NFL
By: Greg Rector
The only child of the “King of Rock and Roll” Elvis Presley passed away at age 54 after going into cardiac arrest at her Calabasas California home earlier in the day. I have many memories of Lisa Marie Presley, February 1st, 1968 – January 12th, 2023.
I’ll say it here and now, thank goodness her childhood didn’t have the social media world we have today. Even without that, her life was filled with being in newspapers and of course the tabloids from the day she was born on February 1st, 1968. As much as President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy were not just newsmakers but cultural icons of their day, so were Elvis and Priscilla in the 1960s. Elvis’ legacy was cemented by that time and folks clamored for news about Lisa Marie constantly. The King of Rock and Roll had a princess. When her parents divorced shocking so many, Lisa Marie was just four years old. Elvis was a very doting dad and when your dad is the King of rock and roll, a movie star, and a cultural icon one would think it would be an idyllic upbringing. Really though how could it be idyllic? She and her mom would live in Los Angeles while visits with her father were split between Las Vegas and of course Memphis and Graceland. It was on one of those visits to Las Vegas that she would meet one of her four future husbands, just someone we all know as the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson for the first time in 1975.
August 8th 1977
Anyone who knows their rock and roll history knows this date very well. Of course, that’s the day nine-year-old Lisa Marie lost her father after he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 42. Besides losing such an iconic personality I clearly remember how the most overwhelming feeling about that awful day was the refrain of “That poor little girl losing her father” after the shock of her father passing away we would learn that nine-year-old Lisa Marie along with her grandfather Vernon and her great-grandmother were the beneficiaries of Elvis’ estate and after both passed away by the time she was 12-year-old Lisa Marie would be the sole heir of the estate. Having to always be reminded of who her father was, the weekly tabloids for years had stories about her dad, how he died, and the endless stories that he wasn’t really dead (yes the conspiracy theory crowd was alive and well then as well), I can’t imagine nor would I want to have been in that type of a bubble. Looking back now it was really a lesson on how cruel people can be. We now also know that her mother’s then-boyfriend Michael Edwards sexually abused Lisa Marie between the ages of 12 to 15. Is it any wonder there would be drug and alcohol issues? Later on, she would admit her drug use would begin at age 13, definitely as a coping mechanism for what Edwards was doing to her.
1993
Elvis’ will made sure Lisa Marie didn’t get her inheritance until she turned 25 in 1993. by that time she was married for the first time and was a mother of a son (Benjamin who died in 2020) and a daughter (Riley an actress) after getting a quickie divorce in 1994 Lisa Marie was once again the center of media attention when she wed Michael Jackson just 20 days after her divorce was finalized. The marriage was fraught with controversy as it was shortly after they wed when allegations of child sexual abuse by Jackson surfaced. Yet again Lisa Marie was fodder for the “tabloid” press. What I will always remember the most though is how it was so obvious she was Elvis’ child, especially those eyes.
Despite all of the controversies, the drugs, and even her short music career in the early 2000s that many including myself were pleasantly surprised by To Whom It May Concern 2003 her first album is worth a listen, Lisa Marie along with her mother Priscilla ensured the legacy of her father was very lasting. Two more marriages and two more kids, along with a total of 5 stints in rehabilitation fighting that awful demon called addiction, one thing I also followed Lisa Marie Presley for news of was her charity work. She was absolutely dedicated to Presley Place as an example. Presley Place provides homeless families with up to one year of rent-free housing, child day care, career and financial counseling, family management guidance, and other tools to help them break the cycle of poverty and regain self-esteem and independence. She jumped in after Hurricane Katrina and was hands-on first helping those in Memphis who were affected and worked her way down to Mississippi after going to Target stores and loading up a truck with supplies. For her efforts, both the state of Tennessee and later on New Orleans and the city of Memphis recognized her for her charitable work. The city of Memphis was absolutely right in its declaration,
“Lisa Marie Presley is a humanitarian and philanthropist who continues to focus her efforts on the hometown she knows and loves, Memphis. Through her efforts and time, she has improved homelessness, and literacy, and raised funds for local charities and organizations. She raises awareness for Memphis and continues to set an example of what one person can do when they put their mind to it. I was fortunate enough to see her on a visit to Memphis and she was just going about her day helping homeless people unless you saw her eyes that gave away who she was, Lisa Marie was simply down to earth and a kind soul. She may have been a Hollywood celebrity, but she was just as much the “Memphis Belle” one might easily believe her oh-so-proud father may have thought of her when she was born there.
That’s how I choose to remember the daughter of the King of Rock and Roll, the caring woman who I met that one day. Not the celebrity, not the fact her entire life was lived in the public eye, not the young girl or woman who dealt with tragedies that most of us would not be able to handle. On that one day in Memphis I will remember Lisa Marie whose only concern was helping a homeless man get off the streets. No matter the status any of us have in life, that’s worth far more than any amount of celebrity. Rest in Peace Lisa Marie Presley, a kind soul gone too soon.
