On June 15th, I attended “An Intimate Evening with Priscilla Presley” at Mooresville Performing Arts Center in Mooresville, NC. Priscilla Presley is currently making stops around the country, sharing her story about her time spent with Elvis Presley, and offering fans the chance to purchase her autographed book, “Elvis and Me.” When purchasing tickets for this discussion [link at the bottom of this article], you also have the option to meet Presley after the show, take pictures with her and get your book personalized or your own memorabilia pieces that you brought with you signed.
An Intimate Evening With Priscilla Presley
“An Intimate Evening with Priscilla Presley,” featured Presley sharing pictures and stories from her years long romance with Elvis Presley. She also spoke about their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley and her romance with Michael Jackson, her son Navarone Garibaldi and his budding music career, as well as her grandchildren, including Riley Keough, who Presley insisted that the highly reported fighting and lawsuits between them, were embellished paparazzi trash.
Presley shared details about her life at Graceland, including why the 2nd floor is not open to the public. She also fielded questions from the audience. As someone who has not yet visited Graceland, my curiosity is now peaked. My favorite part of the event was the big screen behind her where she shared probably hundreds of pictures, snippets of documentaries and pieces of private home movies. It was a sweet look into the private lives of this fascinating family.
One of my favorite stories she shared involved a stalker. This woman followed Priscilla onto the grounds of their property. She was in a car with, I believe, 2 other people and, naturally, Priscilla was getting nervous. Instead of backing down, though, she confronted the stalker. They tussled and Priscilla ends up punching her and knocking her to the ground! If you have seen Priscilla, she is tiny. I am 5’4″ and she is around the same height as me in the picture we took together [towards the bottom of the post], in which she is wearing high high heels. I think that Priscilla runs back to the house and gets help and then the other people in the car end up running off like chickens. I can’t remember for sure, though, so you will need to catch her live [link at the bottom of the post for dates] or read her book for the rest of the story. I wonder how many times those weirdos have told that story and laughed about that one girl getting knocked out by Priscilla Presley. [*insert “knocked out!” image of Chris Tucker and Ice Cube from “Friday” into your brain that is inappropriate for me to post here, haha!]
I think the meet and greet was the longest one I have ever seen. And I have been in some super long meet and greet lines including those of Rascal Flatts, Toby Keith and Taylor Swift, just off the top of my head. If memory serves correctly, we got in line somewhere between 7:30 and 8 and we didn’t meet her until somewhere between 9:30 and 10. Priscilla is an almost 80 year old who looks better than me and can stand longer then me – she in high heels, me in flip flop/sandals. You go girl! I did comment to her about how long the meet and greet line was. Apparently everyone loves her. 🙂 If I was her, I would have just sat down and chilled while everyone came up and adored me. 100%.
Also, several people were getting her to sign pictures of ONLY Elvis Presley. Come on people, at least have her sign a photo with the two of them in it. I have definitely seen artists, actors and such refuse to sign things that had nothing to do with them or were inappropriate. Think about how much it would stink to wait in line for almost 2 hours to get turned down. Also, think about how much it would stink for you to be asked to sign something that had nothing to do with you. I’m just saying, if you are going to meet someone, put some sincere thought into what you are asking to be signed.
“Elvis And Me” Book Review
The book, “Elvis and Me” has been out for many years, but I purchased a 2023 reprint version at “An Intimate Evening With Priscilla Presley” which I was then able to get it inscribed. I had not gotten around to reading this particular book yet, so I decided that it was time. I generally post my book reviews on my Instagram and on my other blog, CheapIsTheNewClassy.com, but this one is appropriate here, given the subject. The book is predominantly about Elvis and Priscilla’s love affair and since both of their last names were/are Presley, I will be referring to them as their first names in this review, to avoid confusion.
Before reading this book, I didn’t know all that much about Elvis and Priscilla’s love affair. After reading the book, I am glad that she got away from him. Priscilla speaks very highly of Elvis, in both the book and at the event in Mooresville. And, as many people from that era will remember, she was quite the envy of many women. Perhaps that is why she still speaks so highly of him? I wonder if she worries about the repercussions if she were to look at the situation more as it actually was instead of with rose colored glasses? Or perhaps she really is just a very positive person who saw a lot of what I did not see after reading this book. She is the one who lived it. We can merely go off what we read, right?
Based on the book, Elvis essentially groomed Priscilla, starting at the age of 14. He found himself a doll that he could control. I don’t think she was totally blind to this but she was underage, awestruck and in love. Her parents, however, should have put a stop to their love affair – or at least attempted to. Elvis controlled how Priscilla dressed, how she did her makeup, what color her hair was, pushed pills at her and controlled her in pretty much every other way imaginable. Finally, at the age of 16, he moved her from her parents’ home in Germany to Graceland, essentially isolating her from her family and removing any autonomy that she might have left.
I want you back the way you are now…and remember, I’ll always know.
-[page 62, Elvis and Me]
He also made sure that she remained a virgin until they were married saying he “would know,” while he cheated on her the entire time before and after their marriage. It really didn’t seem to me from the read that he chose not to go all the way with her out of some sense of chivalry, though. He did plenty. Rather, he kept this one thing as a means to control her and take away more of her freedom of choice. Basically, he could do anything he wanted, basically, but she needed to wait at home, the pure, good girl.
Fidelity was very important to him, especially on the woman’s part. He constantly reminded me that his girl had to be completely constant.
–[p. 26 “Elvis and Me”]
Elvis held very chauvinistic and sexist views that were commonplace to that era. However, Elvis also had a really dark side when people disagreed with him or he didn’t get his way. He was prone to tantrums and breaking things, much like a spoiled child. One time he even almost hit Priscilla with a chair that he slung across the room in a violent rage. A freaking chair! It was covered in, I believe, records, and one of those actually did hit Priscilla. She carried bruises around as souvenirs of his fits on more than one occasion. Priscilla played this down a bit during the conversation in Mooresville but, to me, it was an act of violence that was totally avoidable [along with many others].
Whenever I stated my own opinions too strongly, especially if they differed from his, he’d remind me that his was the stronger sex, and as a woman, I had my place.
–[p. 131 “Elvis and Me”]
The icing on the cake for me was when Priscilla said in her discussion in Mooresville that she left Elvis because of some letters she found proving that he was cheating on her. In “Elvis and Me,” the story reads a bit different. It is true that she had found letters from alleged mistresses but Elvis had been cheating on her the entire time with everyone from Ann-Margret to Nancy Sinatra. She was well aware of his infidelities and she also returned the favor with two affairs of her own. So, those letters might have been a drop in the bucket of the overflowing mess that led to the divorce but, for me, the iceberg moment was when he “forcibly made love” to her [her words, not mine]. I won’t be posting the full quote here because of the triggering possibility but it’s on page 212 in “Elvis and Me.” She cried afterwards and told him she was leaving him. Good for you, Priscilla.
Honestly, I’ve learned all I need to know about Elvis at this point. He doesn’t sound very much like my kind of person. Perhaps Priscilla is choosing to speak so highly of him because she prefers to take the high road, or she wants to keep the legacy alive or maybe she is afraid of the legions of Elvis fans who might turn on her should she disparage his name in any way. Who knows? Either way, she shouldn’t have to relive and share past traumas if she doesn’t want to. No one should have to. Regardless of whether she shares more, or if she chooses to move on, I believe her and hope that she has found any healing that she may have needed and that she has a lovely and peaceful rest of her life.
Check out the rest of our pictures from “An Intimate Evening with Priscilla Presley” on Flickr.