Office Staff
Becky Yancy was a secretary at Graceland, answering fan mail. She offered the first expose of the Elvis Presley Enterprises from the late 50s into the 1960s. and was one of the first to try to set the record straight about Elvis to counter the Body Guard Book and the Dee Stanley and sons Elvis We Love you Tender lurid tabloid books.
Setting the record straight on Elvis being a good guy is weird, because he was only ever a sexual bad boy. He was different, he caused a social revolution, but Elvis was not a rebel. The thing is, Becky Yancy wasn’t part of Elvis’ social circle, she worked in Vernon’s office in back of Graceland so her view, and her actual Elvis interactions, form a limited perspective.
My Life with Elvis was one of the first 10 Elvis books I owned.
Linda Thompson dated Elvis but her friend Jeanne May Dumas, worked in the office but also hung out with Elvis and crew
Kitchen/House Staff
Nancy Rooks began work for Elvis in the 1960s and continued there after Elvis’ death. She was well positioned to see it all. Her first book was a cookbook written with Vester Presley, his uncle and most famous Gate Guard, then her own story. I bought a copy of this cookbook in Memphis in 1987, her later book was an online order.
Her “Inside Graceland” reveals 2 things that no other books did: in the 1970s Elvis dated a Black Woman but realized it would be too controversial and that despite being the Hillbilly Cat, Elvis didn’t care for cats and the only one that lived at Graceland was a kitten that Lisa Marie had.
Nancy was there on August 16, Ginger called her and she summoned Joe Esposito: but Elvis was beyond help.
The Gate Staff
From the Vernon Presley behind Graceland, to inside Graceland to the Gates of Graceland: Vester Presley, Elvis’ Uncle and most famous Gate Guard and his Smith family cousin Harold Loyd wrote about life on at the Musical Gates and the fans. Elvis’ payroll of family members was a lot more extensive than known a the time.
Vester Presley, Vernon’s older brother was the head of gate security and one of a group of extended family relatives who Elvis Presley provided employment for.
“A Presley Speaks” and it was available with a red or blue cover, autographed and there was a very deluxe version, with an Elvis scarf.
Vernon, his father oversaw the home office – fan mail, business investments. Remember, Elvis was the first to graduate high school and Elvis spent more in his lifetime than he was paid of what he earned. RCA and The Hollywood Studios getting the first cut, then Parker and the IRS and Elvis paid last – but then to then pay out a payroll.
Guards at the Gate, Gardeners on the grounds, Maids n Cooks in the Mansion, and secretaries at the back office answering fan mail. So most Elvis autographs are actually them, not him, unless obtained in person.
Elvis had a bad boy sex maniac image but a good boy on booze and smoking. Photos of celebs doing bad things like smoking cigarettes… how social mores and values have changed. so when the gossip and rumours that had been over the years, suddenly available and collected in the 1976 infamous The Bodyguard Book, which was actually the Austrialian Steve Dunlevy’s hack n slash slander job that it would take Albert Goldman’s dedicated effort to liable Elvis Presley in the mid 1980s.
So, between the Jerry Hopkin’s Elvis serious journalist biography from the 1970s and Elvis: What Happened, updated with an Elvis Death Chapter in the second printing – the first Elvis family member to try to “set the record straight” was Vester Presley, his uncle who guarded the gate.
“A Presley Speaks” is an anecdotal assertion that the Presley family is god fearing, honest and not given to drinking and were trustworthy with money.
Vester married Clettes Smith and they had a daughter, Patsy Presley – Clettes was Gladys Smith’s sister, making Patsy and Elvis double first cousins. I would have thought Vester’s story would have been more balanced about Elvis’s family, but completely discounts the Smith side.
After all, Minnie Mae Presley, Vester and Vernon’s Mother, lived in Graceland – as did Delta Mae, on of the three Presley Daughters. So in some ways, it was more Presley than Smith family.
Both sides of the Elvis families – Presley and Smith were given to drink, which is partly why Elvis didn’t drink and that he rationalized the drugs as medicine than recreational – “medicinal sips” aside.
Curiously, Vester’s book leaves out Harold Loyd, a Smith side cousin who also worked the gates for many years – and he also wrote a book with several cover variations.
Vester Presley and Harold Loyd reveal astonishing fan access to the grounds and front of mansion. Elvis often kept an autograph sessions schedule, so fans who hung around were frequently rewarded.
What is curious is that many people who are distantly related to Elvis expect that Elvis fans are fans of them as well.
What they reveal in their books are family relationships, but not close participating in Elvis’ life, they are in fact, part of what wore him down, that responsibility.
Medical Staff
Marion Cocke, Elvis’ favorite nurse who made him the Banana Pudding was there on August 16, in the ER. She also wrote a book to show the private human funny and generous side of Elvis.
In this week’s food segment, we celebrate Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday with a conversation about his favorite foods, southern cooking traditions, and personal memories of the King himself from Judy Peiser, executive director of the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis. (click through for recipes for Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches and Banana Pudding)
RECIPES:
ELVIS’S FRIED PEANUT BUTTER AND NANNER SANDWICH, from “Are You Hungry Tonight?: Elvis’ Favorite Recipes” By Brenda Arlene Butler
1 small ripe banana
2 slices white bread
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter
In a small bowl, mash to banana with the back of a spoon. Toast the bread lightly. Spread the peanut butter on one slice of toast and the mashed banana on the other. Fry the sandwich in melted butter until each side is golden brown. Cut diagonally and serve hot.
NOTE: According to the Splendid Table, Elvis ate 12-15 of these sandwiches in a sitting!
MRS. COCKE’S BANANA PUDDING RECIPE (Reportedly eaten by Elvis shortly before he died) from “Life & Cuisine Of Elvis Presley” by David Adler
In “The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley” Adler says that Marion Cocke – a nurse at Baptist Hospital who Elvis befriended during one of his stays – was called to Graceland just a few days before he died and fed him her banana pudding at 3 a.m.
3/4 cup sugar 3 egg yolks
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour, for thickening
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Vanilla wafers
Thinly sliced bananas
“Throw in a pot” the sugar, egg yolks, milk, flour and vanilla extract. Cook till thick over low heat, mixing well. Remove from heat and cool. In a glass bowl that can be covered, layer some vanilla wafers, banana slices, and spoon some of the mixture over the top. Repeat the layers until the bowl is full, then top with meringue.
Meringue
3 egg whites
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Beats egg whites until stiff, then add the sugar and vanilla. Spoon on top of the pudding and brown in the oven. Serve chilled.