Elvis Presley ‘was no Howard Hughes hermit’ claimed Vernon weeks before his son’s death
Not many celebrities have lived with the unbelievable heights of fame that Elvis Presley did. The most successful solo artist of all time got by keeping his close inner circle, his Memphis Mafia, around him at his Graceland mansion home. And when he moved in, the star had a privacy wall with one-way mirrors installed on the upstairs landing, at the entrance to his private haven.
But despite Elvis living with incredible stardom, his father didn’t believe claims in the late 1970s that his son was a recluse.
Vernon Presley gave an interview just weeks before The King’s death for the posthumous 1977 TV special Elvis in Concert.
The CBS programme was broadcast on October 3, 1977, a couple of months after the star died of a heart attack at 42 on August 16.
In Vernon’s interview, given on June 22, Elvis father said: “I know he can’t go out like an ordinary person because people see him and, of course, they recognise him.”
