. That was one mistake.. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, where he can be found DJing '60s soul records. Why is it that everyone wants to know the ugly? She is an actress and a model and had been dating Elvis Presley at the time of his death. So, of course, I asked him Why? And he looked at me and said, Well, man, its the king. Just like I should know., That is: It was as if the whole city of Memphis got together and worked to produce Elvis final show.. > have to wonder about a few things. We want to hear it. . It started to look like his trip had been for naught until he bumped into a photographer friend covering the spectacle. Presley had a busy love life post-Priscilla - Natalie Wood, Anita Wood and Linda Thompson all dated the musician - but he was with Ginger Alden when he died Fame and celebrity + FOLLOW Lynn. Your email address will not be published. Elvis Birthday Elvis Born January 8, 1935. What set all the drug talk in motion was a tell-all paperback, published just 15 days prior to Elvis death. Ann-Margret also spoke about the tender moment 20 years later in her autobiography,My Story. Ronald Leyser was 61 years old at the time of his death. His daughter and his companion, a local woman named Ginger Alden, and about 15 friends spent the night riding Casey's . Ginger has a body measurement of around 38-32-40 inches. Instead, she delivered straightforward descriptions of those she saw in Graceland, including Elvis Presley, whose face seemed swollen and his sideburns reached his chin. And she included descriptions of the interior, such as: Potted plastic palms surrounded the coffin and on the wall was a painting of a skyline on black velveteen.), A few would see the Kennedy piece as somewhat of a journalistic coup. Before his death, Elvis Presley was engaged to his soon-to-be-bride Ginger Alden for seven months. But they dont really.. After returning to Graceland he went to his racquet ball court and played until about six a.m. Tuesday, August 16th. Just look at her face, she is devastated she didn't care what she had on, the love of her life had just died, they hadn't been apart that long and maybe she was hoping they could . Well, covering Elvis was a war, too. Charlie Hodge, Elvis longtime guitarist, kept a brush handy. Elvis Presleys ex-lover Ann-Margret attended the funeral proceedings and spent some time with his father, Vernon Presley. At 2:33 p.m. the call came to the Memphis Fire Departments Engine House No. Many people agree that she phoned. Ginger Alden was just 20 when she first started dating the King of Rock 'n' Roll, but their relationship was turbulent at times, and his inner circle, the so-called 'Memphis Mafia', didn . Ginger Alden who was Elvis' current girlfriend at the time of his death is selling her engagement ring whichElvis gave her. In. Looking away from a reporter, he brushed away a tear. His death left promoters with a financial dilemma: How could they reimburse fans for tickets worth more than $600,000 if the fans refused to return the tickets (which became collectors items)? This week alone, the headlines have included: THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE KING--The Chicago Sun-Times. A number of Elvis employees followed. A Harvey Team, which is trained in all means of reviving a dying person, worked on him without success. Reporters sought the answers among the people who had known him. Ill never forget it. Elvis just dropped dead, out of the blue. Elvis Presley, was still wearing her 11 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring as she recalled the final hours of the singer's life. They were all staring at me and pointing. Did Ginger Alden attend Elvis Presley's funeral? "There were so many reporters, you couldn't get a. Everyone knows Elvis Presleys relationship with Priscilla Presley. Now the district manager for the state of Tennessee for Guardian Plans Inc., a division of Service Corp. International, Kendall oversees agents who sell prearranged funerals. In their book, When Elvis Died, Neal and Janice Gregory revealed that Kennedy was actually on assignment for the New York Daily News. Other reporters were the enemy--and they were ruthless without using bullets.. I was with him for 17 years so, for me, protection was an automatic thing. Crosby was driving and Jones was helping with revival attempts in the back. And both West and Hebler appeared at a press conference on the day after Elvis death. His daughter and his companion, a local woman named Ginger Alden, and about 15 friends spent the. I understood her feelings and appreciated notes she wrote to me.". Elvis read that and got so upset that he had a top-of-the-line wheelchair bought and delivered. Three men captured in a stakeout near Elvis tomb were accused of attempting to steal Elvis body and hold it for ransom. HE BECAME EVEN MORE OF A MYSTERY in death than he had been in life. maureenhall1966 Maybe she only grabbed this dress as she was in a haze of disbelief and sorrow. On the night of January 26, 1977, just two months after they met, Elvis proposed to her at Graceland. He began recalling the events of the funeral, Because I was dazed with shock and misery, I didnt see or recognize some of the people at the funeral. He added, Ann-Margret and I hugged each other and cried together, but I didnt even see her husband, Roger Smith, who was close by.. Wouldnt you have done that?, He added, You have to remember what Memphis was like at the time. Marion Keiske Who Discovered Elvis Presley? We just knew we wanted everything to run smoothly. . Its a secret. By that time, we knew people would have read a lot about Elvis. "I will always remember riding in the golf cart with Lisa at her father's home, something she loved so very much and taking her to good "ole" Mcdonalds for a burger," she added. Elvis Presley, was still wearing her 11 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring as she recalled the final hours of the singer's life. She also noted how special Lisa Marie was to her father and recalled a moment between her and Elvis where he commented on just how alike they were. Alden was 21 years younger than Presley, but that didnt stop the couple from developing a serious relationship during the last year of his life. No matter that there was no room in the inn (the citys 9000 motel rooms were already overflowing with 16,000 conventioning Shriners), no matter that only a couple of thousand out of 75,000 got to view the regal body lying in state, no matter that only 200 or so close friends attended the services. He remembers huddling with them in his trailer, where we cried like crazy., With a shake of his head, West added, And the thing is, right off, I knew what had brought it (the death) on. He nodded glumly. That all changed. After they met, the two would go on to have a romance for over a year. This meant the hospital had to postpone announcement of the death for at least 30 minutes. Ginger Alden who was Elvis' current girlfriend at the time of his death is selling her engagement ring which Elvis gave her. Talking about his wife, Ginger Alden is 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and has a body weight of around 71 Kg (156 lbs).7. Read the book the world is talking about, screamed the headlines. The RCA plant in Indianapolis worked 24 hours a day. Elvis was to have begun a 12-city tour on Aug. 17, 1977. Ronald Leyser was a director of commercials and was married to Ginger Alden from 1991 until his death. (Her twentieth birthday was just six days earlier. Miss Alden, wearing the black dress she wore only hours earlier to the funeral, said she wanted to convince herself Presley was not dead. Elvis had the Presidential Suite. That look is not far away from her father's now. More than 4,500 separate floral arrangements (some shaped like guitars) were ultimately picked bare by the very fans whod sent them. Their preliminary ruling was cardiac arrhythmia and hardening of the arteries. He was ordinary in so many ways. I felt enough had been said. She had just turned twenty, while Elvis was twenty-one years her senior. Did Ginger Alden attend Elvis funeral? Letters Of Note, Shaun Usher's compilation of fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos is brilliant. Did Ginger Alden attend Elvis funeral? A headstone in his honor sits at Graceland. While Elvis Presley was seemingly smitten with Ginger Alden enough to buy her a $70,000 diamond ring not all of his friends approved. The two were engaged until his untimely death in 1977. There was a virtual scramble to interview anybody who had known Elvis. Elvis Presleys grandson Benjamin Keough buried in Graceland alongside King of Rock and Roll. As for stories that the Enquirer reporters riled reporters from other publications because they had papered the town by buying up exclusive rights to peoples stories--Calder said simply, If the sheer force of money can give you what people want to read, you give them what they want.. There were a lot of people there, working on Elvis Presley. 1. Who was Elvis engaged to when he died? She was banned from. Jesse Garons remains were never moved to Memphis. Its the same with our photos of Gary Hart and the girl on his knee. "'I've been 60% happy and 40% happy, but never 100%. the Little Dipper, the Fender Bender and the parks 11 other rides. Phillips, who produced Elvis first records (this after a search to find a black sound inside a white boy), received so many calls that you couldnt begin to count em. They came from all over the world--including England, Australia and Japan. The crush of floral displays. Andy Micklin, incarcerated. 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. Something made me want to go, he revealed. Like the one in the Washington Posts Style section: ALL SHOOK UP ON THE DAY THE 50s DIED. Crosby and Jones were brought upstairs, where Presley was lying on the floor of his bathroom. Some Elvis associates are interviewed out, they said. The photo also so angered Elvis entourage that a private detective was hired to unmask the culprit--now said to be a black sheep.. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. 4. Ginger Alden was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1956. But we certainly saw the journey he was taking.. THE KING OF ROCK KEEPS ON ROLLIN--People magazine. Did Ginger Alden attend Elvis funeral? 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. Ginger Alden and Elvis at Grandpa's funeral. Then he just got in his car and headed for Memphis. Did Ginger Alden keep her engagement ring? Ginger was one of the worst choices Elvis ever made, said Marty Lacker of the Memphis Mafia. 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. But Ginger Alden was Presleys fiance at the time of his untimely death in 1977, when he was just 42 years old. In writing Elvis: What Happened?, West lost the friendship of some of the Memphis Mafia. And he is no longer in touch with Col. Tom Parker--with whom he had many disagreements over the management of Elvis career. After Elvis Presleys death on August 16, 1977 at Graceland, his will appointed his father, Vernon Presley, as executor and trustee. How Do You Get Rid Of Hiccups In 5 Seconds. Her father was an Army recruiter and her mother worked for the Internal Revenue Service. A tragic car crash outside Graceland. GInger described how, after only a few months, Elvis proposed: "He said: 'Ginger, I've been searching for love so long, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would find it in my own backyard. Because of Elvis love for his mother, his father knew hed want to be buried next to her. Advertisements What does Ginger Alden do now? Everyone knows Elvis Presleys relationship with Priscilla Presley. When she missed her deadline, she sold her story to Rolling Stone. Priscilla Presley Disputes Invalid Amendment to Lisa Maries Trust As such, Kingsley scored a coup earlier this year when he accompanied the Colonel on a Mothers Day weekend visit to Graceland--the Colonels first return to Graceland since Elvis death.). How much did Ginger Alden get for her engagement ring? He made me comfortable.. Ginger Alden was barely out of her teens when she first met Elvis Presley. According to Burk, hed figured his reporting of the death was finished. . Did JOHN WAYNE and Elvis ever meet? May you rest in peace Lisa. After calling Elvis kinfolk in Mississippi, the reporter was asked, What kind of money are we talkin about for this interview? After explaining that she couldnt offer payment, a reporter never got a call back. In WITNESS WHEREOF, I, the said ELVIS A. PRESLEY, do hereunto set my hand and seal in the presence of two (2) competent witnesses, and in their presence do publish and declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament, this 3 day of March, 1977. She failed. Two days later, his family, friends, and thousands of his most loyal fans gathered to say their goodbyes. Virtually every person from every beat was assigned to cover Elvis. Or with Priscilla. Co-authors Sonny West and Dave Hebler also did some talking. He was found in the room next door to the bedroom of his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, by his girlfriend, Ginger Alden. I was still shocked. Around 5 a.m. on the morning of August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley and fiancee Ginger Alden went to bed together, after spending much of the night awake despite Elvis trying to nod off with the aid of various prescription drugs, according to the Express. Alden was also allegedly banned from entering Elvis' Graceland home, with Elvis' uncle Vester telling The Daily Express that "Ginger Alden is dead now as far as the family is concerned.". She looks like she was a sweet girl. 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. It was enough, they said, to be in the same town with the King when he was laid away. When reporters for the National Enquirer, based in Lantana, Fla., boarded a specially chartered private plane for Memphis, they knew they had to get something that no other publication would have. Youre just too young.. Like the time he accompanied Elvis to California for the filming of Jailhouse Rock. Klein shook his head and recalled, It was awesome. Presleys body was already blue. Elvis road manager, Joe Esposito (who has not written a Elvis book), summed up the mania this way: Thereve been books written about Elvis by close friends he never knew he had.. Id fluff his hair back out, the way he liked it, he remembered. . Moreover, she has a pair of brown hazel eyes and brown color hair. 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. How did Elvis mom die? Well, God Almighty, when it came to Elvis Presley. Vernon said softly: He was so proud of you.'. 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. Did Priscilla go to Elvis funeral? It read: THE KING IS DEAD! takingcare-of-business: . 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved She has a body measurement of around 38-32-40 inches. Ginger Alden's first book, Elvis and Ginger: Elvis Presley's Fiance and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story , was published in 2015. Elvis Presley: Funeral in Memphis, Page 1 of 3. Elvis Presley was at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, resting between concert appearances. Elvis Presley: Ginger Alden says there are a lot of untruths Elvis gave Ginger a massive diamond engagement ring in his final months. In 1976, the year she met Elvis Presley, Ginger Alden, at 19, was a teenage beauty queen in a family of suburban beauty queens. Otherwise, said friends, Elvis was swimming daily in the pool at Graceland, playing racquet ball nightly and going over the music for his 11-day tour, which was to culminate with two shows at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis August 27th and 28th. ), Ginger Alden didnt want to move to Graceland. What about the good? Why isnt Elvis buried next to his mother? (Kingsley, who now works the police beat, is a longtime chronicler of Elvis and Col. Tom Parker, Elvis legendary manager. To that time, the only Elvis-related feature that the Commercial Appeals Thomas had ever done was about a determined fan who had mailed herself to Graceland in a large box. She failed. Because of his longtime tenure with Elvis, and because Esposito was initially credited with finding the body (reports would later clarify that it was fiancee Ginger Alden who first made the discovery), he had dozens of requests for interviews. What did Ginger Alden say about Elvis? It was late afternoon on the 16th when he got a call from Baptist Hospitals chaplain, telling him hed soon be receiving a call from an Elvis associate. 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