Sandi: Did Elvis "help" around the house?

[Swingin-Little-Guitar-Man]

It's something never discussed but I've always wondered. Yeah, I know he had employees; cleaners, cooks etc. But Did Elvis actually ever do any kind of house work? Did he prepare dinner, no matter how basic, did he vacuum, do the dishes, sweep up, dust, or anything of that nature, or did he leave it for others to do? And was he ever physically involved with decorating Graceland? Did he actually paint any walls, doors etc. Or any DIY??

I'd like to think he did SOME stuff like this. I'm sure he did in the early days, but I'm wondering about the 60s and 70s here. Would be a groovy image of Elvis on the Graceland stair-well on his knees with a vacuum cleaner!!

Thanks in advance Sandi!

[Elton]

Good Question Guitar man,
I read once where Lisa had a flat tire on her golf cart,and came inside to tell her dad and ask HIM to fix it..ELvis replay was...Honey i got people who work for me to do those things.

[Swingin-Little-Guitar-Man]

That's a shame. Let's hope Sandi can prove us wrong with some nice Elvis-doing-chores anecdotes!

[Luuk]

It is a fact Elvis had people around him to do things he did not want to do himself.

[Luuk]

I know guys who complain when their wive asks them to do some household work. Then they ask me "what do you think about me having to do this?" to which I reply I'd be happy to do as little as they do because, being single, I have to do ALL the household work myself.
If I'd ever strike it rich, I'd hire some sexy females to do all the household work that needs to be done!
(When I ran my own shop, I had some lady cleaning the shop thoroughly every week)

[DutchLA]

It's something never discussed but I've always wondered. Yeah, I know he had employees; cleaners, cooks etc. But Did Elvis actually ever do any kind of house work? Did he prepare dinner, no matter how basic, did he vacuum, do the dishes, sweep up, dust, or anything of that nature, or did he leave it for others to do? And was he ever physically involved with decorating Graceland? Did he actually paint any walls, doors etc. Or any DIY??

I'd like to think he did SOME stuff like this. I'm sure he did in the early days, but I'm wondering about the 60s and 70s here. Would be a groovy image of Elvis on the Graceland stair-well on his knees with a vacuum cleaner!!

Thanks in advance Sandi!

I like questions like this - something different from the usual, even if I can't always answer them completely. First, I'm pretty clueless about anything that went on in Graceland or Memphis for that matter because I only went there 3 times while Elvis was alive and the extent of being around Elvis on those trips was only in the Memphian and then in the music room downstairs after the shows. Soooo....will move on to Palm Springs and the LA Homes.

The only thing I've ever personally see Elvis do on the domestic front is 1: he made toast pretty good, made lemonade, put tv dinners in the oven (and burned more than one) he'd often make coffee and sandwiches and was very good at opening chips and pouring them into big bowls to be brought into the living room. I will say he cleaned up after himself in Palm Springs - he'd rinse out his cup and leave it in the sink, wipe off the counter, didn't leave his dishes sitting on the coffee table but would bring them back into the kitchen and rinse them off. Don't recall him doing any of those things in the LA homes but then the help was always there whereas in Palm Springs they rarely came down for the weekend. His bedroom was always neat (clothes hung up) and his bathroom always cluttered but clean (cleaner than the other bathrooms in the house I might add!)

They had take out Chinese food one night which meant tons of those little white cartons of food - probably at least 25 cartons sitting all over the living room. Who cleaned up? Charlie and Elvis - funniest thing I've ever seen - those two walking around the living room with big trash bags picking up cartons. I wanted SO bad to take a photo! That was the only time I ever saw him do that and I think he knew we were gawking! He had that quirkey little grin on his face that said "go ahead and tell everyone - they won't believe you anyway!!" So - in Palm Springs he kind of reverted to non-celebrity status. But to wrap it up - usually whoever the girls were in the house would do the cleaning up (the regular ones, not the newcomers) and occasionally one of them would actually bake something. If the maid came down, no one did anything!!!! (then, when everyone went to bed, this is what the maids did!!)

Oh, and no, never saw him sweep, vacuum or paint. I can't even imagine him doing any of those things although he did a nifty job of painting those figures in the showroom of the Hilton!!

MidnightBeer PalmSprings.jpg

[Swingin-Little-Guitar-Man]

Superb stuff Sandi - thanks for your very swift and concise reply!

Would have loved to see him and charlie cleaning up the Chinese!

So, did he like Chinese food? What in particular? It's my favourite food in the world! i LOVE Chinese! Can't stand Italian though. Pasta, red and white sauces, lasagne, pizza ... yuk! LOL. What other foods did he like that aren't commonly discussed? I'm sick of hearing about fried banana, peanut butter and burgers. I'm sure he liked plenty of other stuff too.

[DutchLA]

Superb stuff Sandi - thanks for your very swift and concise reply!

Would have loved to see him and charlie cleaning up the Chinese!

So, did he like Chinese food? What in particular? It's my favourite food in the world! i LOVE Chinese! Can't stand Italian though. Pasta, red and white sauces, lasagne, pizza ... yuk! LOL. What other foods did he like that aren't commonly discussed? I'm sick of hearing about fried banana, peanut butter and burgers. I'm sure he liked plenty of other stuff too.

**They ordered Chinese quite a bit so apparently he liked it. He seemed to pretty much be a meat and potatoes kind of guy - simple stuff. Didn't are for salads - at least I don't remember him ever eating one. He liked certain fruits like Cantalope and Honeydew Melons. He liked chicken but only if no red was showing on the meat - and he didn't like any bones in his chicken -they had to be removed. He went on a peaches and pound cake kick for awhile - ate it constantly for about a month. Funny thing is, I never saw him eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich. In fact, I never even heard them being mentioned although I think ALvena once mentioned she made him one. He also liked Monkey Bread.

Ok - I'm off for Denmark in the morning and haven't packed yet (I'm such a procrastinator!)

[aussierose]

His bedroom was always neat (clothes hung up) and his bathroom always cluttered but clean (cleaner than the other bathrooms in the house I might add!)

Sandi, is that because you (and other friends/fans) were going around pinching things he'd used (ala cigar and ring stories)??

Helen

[Elton]

Sounds like ELvis was a neat person!
....in more ways than one,hee hee.

[drjohncarpenter]

For some reason, I really enjoyed this topic. Thanks for the replies, Sandi.

It's nice to imagine him just being a normal person once in a while. Palm Springs was a true sanctuary.

[Cryogenic]

Brilliant question! Wish I'd thought of it!

And more great responses from Sandi!

[Rich_TCB]

Sandi - you are da bomb diggity.

It's such a pleasure having you here on this forum - - we are VERY lucky!

Rich

[Monique]

Great stories agian!

Are there pictures of the angels Elvis painted in the Hilton? (he did a nifty job of painting those figures in the showroom of the Hilton!!)

What's "Monkey Bread" and what's "a peaches and pound cake"?

[DutchLA]

For some reason, I really enjoyed this topic. Thanks for the replies, Sandi.

It's nice to imagine him just being a normal person once in a while. Palm Springs was a true sanctuary.

**So true - Palm Springs was alot like Hawaii for Elvis in that respect!!

[stranger]

Are there pictures of the angels Elvis painted in the Hilton? (he did a nifty job of painting those figures in the showroom of the Hilton!!)

Hi Monique,
Here a picture.
It is from the book Raised On Elvis!Elvis!Elvis! by Sandi Haynes Pichon.

Sandi,
It was great meeting you in Holland and hear stories about you and Elvis.
Was Denmark and Holland the only two meetings you went to in Europe ?
Where you involved with fanclubs in the '70's are were you a member of a fanclub back then ?
ps. Thanks for signing my books.

[Monique]

Are there pictures of the angels Elvis painted in the Hilton? (he did a nifty job of painting those figures in the showroom of the Hilton!!)

Hi Monique,
Here a picture.
It is from the book Raised On Elvis!Elvis!Elvis! by Sandi Haynes Pichon.

Sandi,
It was great meeting you in Holland and hear stories about you and Elvis.
Was Denmark and Holland the only two meetings you went to in Europe ?
Where you involved with fanclubs in the '70's are were you a member of a fanclub back then ?
ps. Thanks for signing my books.

Thanks Stranger. I don't have that book (yet).

What part of that painting did Elvis paint?

[stranger]

What part of that painting did Elvis paint?

Here a quote from this great book.

"For those of you who never went to the Hilton Showroom, there were two statues on each side of a man and a woman, in Louis XIV garb. Elvis wasn't too crazy about them, so Red tied a bucket of paint to his belt, climbed the security fence, stacked up a couple of tables and Elvis and company painted the lady on the left black. Elvis was mystified how no one with the hotel ever made a peep about it."

[Monique]

What part of that painting did Elvis paint?

Here a quote from this great book.

"For those of you who never went to the Hilton Showroom, there were two statues on each side of a man and a woman, in Louis XIV garb. Elvis wasn't too crazy about them, so Red tied a bucket of paint to his belt, climbed the security fence, stacked up a couple of tables and Elvis and company painted the lady on the left black. Elvis was mystified how no one with the hotel ever made a peep about it."

Thank you Stranger!

[riley]

i enjoyed reading this topic very much.
Sandi did you ever see Linda or Cilla do domestic jobs???

[riley]

who is the lady in the kitchen and was it in the Ladera House?????

[DutchLA]

i enjoyed reading this topic very much.
Sandi did you ever see Linda or Cilla do domestic jobs???

Linda yes, Cilla no, but that doesn't mean that she didn't do stuff around the house. I can't imagine her not.

[DutchLA]

who is the lady in the kitchen and was it in the Ladera House?????

The lady in the photo was a friend of the Cooks (Alvena Roy) She was in town visiting Alvena so when Alvena was asked to go to Palm Springs for the weekend, she brought her along. It was that or her not going at all.

[riley]

thanks Sandi.

I guess Linda liked to cook. I saw her in the book of her friend also in the Graceland kitchen.

Yes I guess Cilla did some domestic work too..
What did she occupy her time with most of the day?????It would be neat to know what it really was to be Mrs Elvis Presley ....

[Luuk]

thanks Sandi.

I guess Linda liked to cook. I saw her in the book of her friend also in the Graceland kitchen.

Yes I guess Cilla did some domestic work too..
What did she occupy her time with most of the day?????It would be neat to know what it really was to be Mrs Elvis Presley ....

Being Mrs. Presley is not as good as fantasize about being Mrs. Presley.
She most probably entertained Elvis' live-in friends and their drop-by girlfriends.
After realizing Elvis would not change, she divorced him.