With Sydney Barr on March 15, 1957


From Red Cat and Doc over at FECC, with thanks.

Red Cat's comments - Mr. Craig Barr was so kind to share this photo of his mother with Elvis Presley on the public Facebook page of the Elvis Presley Fan Club Luxembourg on April 23, 2023.

As we can see the photo was processed in March 1957. At the time Elvis (age 22) was making his second movie LOVING YOU at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, CA. I and several other people wrote comments and asked Mr. Barr some questions about this photo of his mother and Elvis but he didn't reply. Mr. Barr's hometown is Irvine, CA which is 48 miles or 77 km from Hollywood.

Docs comments - Think I've got the likely date and location, plus a bit more, to complement the work of Red Cat.

Read on!

Craig Barr's mom Sydney is still with us at 82, and lives in Oakhurst, CA: https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/sydney-barr_id_G-822809080581698869

The site shows Sydney's birth year as 1941, so she's about 16 in this candid. It also lists son Craig's birthdate as December 1957, which means she got pregnant about the time she took that photo.

The candid with Sydney also shows Elvis' 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville Series 62 behind them, which he'd shipped out to Los Angeles to use while making "Loving You" at Paramount Studios. Maybe to show off a bit, too.

Given Elvis' clothing, it's likely the photo comes from the day Elvis toured MGM Studios with actress Barbara Lang in mid-March 1957, perhaps Friday, March 15th. Elvis left on Saturday for Memphis. And Sydney's Irvine location back then was just a 50-mile drive to Culver City.

The first reports of Barbara and Elvis popped up nationally just days later.

Rock 'n' roll singer Elvis Presley gets together with his new screen sweetheart, Barbara Lang, in Hollywood. They will start a movie next month. Elvis will be at the Arena here on Friday and Saturday.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Wednesday, April 3, 1957 https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/174938914/

It was pre-publicity for his next film, and at least some fans were allowed to be there for photos. Lang was originally cast as "Peggy" but officially withdrew on May 2nd.