Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Ginger was there the night Elvis died and the subsequent days of the funeral, but she had never lived at Graceland and the will soon made it clear where she stood. Elvis Presley: Ginger Alden says there are a lot of untruths Elvis gave Ginger a massive diamond engagement ring in his final months. Keith Richards Meets the Mounties and Faces the Music, Doc Watson and His Tall Drink O Water Merle, Interview: Checking In With Author Joseph Heller, Jason Derulo Pens First Book 'Sing Your Name Out Loud', Wizkid More Love, Less Ego Tour Postponed to Fall 2023, A Year After Brain Injury, Amy Grant Sets First Solo Musical Return in a Decade, Blink-182 Postpone First-Ever Latin America Tour Dates Following Travis Barker Finger Injury, Raye Relives Her Sexual Assault in Harrowing 'Ice Cream Man' Video, How to Watch 'The Mandalorian' Online: Stream Season 3 Now, Alex MurdaughCalled 'Family Annihilator' by Prosecution in Murder Trial. More than 20,000 fans endured oppressive heat (temperatures in excess of 90) to await their turn to pass through the gates of Graceland and enter the mansion. For three and a half hours, fans filed by the open coffin to catch a glimpse of Elvis, who was dressed in cream-colored suit, blue shirt and striped tie. Did Ginger Alden go to Elvis funeral? She was banned from. His most famous home was Graceland, still a tourist attraction today, but he actually lived at nine different homes during those three decades. Mar. Though you really dont know. The men were later released, and charged only with trespassing, after police determined the scheme may have been a hoax. Well, covering Elvis was a war, too. Elvis Presley: What the Kings Father Explained to His Sons Co-Star Ann-Margret at His Funeral. "I'm living it, really," she said."Especially in this footage in this film, it's just been so heartwarming and quite emotional in every way." Already teary-eyed, Priscilla fought to hold back her tears when she was asked to share her memories of Elvis' funeral. Then there was the controversy concerning the death itself. Why isnt Elvis buried next to his mother? Equally puzzling (and still the subject of story after story) was the Elvis phenomenon. The call, from Elvis road manager Joe Esposito. . The actress explained that she had noticed Elvis hadnt sent her any flowers for her latest performance in Las Vegas a familiar gesture for Elvis, signifying to Ann-Margret that something was wrong. Even so, at 2:56 p.m. he was rushed into the emergency room, which was then closed to all other cases. He sent it over in his limo. The headline in the San Antonio Light ran above the masthead, in red type--complete with exclamation point. Ginger has a body measurement of around 38-32-40 inches. Over the course of his career, he's profiled the surviving Beatles, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, David Byrne, Pete Townshend, Debbie Harry, Quincy Jones, Brian May, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Taylor and many more. There is an odd footnote to the legend of the coffin photo: After it was run, the photo disappeared from the Enquirer offices. . Elvis Presley's ex-lover Ann-Margret attended the funeral proceedings and spent some time with his father, Vernon Presley. All this stuff Im telling you is in the first couple chapters of my book.. When Elvis returned from Germany and was no longer in the service, our family was invited, by an uncle of Elvis', to join Elvis and a group at the local fairground. But the Elvis autopsy report was never made public--at the request of his family. Only three people were. With those calls, I said to myself, What in the hell would Elvis like to have been said about him? . Elvis Presley tragically died in his home, Graceland, on August 16, 1977. It happened in the early morning hours when a driver (later charged with manslaughter and drunken driving) charged into a crowd of mourners. Long Live the King. They were hawked for $1 at the cemetery where Elvis was laid to rest. Although her role as Lilia the water girl in The Ten Commandments was her signature role in a 15-year Hollywood career, Debra Paget is best remembered today by Elvis enthusiasts as Presleys first leading lady in his 1956 debut film, Love Me Tender. Elvis Presley's family banned girlfriend Ginger from Graceland after The King's death ELVIS PRESLEY'S family stopped his fiancee at the gates of Graceland after his death. I didnt want to think he was dead. Elvis Presley Was Originally Laid to Rest in a Public Cemetery But Then Moved to Graceland: Heres Why. Ginger Alden, his fiance at the time, found him on his bathroom floor where he had been for hours. In their book, When Elvis Died, Neal and Janice Gregory revealed that Kennedy was actually on assignment for the New York Daily News. Ginger was one of the worst choices Elvis ever made, said Marty Lacker of the Memphis Mafia. What celebrities were at Elvis funeral? Officially, Elvis death--at age 42--was attributed to cardiac arrhythmia brought on by an irregular heartbeat caused by undetermined causes., In initial interviews, Elvis personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos, denied any drug problems. The morgue was sealed off by tight security and the preliminary autopsy began, with every important doctor in the hospital present. A headstone in his honor sits at Graceland. As legendary rock n roll producer-pioneer Sam Phillips put it: Oh, honey, all hell broke loose.. Thats what happened with the drugs.. Elvis last week alive was apparently a happy one. That was one of the things about the dude. Ron and Elvis both died on August 16. It is impossible for Elvis to ever look bad! No one expected it. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Presley, just 42 at the time, died on August 16, 1977, at his Graceland home. He made me comfortable.. A number of Elvis employees followed. Wouldnt you say thats kind of ironic?. The press descended like a flood. The next day I ended up in the bus in front of to the cortge, Murray, 67, continued, It was an extraordinary thing to seehundreds of thousands of people standing in a really hot day waiting.. Thats why we immediately wanted the coffin shot.. So the rush was on. He had planned to announce their engagement publicly on his upcoming tour in Memphis; sadly, he died before this could happen. Ginger Alden who was Elvis' current girlfriend at the time of his death is selling her engagement ring which Elvis gave her. Instant Elvis exploitation. 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So we had to get something no one else had. Read the book the world is talking about, screamed the headlines. On Monday, August 15th, Elvis arose late, as was his custom. Low-profile art world family seeks personal assistant, NBCs Chicago series have strong showings but CBS wins weekly TV ratings race, Hunger Games star Jena Malone says someone I had worked with sexually assaulted her, Travis Barkers finger injury delays Blink-182 tour: One of those freak accidents. "It's not always easy knowing all/what to say in moments sometimes but here goes," she wrote on Facebook. It was the story. She is an actress and a model and had been dating Elvis Presley at the time of his death. His daughter and his companion, a local woman named Ginger Alden, and about 15 . But when Elliott and Esposito walked into the hospitals administrative library, set aside for the press, Esposito, said Elliott, choked up and said, I cant do it. Some had scoops fall into their laps. Vernon (Presley, Elvis father) was especially touched., Soul man James Brown had already made an appearance. Except when it came to what you hear on those records. Elvis Presley had many loves across his lifetime from his ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, to his co-star Ann-Margret. We just knew we wanted everything to run smoothly. 7. Who was Elvis best man at his wedding? . West said he had no regrets about having written the book. Like Bill E. Burk, reporter/columnist with the now-defunct Memphis Press-Scimitar. It was the story for the next two weeks.. When Priscilla and Elvis met, Priscilla was 14-years-old, and The King would have been 24-years-old. Likewise, there is no information available regarding Ron's physical appearance. The city came to resemble a gypsy camp as tens of thousands of followers dropped whatever they were doing wherever they were and made their way to where they knew they had to be. According to CelebrityNetWorth, Elvis Presley had a net worth of $20million (15million) at the time of his death but technically his net worth was only $5million (3.5million), before adjusting for inflation. Ten years ago, he was the funeral director for Memphis Funeral Home. Ginger and Elvis and ed Parker. Yes, they did. . But while millions swooned over his records and lined up to see his movies, only a few women intimately knew the real man behind the legend. Because of Elvis love for his mother, his father knew hed want to be buried next to her. HE BECAME EVEN MORE OF A MYSTERY in death than he had been in life. Maybe, with the fans and everyone behind him, Elvis could have gotten some help. There are portions of that talk that Ive never printed--and I never will.. But word had already gotten out: They were on to us, said Elliott, because Elvis had come into the hospital in a fire department ambulance. For the next 30 minutes, the hospital fielded a deluge of calls from reporters. Ginger was living with Elvis Presley when he died on August 16, 1977. At 3746 Elvis Presley Boulevard (no one here calls it just Presley or just Elvis) the ambulance was led up the winding driveway of Graceland by a waiting car. How much did Ginger Alden get for her engagement ring? Did Ginger Alden Attend Elvis Funeral. "I grew to care deeply for her and felt the same from her.". On August 7th, Elvis had rented Libertyland, a local amusement park, from midnight till dawn. The beneficiaries of the trust were Vernon, Elvis grandmother Minnie Mae Presley, and his nine-year-old daughter Lisa Marie Presley. The press descended like a flood. Jesse Garons remains were never moved to Memphis. He was just sitting there, outside the gates, with a days worth of beard, and this strange look on his face. . As West noted: The whole point of the book was to embarrass (Elvis), to try to make him come to his senses. Their preliminary ruling was cardiac arrhythmia and hardening of the arteries. According to Peter H. Brown, who covered the death for the Pensacola, Fla. News-Journal, The main attitude at the time was one of awe. Reporters sought the answers among the people who had known him. takingcare-of-business: . Recalled Elliott: She called and said, Weve just gotten Elvis Presley in respiratory distress--and it doesnt look good., Well, that floored me. Nothing appointed or anything. Yet, Ginger still has an enormous diamond ring to prove he planned to marry her. Unfortunately, Presley died prior to tying the knot with Alden. . His personal doctor, George Nichopoulos, was administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. I cannot. I thought, Oh god, Im busted. And I realized they were pointing at Elvis mothers grave, I was standing right at her gravesite. Ronald Leyser was 61 years old at the time of his death. Alden was Elvis Presley's fiance and last love who shared his last few months with him. Fans stopped their lives in order to make a pilgrimage to Memphis. The crush of floral displays. She failed. As his time in the Army came to a close, Priscilla wanted to do so, but Elvis told her, Someday we will, Priscilla, but not now. And the Commercial Appeals Jim Kingsley interviewed Vernon Presley, who thanked the worlds fans for their tributes. Her autobiography mentions an uncomfortable moment during her engagement to Elvis. Other reporters were the enemy--and they were ruthless without using bullets.. But Ginger Alden was Presleys fiance at the time of his untimely death in 1977, when he was just 42 years old. Everybody had their jobs to do. 29 at 2147 Elvis Presley Boulevard. After Linda, The King briefly dated Mindi Miller before his last serious girlfriend in Ginger Alden. Burk had long had dealings with Vernon Presley, but he wasnt expecting to get a call from Elvis former girlfriend, Linda Thompson, after Elvis death. After the hospital finally received its call from Graceland, where Vernon Presley had been told about his son, it was decided that Joe Esposito would officially announce the death to those members of the press (maybe 30 or so) who had already gathered at the hospital. His father, Vernon, worked a series of odd jobs, and in 1938 was sentenced to three years in prison for forging a $4 check (he spent less than a year behind bars). Speaking about the film, Priscilla said her work on such projects allows her to experience Elvis' life all over again. 20 2019, Updated 1:42 p.m. KING ELVIS DIES, . And since then,. The books timing also resulted in a then-staggering order for 2 million copies. The tentative ruling was heart failure, but the autopsy was expected to continue for at least a week. Elvis Presley, was still wearing her 11 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring as she recalled the final hours of the singer's life. Elvis Presley, was still wearing her 11 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring as she recalled the final hours of . We were in a tough situation--because we knew Elvis Presley was dead, but we also had an obligation to his family. Priscilla and Elvis Presley at their 1967 wedding. On occasion, one would reach out to touch his face and caress his dark hair. Ginger Alden - Body Measurements. 1. Who was Elvis engaged to when he died? Alden was reportedly the last person to see him alive, and she still has fond memories of her short time with The King. The Soviet PRAVDA ran a full-page; ELVIS IS DEAD. "As many of us share with extreme saddened hearts today the passing of Elvis's daughter, I wanted to reflect. Her father was a Public Relations Officer in the Army in Memphis. Im waiting for someone to write about those., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Travis Scott is sought by New York Police after alleged assault and criminal mischief, Review: Michael B. Jordan is the one to fly now with Creed III, Unlike Andor, Mandalorian is going all in on Star Wars lore. Those are the things I like to remember. But he reads everything he finds about Lisa Marie, now 19. By that time, we knew people would have read a lot about Elvis. Wed always been such Kennedy supporters, you know. On the night of January 26, 1977, just two months after they met, Elvis proposed to her at Graceland. Red West remembers tuning into a Geraldo Rivera report on Good Morning America the morning after Elvis death and hearing Elvis: What Happened? branded a lie. It started to look like his trip had been for naught until he bumped into a photographer friend covering the spectacle. A journalistic war. This week alone, the headlines have included: THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING--The Chicago Sun-Times. Or with Priscilla. During an appearance on Today Wednesday morning, Priscilla Presley reflected on the day of Elvis funeral an event that sent Memphis into mourning. 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