Elvis’ Friend Shared the ‘Blessing and the Curse’ of Knowing the Singer
Some of Elvis Presley’s closest friends were members of his entourage. They traveled with him, served as bodyguards, and assisted him in times of need. In return, Elvis paid them and showered them with lavish gifts. While one of his longtime friends said this was a benefit of knowing Elvis, it was also something of a curse.
Elvis’ friend said the singer was both a blessing and a curse to know
Elvis watched a good deal of television in his lifetime. One of his favorite programs was a show called The Millionaire.
“Elvis was crazy about a TV show … called The Millionaire,” his friend Joe Esposito said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “Each week an ordinary person with a problem answered a knock at his door to find a messenger in a suit who announced that he was presenting the person with one million dollars from an anonymous donor.”
Elvis liked this show so much because he was quite generous with his money. He gifted people cars, apartments, horses. He didn’t need a reason or special occasion to give — he’d even buy cars for complete strangers. Still, he also used expensive gifts as a way to apologize to his entourage for his angry outbursts.
“After one of his wild temper fits, he will never say, ‘Hey, man, I was wrong, I’m sorry.’ But then one day you will be walking through an automobile showroom and he’ll say something like ‘Hey, man, that looks great, that car, don’t it?’” his bodyguard Red West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “And somebody will say back to him, ‘Sure does, Elvis.’ The next minute, he’ll tell you, ‘Look, you fix up the paperwork, it’s yours, you deserve it.’ That’s it. There is no argument, just ‘It’s yours, man.’”
Elvis’ long time friend Lamar Fike agreed with West. While he appreciated the gifts, he also knew Elvis was using them to appease the entourage.
“[The gifts were] a Band Aid for the abuse he heaped on you the rest of the time,” Fike said. “That was the blessing and the curse of Elvis.”
Vernon Presley believed Elvis’ friends were taking advantage of him
Elvis’ father, Vernon Presley, did not think his son should be gifting so extravagantly. He felt the entourage took advantage of Elvis and would not be there to support him if it were not for the money.
“Vernon didn’t have much respect for the guys,” Priscilla Presley wrote in her book Elvis and Me. “He said Elvis just gave and gave and gave, and they took and took and took. He’d say, ‘Son, we have to save.’ Elvis would answer, ‘It’s only money, Daddy. I just have to go out and make more.’”
Every time Elvis spent money on his entourage, Vernon wrung his hands in distress.
The singer became upset when people did not accept his gifts
Elvis may have used expensive presents to make up for his bad behavior, but he also genuinely liked to give. It hurt him if people would not accept a gift from him.
“If he could put a smile on someone’s face, that made him the happiest,” his fiancée Ginger Alden told Smashing Interviews Magazine. “He loved giving gifts to other people and surprising them with gifts. He would get really hurt if you didn’t accept a gift. Maids, housekeepers, nurses… I don’t know how many people have brand new homes and cars. He was so generous to so many. A lot of that came from the fact that he didn’t have a great deal when he was younger, and he thought that would just brighten their lives being able to do that.”
Over the years, he gave presents that were so generous and thoughtful that the recipients wept.
