Will Sillerman open Elvis' bedroom to the public?

I really hope that they DO NOT open the upstairs to the public.

It will turn it into a circus.

Elvis never allowed guests to go upstairs and we should respect that even now.

I understand they put a Bedroom Window Cam up there.
For $30 you can have web access to look through the window,
to see the yard, and have Elvis' own POV!!!!!!

i'd like to see him try to undecorate cilla's post-77 stuff...get it back to the red curtains, etc... and perhaps get some elvis experts to try to get it back to being exactly the way elvis left it.

one of the things i love most about the house is the fact that it's a funky '70s time capsul. keep it that way.

i'd love to see the upstairs. most of the cilla-explanation is that it would be hard to get people up and down the stairs. people could go up and down in groups...i mean, who in the heck would mind?

i want to see EVERYTHING epe has in storage spred out in a gigantic museum to house EVERY jumpsuit, clothing, car, toothpaste tube...you get the idea. i like sillerman's multiple days needed to visit approach. let the warehouse be the actual museum...no more of the circulation of items, while most of it sits in boxes.

a mega-store that sells all the recordings would really be a good thing. make it die-hard friendly, and let the new fans see how much recording he really did outside of the #1s.

i like memorabilia. so sue me. just make it really good stuff...extra on the variety of shirts, posters and coffee mugs.

collectors item type stuff--the various elvis barbies, for example, would be really good QUALITY merchandise (i have one!!!). i dunno...get danbury mint to make some porcelein elvis collectables. that sort of thing to me would appeal--and i think it would appeal to a lot of girls and women...that's the kind of stuff we like. danbury mint is known for quality, so it would work.

the nice sculpted base elvis lamps, or elvis ring-tone phones...that stuff works for me.

just make the souveniers high-end collectable type stuff.

if they want an amusement park...recreate libertyland circa-elvis' lifetime. that would be classy. to elvis-theme it, they could just add elvis music during the rides.

what i would love is for them to build a free movie theater that plays nothing but elvis movies and concert videos/tv specials all day. kind of the come and go as you feel thing where people can go and relax in...the money could be made from your basic movie refreshments. it would be a nice place to wind down or escape the memphis heat...and see elvis on the big screen like audiences did back in the day.

Last edited by Elvis' Babe on Mon Mar 06, 2006 12:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

the only thing lisa still owns is elvis' personal affects and the house. the whole tour and tourist thing might be out of her hands.

do i understand that right?

I disagree. EP would have wanted his fans to see thew whole house in my opinion. He wasn't selfish or really that private as many believe. He wanted the home to be opened anyway when he was gone and now it is. It was his request to. I think the only reason they have not opened it is because it is so tight around the corners and they would have to rebuild a stairway to it or somnething. But hey who knows, maybe that's Sillerman's idea and plan too.

What are your thoughts about the new plans for Graceland?

What??
It was his request to?? Where did you hear that from??

You dont know what Elvis would have wanted.

If you have the book which was released by the Estate called 'Gracelands', you would have noticed there are no pictures of the upstairs which says to me that it is 'out of bounds'.

I just wouldnt want to go upstairs ,out of respect.

Each to their own, i suppose.

I would hope that the upstairs is kept closed to the public, as i have no desire to hear a tour guide state--and this is the bathroom where Elvis passed away.

Out of respect to Elvis and from the fact that the integrity of the house wouldn't stand all those people year round..

I'm very certain this will never happen, or at least not for a very long time.

And if they won't put Elvis In Concert on DVD, I can say that even if they ever did let people see the upstaired, there's no way they'd show the bathroom.

I would hope that the upstairs is kept closed to the public, as i have no desire to hear a tour guide state--and this is the bathroom where Elvis passed away.

or perhaps the tour guide voice could say "this is the bathroom." and just pause right there with a minute of silence.

or heck, instead of mentioning the death, mention he shot his toliet and if you look closely in the entry of the house you can see the aftereffects. just go without mentioning the death part altogether. keep the stories light but informative.

i think any person who takes the time to GO to graceland, knows where he died. it's self-explanatory and not necessary for the tour.

perhaps the minute of silence on the tour tape would adequately get the message across.

or you can look into elvis' bedroom with a tour blocker in front of it...the bathroom door could be open, but there would be enough distance i think from the door to there, that you wouldn't really see anything. i doubt you could even see the toliet from the door to his bedroom. in fact, from the pictures i've seen, you can only see the vanity/mirror area.

or the tour guide just could talk about the bedroom, but people could see the vanity counter/mirror (possibly)...it could go unspoken what the room is.

The upstairs of Graceland much like Elvis In Concert will remain closed off from the public.

eic is better than it's reputation. i've shown bits to NON-elvis fans (in fact, this girl hates elvis), and even she said 'he really doesn't look so bad as people say'.

it's true. impersonators and dirt-picking from rag material in people's minds have made elvis to be 'guilty' of things he never was.

eic is a testament to the fact that he wasn't 500 pounds cornily mumbling "thank you, thankyouverymuch". (a person seriously told me that elvis was like 500 pounds...and it was an over-30 adult. of course, i had to tell him how wrong he was. elvis was in the lighter half of the 200s, 6 feet tall and 42 years old.)

eic will be released...when there isn't anything else to release...or very quietly.

and with the material in its entirety, or a total re-edit, it paints the picture of a guy who was still moving thousands to smiles and tears.

and if epe was THAT scared of eic, they wouldn't show it on a tv screen next to the sundial suit.

I don't expect the upstairs to be opened anytime soon. It is a problem logistically as much as anything else. Trooping people upstairs, then back down would not be an easy task. And, you certainly don't want to modify the mansion to accomodate people to see the bedroom. I would be just as content to have the bedroom included in another updated DVD version of "Elvis Presley's Graceland."

I dont think that Lisa Marie would ever let them open the upstairs to the public and thats a very good thing its a private place

I m not for the free visit of first floor
(I have hear first floor can support thousands visitors walking)
i think the best is an new DVD version of Graceland visit
updating withe first floor footage, Gladys room, and archives rooms
withe in bonus all the candids super 8 footage from Joe Esposito
that s to be a Great dvd
Christian M

Don't forget, Lisa has said the upstairs has hardly been touched since Elvis died, it is exactly how he left it. It is a special place for her and don't count on it ever being open to the public. The best chance anyone has of seeing the upstairs is if This Is Elvis is released on DVD with additional footage of the upstairs scenes.

I know for a fact that they move stuff out the upstairs to show the public. Also the 3/4 inch videoplayer Elvis used to watch movies etc was auctioned off by Graceland years ago including his Monty Python movies.

Do you think that Sillerman will open the upstairs at Graceland which includes E's bedroom, Lisa's room, the library, and Vernon and Gladys' room? I think he will because he knows that is a goldmine to visitors and the diehard's like us who have dreamed of seing it in person.

Also-what do you think will be his plans for redoing Graceland? Additions, expansions, etc? Will he replace the current staff? How long will this take to complete, will any of it be ready for the 30th aniversary? I want to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Jay, I don't think they will open the upstairs, at least not Elvis' bedroom, for a long-term use. But....don't be surprised if Sillerman does open it in August of 2007 for income flowing in during the anniversary week. That'll also be a major attraction to the media circus that'll follow it and the events around Memphis and Gland.

I haven't heard too much lately on this until I read the NY Times article today from a friend who sent it to me in an email. I was impressed with what I read. From the sound of it, he is apparently planning to build some type of amusemnet park after all. I don't know about that as far as Elvis' image goes. That could backfire media-wise. But could also be a hit with a younger non fanbase that wants to party and ride the rides. We'll have to wait and see how all this plays out.

Jay, here's what I think it should be.
I would like to see a recreation type of public style park for walking and jogging and picnic areas all in Elvis' good name.
A massive museum that displays everything Elvis and tells the story from birth to death and beyond. Not spread all over the place from Graceland to the plaza as it is now.
ALL of his jumpsuits and stage clothing and movie costumes. Not just a few here and there.
All his memoribillia as possible.
All his cars, including the yellow Pantera, motorcycles, planes, tour buses, etc.
Costumes and exhibits from the Sweet Inspirations and TCB band and other workers.
Myrna's Sky Blue Cadallac that Elvis bought her.
An Art and Photo Gallery displaying artwork from around the world and from the best photos ever taken of Elvis.
I would like them to have some type of display of all the pop culture quotes about Elvis and his modern day appeal and influence so that younger kids don't think he's just for the past generations only.
A much bigger music store containing ALL of the Elvis cd's, imports, etc, and dvd's too.
An IMAX theater that shows his concert films.
A movie theater that shows his classic movies
A resturant
A small theme attraction tye park but down the road from Graceland.
Rides could include Zippin Pippin, Rockin Roller Coaster, a nascar race track for teens and call it Spinout, a safari ride through water and forrests and call it Blue Hawaii, and other rides named after songs. Sounds like Disney to me.

Where on earth did anyone get the information that Dannielle will inherit the estate when she turns 18...what a load of garbage.
I know some of you don't like Jack Soden, and that's your right, but I spoke to him about this very subject, and he told me that under no circumstances will the upstairs ever be open for public viewing. He told me that the main reason was the privacy issue, then the next reason was the logistics of it all. I am sure that even though Sillerman owns the rights to the tours of the mansion, that Priscilla and Lisa have an ironclad agreement that the upstairs is to remain off limits.
If and when Lisa's children ever inherit the house and it's contents, they too will have an understanding that their mother and grandmother have very strong thoughts about how things should be done, if some of you agree or not, OK, but it's still their house, it's not ours.....we are just visitors.

Hey Carolyn, I too have heard about Miss Riley inheritting Elvis' fortune. It was on either Inside Hollywood or ET. I think she'll just get the money but Lisa and Cilla will remain incharge of it.

As for Soden, he might be on his way out from what was said on talk radio a couple weeks ago when the whole story was blowin up here. There's some quiet whippers of a new staff and leadership at EPE under Sillerman in the works. So Jay you were right about that.

Personally, I would love to see the upstairs. I have always wanted to see it. I don't care anything about seeing the bathroom, but I would definitely stick my head in the door of Elvis' bedroom to take a look if given the chance.

Do I think it will ever happen for myself or any of the public?

Absolutely not.

I would not want the house to be altered in any way to accommodate the public and that is what would be required to open it up. Therefore it should remain closed. There is also the privacy issue. Elvis never showed his guests the upper floor so I honestly dont believe he'd be overly pleased to have thousands of people traipsing around his bedroom.[/quote]

Elvis never showed his guests the upper floor.

There have been several female "guests" that would beg to differ with that statement.

Elvis never showed his guests the upper floor.

There have been several female "guests" that would beg to differ with that statement.

indeed. perhaps female fans in those days were a bit luckier.

it was certainly elvis' space, but somehow i doubt it was quite so 'shriney'. i mean it's like people who don't like to show people the upstairs of their houses because they are afraid the guests will walk off with something while they aren't looking. i know that's why my mom doesn't like people going upstairs. it's usually because of valuables.

somehow i doubt people are going to be able to 'take' anything when there's roped-off doorways or possibly plexiglass.

the arguement falls flat because of why people don't like people going upstairs. plus the fact that there's nothing private going to be sitting out, unmade sheets, etc... those are all the reasons people don't show the upstairs of their homes. it wasn't just elvis.

i think elvis was a bit more normal than people give him credit for.

and people DID go upstairs. he just didn't give tours to everybody up into his bedroom. i mean, i suppose then it would have drawn at least a mental chuckle for elvis to show his bedroom to guests that included males. females, however...a lot of females saw the upstairs. it's just not something you do when you are hanging out in your living room. oh hey, do you all want to see my bathroom? i mean. com'on.

in fact, a friend of linda's took a bunch of pictures. people were indeed ALLOWED up there. i bet the house functioned like a real house. close buds could go up, but most of the company stayed in the downstairs rooms that were the 'hang-out' rooms. i'm sure the downstairs bedroom wasn't shown much either, yet we see that on the tour.

however, lisa has said she stays in her old room when she visits memphis...so sometimes the upstairs of graceland still functions as a real house...though it's mostly not.

let's face it. nobody lives there anymore, really. nobody's 'space' is being invaded. it's a museum. it's only used as a home on occasion--christmas dinners and lisa's place to stay.