Why was Elvis not afraid of EIC being broadcast? Or was he?

[eligain]

Does anyone have that picture in better quality? I don't think I ever saw it.

I used to have that actual copy of the Enquirer but it got destroyed when our basement flooded. That's the best I could find in a quick internet search. If you search the title on Ebay, you might be able to find a clearer picture. The Enquirer was newsprint in those days so the actual copy wasn't very good in the first place. I have never seen the actual color picture that came from.

[rlj4ep]

Either Elvis was in denial or something...because he said in May, 1977 at one show to the audience (I forget exactly which one, but this is paraphrased): "Don't believe everything you read. I'm in perfect health."

Brian, In Philly on May 28 of '77, at the end of his show before CHFIL, Elvis said, "Be careful what you read and what you here. I am in good health" (and although the crowd was roaring I thought I heard him say "and I love performing." So the quote you are referencing was from his last Spectrum concert in Philly, I believe.
While the crowd was roaring I remember sitting in my seat thinking that's a strange comment to make at the end of a show. But maybe he was worried about the book and even the way he looked....

Elvis also made similar comments in Saginaw on May 3 and in Kansas City on June 18...there were probably others as well. But he basically said the same thing, "Despite what you may have heard or read, I'm in good health."... Even in Baltimore on May 29 after being absent for nearly a half hour, he (very non-convincingly) says to the audience, "There's nothing wrong with my health."

I understand..., I am not in any way suggesting that Elvis was in good health. It was obvious that something was not right and he was not well. I was simply trying to respond to Brian's post about what I heard in Philly that evening.

[DearGeorgie]

Either Elvis was in denial or something...because he said in May, 1977 at one show to the audience (I forget exactly which one, but this is paraphrased): "Don't believe everything you read. I'm in perfect health."

Brian, In Philly on May 28 of '77, at the end of his show before CHFIL, Elvis said, "Be careful what you read and what you here. I am in good health" (and although the crowd was roaring I thought I heard him say "and I love performing." So the quote you are referencing was from his last Spectrum concert in Philly, I believe.
While the crowd was roaring I remember sitting in my seat thinking that's a strange comment to make at the end of a show. But maybe he was worried about the book and even the way he looked....

Elvis also made similar comments in Saginaw on May 3 and in Kansas City on June 18...there were probably others as well. But he basically said the same thing, "Despite what you may have heard or read, I'm in good health."... Even in Baltimore on May 29 after being absent for nearly a half hour, he (very non-convincingly) says to the audience, "There's nothing wrong with my health."

I understand..., I am not in any way suggesting that Elvis was in good health. It was obvious that something was not right and he was not well. I was simply trying to respond to Brian's post about what I heard in Philly that evening.

No, I know you didn't actually believe he was in good health. I was just saying that he made a point of telling certain crowds to not be concerned about his well-being.

[eligain]

Cash, cash, cash, and cash NOW!. Elvis needed it and Parker needed it. How he appeared on TV was almost irrelevant to both of them.

You can't blame Vernon for Elvis' finanaces. Vernon told him more than once that they'd be broke and living back in the shack in Tupelo (okay, I made that last bit up). But Elvis didn't want the conversation, countering with he'd just go out and do more shows.
Then what?
He ended up doing more shows and still there wasn't enough, putting Graceland up for a loan.
$0.5M a month to run Elvis' life and all consequential outgoings in 1977. $6M net a year. Doesn't calculate with what was coming in.

So $0.75M for the CBS show, okay, less 50% for Parker, that leaves, (before tax!)....yeah, not worth it really.

We say how bad he was - and he was - on the show. But why? He looked okay getting out of the car in Rapid City, then the make up went on and he looked hideous. In Omaha during My Way we can see the scarf around Elvis' neck had rubbed away some of the make up and there's a line which makes it look like he'd put a grotesque mask on. Weird, just too weird.

The producers of the special said that Elvis was very pale. Pale to the point of looking sick. I've read that the makeup person had told people that he looked like a corpse and they openly wondered how soon he would die.

They put makeup on most people for television cameras but with Elvis, they had to give him a lot of color because he looked to pale. You hear Elvis say the makeup made him look like Cochise. BTW, you can see that Elvis was wearing makeup for Aloha as well. It was basically standard for anyone going before TV cameras in those days. So there was nothing weird or different about Elvis wearing makeup for the special but it wound up looking unnatural because he was so pale.

He didnt look pale when he got out of the car in Rapid City, walked well, sounded upbeat when he acknowledged the camera. He looked a lot worse when the make up was shovelled on, sound breathless - even before the show when the medallion of life was given to him.

It was semi dark, no stage light, when he did get out of the car.
You couldn't really see how he looked. He walked away very fast and you saw him merely from the side.
The make up surely didn't made him look paler.

Semi dark? Is that the same as semi light?
Well maybe you couldn't see how he looked, that would be silly for me to say how you can see something, only you'd know that.
He did walk away quite fast, nothing unsteady or sluggish about that.
The make up didn't make him look paler just grotesque.

They did need more light. That might have been the reason. Elvis wasn't pale in himself but he might have appeared that way given the extra lighting put on him without compensating for it.
This was due to the show being videotaped.
Film can be adjusted to match the lighting conditions. But videotape is a constant and you need to adjust the lighting to suit it.

Maybe it was the make up department who were responsible for making him look the way he did.

The producers of the special told the author of "Channeling Elvis" that they had to put a lot of makeup on Elvis because he looked so unhealthy. I think Elvis had naturally very pale skin anyway. You can see it in EOT. And the fact that he probably got zero sun, made things that much worse. Even in many pictures of Elvis in the 50's, he sometimes looked pasty. But I think there was maybe something beyond pale that people were seeing when they saw him in person at that time.

As far as the EIC special, I've always thought Elvis looked better in the face in Omaha. His gut looked bigger but to me, he looked healthier in the face. In Rapid City, his gut looked smaller but his face looked more bloated and pasty and his eyes didn't look right. It's too bad he was still under the effects of the downers for the Omaha show. Even so, although he moved slower in Omaha, he still didn't seem unsteady on his feet and didn't stumble around like he was stoned.

[eligain]

Well, with the face lift they weren't off. And his fear of aging too.
Somehow that was leaked.
(Not commenting on the new baby stuff).

I remember when I heard about the face lift in the 80s I thought that was pure BS and mean.
Well, it wasn't BS.

The movie magazine stories were usually pure BS. They often had him secretly remarrying Priscilla or her having another secret baby with him. Or they had him dating or secretly marrying Cher, or Cher having a secret lovechild with him. They usually plastered on their covers the worst, most unflattering stage pictures of him, especially from that summer of 76 in the bicentennial suits.

The tabloids tended to have more accurate stories (like the facelift story) but at the time it was hard to tell which stories were true and which weren't and if they were exaggerated. Most people thought the tabloid stories were total BS as well. Obviously someone from the inner circle was leaking stories to tabloids. Tabloids like the Enquirer paid for tips and stories so someone from the inner circle was making some side money.

Most of these magazines were displayed at the checkout stands at grocery stores and drugstores and airport shops so it was hard for the general public to not see these pictures of Elvis.

[Yamaguchi.Y]

Who were the key "lifers" that were replaced by the Stanley boys?

I was thinking Linda and The Wests. They knew EP's habits well and were "experienced" (especially Linda, she may have been the core "lifer").

[brian]

There was the overweight cartoon of him on the cover of National Lampoon magazine in 1976

Yep. That's why I think Elvis didn't think that the CBS special was going to hurt his career. He'd been appearing regularly on stage during 1976-1977 selling out concerts while the media made fun of him for his appearance. Nothing happened from that it was just business as usual and Elvis carried on. Elvis was aware of the fat jokes from the comedians. I think perhaps he underestimated things with the CBS special but I feel that's why. Despite being overweight Elvis still got out and did things. He didn't crawl into a cave and hide. eligain has made some very good points in this thread and he has answered tinseltown's questions.

[eligain]

Who were the key "lifers" that were replaced by the Stanley boys?

I was thinking Linda and The Wests. They knew EP's habits well and were "experienced" (especially Linda, she may have been the core "lifer").

Yeah, Linda was definitely the main lifer but the Wests weren't lifers. They were security, bodyguards. They weren't in charge of watching over him in his home. I don't know who the Stanleys replaced or if there even was any "lifers" before the Stanleys. Even without Linda being there, had the Stanley's been on their posts like they were supposed to be, there's a small chance Elvis maybe could have been saved.

[Swedish]

Does anyone have that picture in better quality? I don't think I ever saw it.

1_20140919071217.jpg

[Yamaguchi.Y]

Is that an actual photograph or drawing (and what is the source)?

[eligain]

Is that an actual photograph or drawing (and what is the source)?

If you saw the actual paper, it was a photo but you could see that it had been enhanced and touched up with art pencils in parts. It was probably a little too dark so they defined the dark parts with art pencils. I've never seen a corresponding color picture to this. It's possible it was a picture taken by a Enquirer staffer who attended that Elvis concert, so the actual picture may never be available.

[rollinson1]

Nothing or no one was going to save him.When you live your life to the extreme like Elvis did something has to give. No matter what drugs you take at some point they take you. I believe I read somewhere that Elvis took 3 different combinations of drugs just to get to sleep and because he was struggling to sleep that day he took them quicker than normal which was one overdose too many. I know lots have been on the brink and turned their lives around but you have to help yourself and Elvis did not have that in him at that point

[jurasic1968]

No one but Linda. She saved Elvis' life a couple of times after Aloha.

[tinseltown]

What is a "lifer" in the Elvis circle?

[Troubleman]

Interesting topic. I also think it had to do with his mindset; if Elvis agreed to do something (contractually) then he would do it. He was instructed to sing to a dog on The Steve Allen Show in 1956 while wearing a tuxedo, and he did it. He hated it, but he did it anyways. He hated some of his later 60s movies. But if the script indicated he sing to bull (Stay, away Joe), then he just did it. So I would guess the same thing with this TV special. He had agreed to do it, so he did it. The difference was always motivation. In 1973, he got himself in shape before the Aloha special. But by 1977, he was no longer motivated. He would do the special, but he could not physically, nor mentally, get himself in better shape. He just did the 2 concerts basically the same way he had done the other shows on that tour. Nothing special, no new costume, no new songs that hadn't already been added on the tour. And for that, he was paid very well. Maybe if he had gotten a chance to see the special later on, it might have motivated him to get himself in shape. But we will never know.

I don't think that he could have stopped the airing of the special anyways. He had probably already spent the money he was paid to do it. The Colonel could make suggestions and such, but no way that he, nor Elvis, could have stopped CBS from airing the footage. The special also filled the need for a new RCA album. With Moody Blue coming out recently, he had no need to record new songs for 1977 for another album.

[tinseltown]

I ddon't think it was planned to release an record album from EIC while alive.
I think that only happened because he died.

[Alan_K]

Maybe it was the make up department who were responsible for making him look the way he did.

The producers of the special told the author of "Channeling Elvis" that they had to put a lot of makeup on Elvis because he looked so unhealthy.

So it was them then.

[Alan_K]

Who were the key "lifers" that were replaced by the Stanley boys?

I was thinking Linda and The Wests. They knew EP's habits well and were "experienced" (especially Linda, she may have been the core "lifer").

Yeah, Linda was definitely the main lifer but the Wests weren't lifers. They were security, bodyguards. They weren't in charge of watching over him in his home. I don't know who the Stanleys replaced or if there even was any "lifers" before the Stanleys. Even without Linda being there, had the Stanley's been on their posts like they were supposed to be, there's a small chance Elvis maybe could have been saved.

How do you save a man from himself?

You step in between the man and himself and demonstrate how much you care by finding a way to help him.
A person can try their hardest and still be unsuccesful.
But keep trying and never give up.
If you never manage to be successful then it can't be your fault if you never gave up trying.

[minkahed]

Who were the key "lifers" that were replaced by the Stanley boys?

I was thinking Linda and The Wests. They knew EP's habits well and were "experienced" (especially Linda, she may have been the core "lifer").

Yeah, Linda was definitely the main lifer but the Wests weren't lifers. They were security, bodyguards. They weren't in charge of watching over him in his home. I don't know who the Stanleys replaced or if there even was any "lifers" before the Stanleys. Even without Linda being there, had the Stanley's been on their posts like they were supposed to be, there's a small chance Elvis maybe could have been saved.

How do you save a man from himself?

You step in between the man and himself and demonstrate how much you care by finding a way to help him.
A person can try their hardest and still be unsuccesful.
But keep trying and never give up.
If you never manage to be successful then it can't be your fault if you never gave up trying.

I'm sure Red West, Sonny West, Dave Hebler, Marty Lacker, and Lamar Fike tried to help the man.
Elvis was blessed to be surrounded by great guys that didn't do drugs, didn't get stoned or high with him; but he insisted he needed dope to keep going.

If you really believe that, you'll believe anything.

[elvinda58]

With "friends" like that who needs enemies!

[Yamaguchi.Y]

I submit the following question to fellow fans of the mb:

Who was/were the "true" or "better" "friends" -

The Wests, who confronted E about his problems and were fired because of it . . or . . (let's say somebody like) Charlie Hodge who is/was - literally - the keeper of secrets (even to the point where he was prepared if necessary to take the fall for the cough syrup incident in 1973 in Palm Springs (IIRC the details) . . ? ? ?

My opinion, fwiw, is The Wests.

[Alan_K]

With "friends" like that who needs enemies!

What is that supposed to mean? Hebler and the Wests tried to help Elvis get off dope, and what did they get as thanks? They got fired! But they didn't stop there. The three of them told the truth about Elvis in a book, hoping that would finally convince him to get straight. Isn't that what real friends should do?

The three of them probably did tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Enter Steve Dunleavy. Truth doesn't sell.

What we'll publish is some of the truth, the stuff that sells, not the boring truth no one wants to hear.
I do believe one of more of them have said they were naive and that they didnt realise what they'd told wasn't necessarily what was going to be published.

[tinseltown]

Were was the embellishment of Dunleavy?
I remember Sonny West were disappointed with the outcome what Dunleavy wrote.
He also said that what Dunleavy wrote was the truth but he didn't like that the emphasise on the negative parts.
But he didn't said that Dunleavy invented parts.
Did Dunleavy ever said something about it since the years the book was released?

[Alan_K]

Were was the embellishment of Dunleavy?
I remember Sonny West were disappointed with the outcome what Dunleavy wrote.
He also said that what Dunleavy wrote was the truth but he didn't like that the emphasise on the negative parts.
But he didn't said that Dunleavy invented parts.
Did Dunleavy ever said something about it since the years the book was released?

Oh I'm not saying he embellished it. I meant truth sells, but not all the truth, just selective truth.
So Dunleavy just kept the boring bits that dont sell out of the book and just left the remainder of the truth in.
There was no balance.

[OnTourCam]

What about what Joan said Felton I'm listening to the tapes I can't find the orchestra

I didn't record them WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!!