#Peter Hebler

[undergroundrockpress]

Punk girl, Kottbusser Tor, Kreuzberg, Berlin 1982.

Photo : Peter Hebler.

[doll-elvis]

I’ve seen these photos of Priscilla on Pinterest and she looks so upset, do you know if there’s any back story behind these photos

hello and thank you very much for sending in this ask ꨄ︎!!

I’ve always been too distracted by that absolute unit of strawberry-blonde hair on Priscilla’s head to notice her expression but after closer observation I think you’re completely right in your assessment of her mood- sis was looking like she would rather be anywhere else 😭

after a quick google search and finding out that these photos were taken in April (sometime after the 23rd) of 1966, her expression started to make all the more sense

and not only is the date important for the context of these photos, but that unit of hair could also be very important

just a quick disclaimer: since Priscilla herself hasn’t spoken on these photos anything I say below is merely my own speculation as to why she may have looked upset on that day

To begin, according to Peter Guralnick's "Careless Love”, Elvis had just finished filming for his 22nd picture Spinout, in California, when he returned to Memphis with Priscilla on April 23rd. And so by knowing that they were photographed together in the meditation garden sometime in April, it’s safe to assume it was likely after the 23rd as they were in California for the weeks before

The film Spinout is relevant in this as 1. His costar was Shelley Fabares who he had a crush on 2. One of Elvis’ and Priscilla’s biggest arguments occurred during the filming of Spinout while they were in California and the cause of their argument was reason number one… Shelley Fabares

Both the Memphis Mafia and Shelley herself have confirmed that the relationship never went beyond anything platonic as she was faithful to her partner but nonetheless Elvis and her spent a lot of time together and formed a close bond

Naturally, Priscilla became suspicious that an affair was taking place and so she expressed to Elvis that she wanted to meet Shelley which then led to the first time that he had ever threatened get rid of her ⬇️

(read from left to right + click photos to see full text)

excerpt is from “Elvis and Me” by Priscilla Presley

(I believe this argument will appear in the upcoming film as Jacob Elordi says the line “I don’t have a goddamn thing to hide” in the recently released trailer)

No exact day was given for when this argument took place, it could have been the first week of filming or it could have been the last, but I would imagine having Elvis tell you to get all your things and leave would cause a lasting sort of sadness and have you questioning just how important you were to him even after going back to Memphis/Graceland

And this kind of thing actually happened a few times while they were together. Sonny West once said that Elvis’ greatest defense was offense meaning that if you were to approach him about something i.e Priscilla approaching him about his infidelities, Elvis’ response would be to turn the tables and put the pressure on you i.e telling Priscilla that he wanted her gone ⬇️

excerpt is from “Elvis: What Happened?” By Sonny and Red West, along with Dave Hebler

Another instance ⬇️

excerpt is from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

Tbh as much as I love Elvis this is why I do hold a lot of sympathy for the friends and women in his life (even the ones I don’t personally like) because he tended to give ultimatums as a way to get what he wanted

“If you don’t like this, then leave… if you don’t want to do this, then leave…” and he did that because he knew most people would choose to stay

Now, the significance of that unit of strawberry blonde hair is purely speculative, but I'm wondering whether Priscilla started dyeing her hair that color to resemble Ann Margret as Elvis was quite melancholic over the fact that Ann and her boyfriend Roger Smith were spending so much time together during that time, infact, they were engaged just 2 months later in June of 1966

The affair between Ann Margret and Elvis lasted only a year after they met while filming Viva Las Vegas, so it doesn't make much sense that Priscilla would start dying her hair strawberry-blonde 3 years later (although she did try to emulate Ann in 1963) but it could be possible, and knowing that Elvis was still thinking about Ann Margret in April of 1966 would definitely be enough to make her upset at the time

What do y’all think?

[toot-things]

Berlin 1982 by Peter Hebler

[joeinct]

Untitled, Photo by Peter Hebler, 1981-82

[doll-elvis]

i just came across an in-print interview w/ elvis from 69' that hit home how private he really was. i mean, it's been told by those who knew him he was very private numerous times, but to see it personally is a different story. it made me realize how 95% of what we know about him is from other people and made me wonder how much we'd intimately know about him if he were alive today.

god this just made me realize that Elvis passed away not knowing how much would be said and written about him after the fact. I’m thinking of the betrayal he felt when Red, Sonny, and Dave Hebler announced that they were writing a book about him but multiplied by a million. Could you imagine how Elvis would feel knowing that practically every person he has shared oxygen with has come out and told a story about him or written a book that exposes extremely personal/private things about him… it’s crazy to think about when like you said he kept his life very private

And honestly when I first read the book written by Red, Sonny and Dave I truly didn’t understand what was so damaging because most of the stories told, and most of the behaviors of Elvis, were things I already knew from reading other books like Alanna Nash’s “Memphis Mafia” or like Peter Guralnick’s books. But this ask just also made me realize why it was so distressing to Elvis, beyond the fact that they were once his close friends. He was so distressed about it because it was literally the first time that people really close to him were exposing him and his life to the world and biographers had never had an inside scoop like that before. Of course there were some tabloids made about him, and former flings that went to the press to tell their stories but these were his friends, who he shared many years of his life with and now they were breaking the “code of silence” so to speak

Supposedly though Elvis actually talked about writing his own book titled “Through my eyes” about his life and rise to fame, and it makes me so sad to think he never got the chance to tell us how everything felt through his perspective. I want to hear about his life from him, not just people that knew him. Just imagine how different it would be compared to everything else written about him

Your ask also made me think about how he never really marketed himself outside of what the Colonel did, which he often had no input in. Unlike other singers/performers, Elvis never went on a talk show in the 60s and 70s trying to promote himself, and when he did do interviews during that time they were usually for press conferences or on movie sets. And even though Elvis was super famous, it still seemed like he was an outsider of sorts, amongst the other famous people in that era, because he kept to himself and he essentially lived in his own bubble at Graceland

also I’m kind of freaking out over the fact that I got magazine from February of 1971 in the mail delivered today and look who is on page 45 👀 (I didn’t even know he would be in it because this is a fashion magazine that I bought for hair/outfit inspo but I’m gonna take this as a sign)

“Has anyone ever tried to get you to open up when you just didn’t feel like it? You often prefer to keep things to yourself don’t you?”