Elvis fights to ban book that tells all..

[E-Cat]

...this photo made me thinking... we know that the book made a deep impact...but what if ..there was no book ...
would Elvis have lived much longer ?

[Ricky]

No, not given the present circumstances and surroundings.

[ekenee]

Yes, I think he would have lived longer. How much longer?
Hard to say, a year maybe two. But the added stress of a tell-all book at this stage in his life, and his fears of what the public was thinking about him because of it, along with knowing that he would be examined very closely on his next tour, created the straw that really broke him.
Elvis never really saw all this coming.
Too busy living life in the now, rather than preparing for the future along with a bunch of other stuff, really did him in.
Kind of corny, but that line in "this is elvis" , "if I could only seen what was happening to me....". If ELvis had just a little more perception, all this could have been prevented.

[Tony Trout]

No, not given the present circumstances and surroundings.

Agreed. At the rate Elvis was going, I don't believe he would have lived much longer at all.....

[rickeap]

I agree the decline was continuing regardless but I also believe he took additional medication to calm his nerves as he prepared to face the crowd for the first time since the release of book, just as he did when he faced the cameras on June 19
Rick

[ColinB]

Problems were crowding in on Elvis at the time.

Poor health, depression, weight, looks, drug dependence, the sub-standard CBS tv show 'in the can' and to be broadcast soon, the upcoming tour he wasn't prepared for, financial burdens - all were taking their toll.

And perhaps some feelings of guilt over the recent sacking of some of his guys.

The book wouldn't have made things any easier.......

[Elvis_Priestly]

How to help a friend - with a smirk on your face, a gun on your shoulder and an exclusive in the paper.

[stupot]

I think that had he lived and seen the CBS show, Elvis would have been shocked enough to change a lot in his life..his drug use and his manager being the two most important!

He would then have wanted the World to see him at his very best.....if only.

[frus75]

I think that had he lived and seen the CBS show, Elvis would have been shocked enough to change a lot in his life..his drug use and his manager being the two most important!

He would then have wanted the World to see him at his very best.....if only.

I think I read sometime he saw parts of in concert, is that true?

[AndrewJ]

I think that had he lived and seen the CBS show, Elvis would have been shocked enough to change a lot in his life..his drug use and his manager being the two most important!

He would then have wanted the World to see him at his very best.....if only.

I doubt it ... If the book and TV appearance had caused him an embarassment it would have led to ranting, threats to kill, an increased intake of drugs. To Elvis is was everyone else's fault but his own - remember, according to some sources, he was just "so sick of being Elvis Presley". Did Red and Sonny understand what it was like for him? No.

Check out the notes Elvis wrote posted in the Ginger Alden thread - he was still trying to work out what it was all about, right up to the end of his life. Of course, he couldn't. He was Elvis Presley 24/7 - his only escape was to sleep and that was so hard to achieve by 1977.

Maybe the August/September tour would have featured more rambling denials - a la Vegas Summer 1974 - serving only to make it obvious what everyone was reading about in the book. To Elvis, showing his DEA badge would have proved he was not a junkie.

I think he was too far gone by 1977 - Red and Sonny should have written the book in 1974/75.

Such a waste ...

Andrew

[epf]

at least it kisses the view goodbye that the sensationalism came only from Dunleavy, not from his former bodyguards and/or friends.

this picture is disturbing on many levels, but mostly it shows how dysfunctional Elvis' relationship with his friends and v.v. really was. Elvis might have had great difficulties concerning normal relationships and friendships, but these three guys don't do much better.

[Little Darlin]

I think that had he lived and seen the CBS show, Elvis would have been shocked enough to change a lot in his life..his drug use and his manager being the two most important!

He would then have wanted the World to see him at his very best.....if only.

I doubt it ... If the book and TV appearance had caused him an embarassment it would have led to ranting, threats to kill, an increased intake of drugs. To Elvis is was everyone else's fault but his own - remember, according to some sources, he was just "so sick of being Elvis Presley". Did Red and Sonny understand what it was like for him? No.

Check out the notes Elvis wrote posted in the Ginger Alden thread - he was still trying to work out what it was all about, right up to the end of his life. Of course, he couldn't. He was Elvis Presley 24/7 - his only escape was to sleep and that was so hard to achieve by 1977.

Maybe the August/September tour would have featured more rambling denials - a la Vegas Summer 1974 - serving only to make it obvious what everyone was reading about in the book. To Elvis, showing his DEA badge would have proved he was not a junkie.

I think he was too far gone by 1977 - Red and Sonny should have written the book in 1974/75.

Such a waste ...

Andrew

Excellent Post!

E-Cat ... the answer to your question imo is no, it had gone too far and could only get worse and not better...

FWIW ..I don't think Hebler is smirking ... I think it's more like an intake of breath .. as in mmm maybe we shouldn't have said that.

[Mike Eder]

Seems like a very posed photo. I have seen it in the Complete Elvis book from 1982. While I have made my feelings clear on how I view the book, I would never go as far as to say it killed Elvis. It couldn't have helped his mood for most of 1977, but to be fair some say that Elvis was mentally in a better place in August due to Lisa's visit.

[KiwiAlan]

Note the guns and shoulder holsters....what complete jerk-offs in a posed photo!

[elvisjock]

I've always been annoyed by that smirk on Hebler's face. Red and Sonny could certainly make an argument for their participation. But, Hebler, a guy who was only around for a couple of years, was a different story.

[Bodie]

When are Elvis fans gonna wake up and realise that the blame for Elvis's downfall was solely down to Elvis.
As much as i think that Elvis was the greatest person who has ever walked this earth, no one at all is to be blamed for the way his life ended.
The fact is that Elvis was slowly killing himself and he wouldnt listen to no one.
Anyone who tried to intervene in his personal life were fired.Simple as that!!!
The book coming out was the one and only way that could have woke him up and made him realise that he was on the verge of losing it all.
Sometimes people need to be humiliated into admitting they have a problem.
I give credit to the guys for at least trying.They must have realised the impact on them and their families by bringing a book out like that.
The book did more damage to their lives than Elvis'.
AndrewJ was spot on.
The book should have been written a few years earlier.

[Tony Trout]

When are Elvis fans gonna wake up and realise that the blame for Elvis's downfall was solely down to Elvis.
As much as i think that Elvis was the greatest person who has ever walked this earth, no one at all is to be blamed for the way his life ended.
The fact is that Elvis was slowly killing himself and he wouldnt listen to no one.
Anyone who tried to intervene in his personal life were fired.Simple as that!!!
The book coming out was the one and only way that could have woke him up and made him realise that he was on the verge of losing it all.
Sometimes people need to be humiliated into admitting they have a problem.
I give credit to the guys for at least trying.They must have realised the impact on them and their families by bringing a book out like that.
The book did more damage to their lives than Elvis'.
AndrewJ was spot on.
The book should have been written a few years earlier.

*DING*

We have a winner!!


GREAT POST!!


The sad fact is that they tried and tried to stop Elvis...they (and anyone else who tried) were severely reprimanded or fired because Elvis himself did not want to face the truth of what was happening to him.

Frankly, I applaud Red & Sonny & Dave for trying their damndest to help him because he sure as hell wasn't going to help himself.

And that's the way it is.....

[stupot]

Public humiliation would never have worked. A challenge would have been better.

[drjohncarpenter]

How to help a friend - with a smirk on your face, a gun on your shoulder and an exclusive in the paper.

Obviously, this is a sensitive subject for some.

However, it has been 30+ years since the book was published -- one might argue that a little context and perspective would allow you to finally have some peace of mind regarding their situation.

[Dan_T]

IMO,I think he would have lived longer.Billy Smith and Joe Esposito have both stated the book was all Elvis had on his mind his last year alive,and that's very sad,I don't think he deserved it.

I get the impression too, that Lisa Marie partly blames these 3 men too,for the loss of her Father that day.

Sonny West has already stated that the book idea was,at first,out of "bitterness."

Shame they couldn't have come up with a more personal challenge,and not one the whole world to got to hear about.

Just my opinion.

[drjohncarpenter]

Shame they couldn't have come up with a more personal challenge,and not one the whole world to got to hear about.

Tell us, what should they have done?

[Dan_T]

Well,John,they could of at least threatened Elvis with a "Tell All Book" there's one challenge right there.

They didn't give him a single chance did they,and I'm not talking about before they left,I mean once they were fired.

I'm sure you can think of others for yourself.

Dan.

[drjohncarpenter]

... they could of at least threatened Elvis with a "Tell All Book" there's one challenge right there.

You honestly believe Elvis in 1976 would have responded to that as a "challenge"? Please. He would have had them tossed into the street, pronto, denying any and all charges.

They didn't give him a single chance did they,and I'm not talking about before they left,I mean once they were fired.

Not one? I disagree. There was a very long phone call with Red in October 1976 -- about nine months before the biography was published by Ballantine Books.

Elvis could have said the right things then. Red gave him several opportunities to do so. But Elvis did not.

[norrie]

It's just a pity that "rehab"wasn't in the vocabulary
back then.Nowadays there is no shame in admitting
your problems and doing a spot of rehab,in fact
it is almost the in thing to do if you want to be a
celeb.Not in Elvis' time of need though.

norrie

[Dan_T]

I disagree,the book was alreadly in the making at the time of that phone call,I doubt anything Elvis said in that phone call would have made an ounce of difference.

And don't forget,this is the supposed phone call in which Elvis "Begs,please don't hurt me" the the fact that it was recorded shows Red's and Sonny's intent.

I'm glad Elvis told Red "Do what you have to do" and didn't cry and beg,cause it wouldn't have made a difference,and would have made them smugger than what they looked in the above Pic.

No,if you can't see that they could have helped him,like they said they wanted to,in any other way than Public humiliation,then nothing I say is gonna change your view.

At the very,very least,they could have said,if you don't make our situation right,and you don't get proper help,then we're gonna go public with it all.

Dan.