempo karate
grandmaster ed parker he said
to hear is to be lied to to see is to be
deceived
but to feel is to believe
if someone does you wrong it's not
enough for them to hear you warn them
it's not enough for them to actually see
your anger sometimes they must feel the
sting of your wrath
to know that you really mean what you
say and say what you mean
some people need to have a not jerked in
their tail as my mother used to say
before they know they've gone too far
with you now hopefully it won't have to
come to that
but should it come to that they'll most
definitely not make the same mistake
with you twice
not on your life
they say it ain't over to the fat lady
sings
so now in the words of one of my
favorites paul harvey
it's time for the rest of the story
the timing of this particular incident
in 1966
is key for us fans as it gives us some
rare photographic and even video
evidence that coincides with this
bizarre tale you see what was going on
at this exact time in elvis history
was the filming of elvis's 24th major
motion picture
double trouble
elvis is in trouble
twice as much as anybody else elvis is
on his way
i just can't rest for me
now there's a reason that hollywood
studios prohibit movie stars from
certain outside activities
during the filming of major productions
any injury sustained during the filming
can cause undue production delays and
those delays cost the movie studios a
small fortune
one thing they don't make allowances for
though is for unexpected precarious
interactions with overzealous fans
who are bat crazy oh you're crazy
in the movie double trouble if you
look there's one part i think he's
laying on a bed and he's got his
hands on his chest you can see the hand
that went through the windshield it's
bruised it's swollen it snapped but
that's that's from
his little encounter with those fans
i was just thinking what's a nice little
girl like you're doing in a dump like
this
although the bruises could be visibly
seen on elvis right hand in the final
version of the film
when it was released at the box office
in 1967
the day immediately following the
incident the studio reported that elvis
was
ill at home with a nervous condition
some of elvis guys told some of the fans
that elvis was so upset that he had to
be sedated
the day immediately following the
incident elvis was too upset to focus on
acting or the production
and when you watch the film to this day
in addition to seeing his bruised hands
you'll now know exactly some of the
drama that was simultaneously going on
in the personal life of the man behind
the image
and just like any other man he was only
human and subject to the same mood
swings as the rest of us
imagine that
but i look at myself strictly as a human
being
whose life have blood running through my
veins and
can be snuffed out in just a matter of
seconds you know and i notice anything
supernatural or better than any other
human being
now let's not forget that this was elvis
home where this happened
which is a man's castle wait a minute
this is my house i live here
that live-in girlfriend a year later she
became his wife
and nine months after that the mother of
his only child
the sisters understandably kept a low
profile after that
but this bizarre true tale doesn't end
there
they're putting me on
they were bold they were bold they
didn't come up often
um maybe they knew
better not to after lisa was born they
used to follow priscilla
around with lisa in the car priscilla
had to put lisa on the floor
of the car when she left so that they
wouldn't know
she was in the car because they were
afraid she would
elvis would have killed him i mean
he'd be in jail somewhere yeah so he had
some strange fans
not many thank goodness
several days after the incident mary
went to elvis house alone
what do you think she had in her hands a
bouquet of flowers with an apology note
no she arrived with an estimate for the
repairs to her car
from her insurance company elvis says
bodyguard red west met her at the gate
and took the estimate
and ensured her that elvis stated that
he would indeed pay for the damages
so
by july of 1967 the sisters were back
among the fans that gathered outside the
gates of elvis california home
just as if nothing had happened other
fans who were there at the time noticed
that elvis pretty much talked to the
sisters the same way that he talked to
all the other fans that would gather
there
looking for an autograph or a photo
priscilla was gracious and didn't even
ignore them but
she didn't really speak to him either it
was almost as if the incident never
happened
hates like a snake fighting its own tail
most any other person would have had
them on a watch list and they would have
been banned from the property
the very street or even the neighborhood
but being the kind of man
that everyone knew elvis to be he
forgave them
i'd like to apologize ma'am for being so
hostile
the next place these sisters turned up a
few years later
is another place that you can see them
to this day if you know where to look
the following program is brought to you
in living color
on nbc
singer presents elvis starring elvis
presley
in his first tv special his first
personal performance on tv in nearly 10
years
brought to you by singer maker of the
world's finest sewing machines and other
fine products for home and industry
what's new for tomorrow is at singer
today
um after this incident happened fast
forward to the 68 special
they actually had the nerve to show up
for that taping they're in the audience
you can see them
and i we were wondering if he sees them
is he going to say anything is he going
to do anything he's going to have him
kicked out but
i don't think he ever saw him but
everybody was thinking the same thing oh
look who's here
so
so
elvis has left the building thank you
and good night
oh there's more rare elvis behind the
image only so much can be squeezed into
a single episode
but it's all yours absolutely free to
receive your all
access backstage pass to extra bonus
material from the cutting room floor of
select episodes
simply join the free members only
section of elvis behind the image
you'll instantly be granted full access
to the secret section of the website
that's not available to the general
public
here you can enjoy all the relevant
corresponding material
to the current episode as well as all
others past and future
you'll also be notified of rare elvis
material as it comes available in the
future
and have the opportunity to share your
own personal stories and elvis
encounters for possible inclusion
in future episodes that are currently in
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