Lisa Marie Presley loved and adored her father. All she wanted was to give her father something which would keep their bond alive.
The relationship between parents and kids is extremely special. From the day they are born to the day they leave the house to pursue their dreams, each and every moment is something you hold on to. While some kids are lucky enough to grow in the presence of both their parents, some have to live the memories of the little time they had together.
We have always thought of celebrities as people who have everything in their lives and hardly face any problems. But that's not entirely true always. Even they experience losses that they find hard to endure.
Some children lose their famous parents' most unbelievable or tragic way possible. Lisa Marie Presley is one such example of someone who lost her dear father when she was just 9 years old.
The singing legend passed away 43 years ago on August 16, 1977, and was laid to rest on August 18. According to History, the singer's addiction to prescription barbiturates was the reason that he suffered a stroke while he was in the bathroom of his Memphis, Tennessee home, Graceland.
The Can't Help Falling in Love hitmaker had a career to be remembered. He dominated the music world of Hollywood in the '50s and made way for both white and black rock 'n' roll artists which brought a major change in the industry. But by the mid-1970s, things started to change.
Elvis' physical and mental health was deteriorating as time went by. After his divorce from wife Pricilla Presley, he found himself increasingly dependent on prescription drugs. That wasn't it. The rock 'n' roll star was also addicted to junk food which led him to gain a considerable amount of weight. The last two years of his life consisted of bizarre stage appearances and secluded life, away from society as much as possible.
It was the afternoon of August 16, 1977, when he was found unconscious and was taken to the hospital where he took his last breath. He was buried on the grounds of Graceland, his home, which later became a tourist attraction. Unfortunately, Lisa Marie who was present at Graceland that day saw her father in the tragic state.
She was only 9 years old when the King of Pop passed away leaving her as the heir of his entire life's earnings. "I don't like talking about this," said Lisa while recalling the last time she saw her father alive. "It was 4 a.m and I was supposed to be asleep, actually. He found me," reported Magzter.
As she was caught, she ran off to her room where Elvis went later to kiss her goodnight. "That was the last time I saw him alive," she said. Later, when she went to see her father, she found him slumped on the floor with his then-girlfriend Ginger Alden attending him. Scared, she called up Elvis' ex-girlfriend Linda Thompson.
Thompson and Lisa shared a great relationship where the little one used to call Thompson on several occasions. But the call on August 16 was particularly terrifying. Recalling the day, Thompson said, “She said, ‘It’s Lisa.’ I said, ‘I know who you are, you little goobernickle. And she said, ‘My daddy’s dead! My daddy’s dead!’,” reported Express UK.
She added, “It was stunning to me,” since she could not believe the news of Elvis' death. She then tried to make Lisa understand that maybe her father was just "sick" but, “She said, ‘No, he’s dead. They told me he’s dead. Nobody knows but they told me he’s dead.’ And she said, ‘He’s smothered in the carpet.’” That was the last image of her father.
The day the Jailhouse Rock performer was being put to rest, thousands of people filed through the open casket which was placed between the living and the music rooms at Graceland, as they could pay their last respect to the singer. The family was provided with some time to grieve their loss at the funeral and that is when Lisa went to the funeral director with an unusual request, reported The Mirror.
Recalling the moment, funeral director Robert Kendall said that Lisa walked up to the coffin and asked him, "Mister Kendall, can I give this to my daddy?" She was holding a thin metal bangle. Even though Both Kendall and her mother Pricilla dismissed the idea, Lisa was determined to leave her father with the secret gift.
Kendall eventually lost to the little Lisa's love for her father and the desire to present him with a memento and asked her where would she like the bracelet to be placed. She pointed to her own wrist after which Kendall slid the bracelet onto Elvis' wrist. Now her father would remember her even on the other side.
Pricilla reportedly asked Kendall to conceal the bracelet, after Lisa left, as she feared that it would be taken away since fans were coming to get a glimpse of their favorite singer for the last time. So, he placed it safely under his shirt.
Around 80,000 people are believed to have lined up at the route to Forest Hill Cemetery. He was buried next to his mother in the family mausoleum. But, after a failed break-in by gravediggers, he was moved permanently to Graceland on October 3, 1977.
References:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elvis-presley-dies
https://www.magzter.com/article/Entertainment/Globe/Lisa-Marie-Relives-Night-Elvis-Died
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/lisa-marie-presley-sneaked-gift-22532257
