Touching Recollection From Larry Geller

[The Swamp Fox]

[drjohncarpenter]

Literally a touching recollection.

[elvis-fan]

Literally a touching recollection.

I see what you did there...

[minkahed]

I don’t know I know I would’ve been shook and up as well, especially if I was a close friend to Elvis, but somehow I get the feeling that if Larry could’ve slept with Elvis, he would have in a heartbeat.

Does that make me bad?

[tinseltown]

No, just wrong.

[Kylan]

I don’t know I know I would’ve been shook and up as well, especially if I was a close friend to Elvis, but somehow I get the feeling that if Larry could’ve slept with Elvis, he would have in a heartbeat.

Does that make me bad?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Lol

[elvis-fan]

Sometimes I wonder, after all these years, how much exaggeration and "liberty" is taken when Elvis' "close" friends re-tell and recount these stories to make them out to be much more than they were.

Larry has certainly been known to embellish the odd tale about Elvis. Not saying that's the case here... but he's a colorful story teller...

[sweetangeline]

I don’t know I know I would’ve been shook and up as well, especially if I was a close friend to Elvis, but somehow I get the feeling that if Larry could’ve slept with Elvis, he would have in a heartbeat.

Does that make me bad?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Lol

I luv Seinfeld

[drjohncarpenter]

Sometimes I wonder, after all these years, how much exaggeration and "liberty" is taken when Elvis' "close" friends re-tell and recount these stories to make them out to be much more than they were. Just like "how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop"...the world may never know!

I don't wonder at all, and see no need to blanket my general assessments with mocking quotation marks.

There is enough out there now to understand all the people involved, their behavior, and what type of relationship each had with Elvis.

Simply put, Larry Geller was there in Elvis' life when the star really needed him.

[Dan_T]

I loved his book "If I Can Dream".. I've never thought Larry had any sexual feelings towards Elvis, although he himself has said that people around Elvis were wondering, especially Col' Parker, why they were spending so much time alone.

[JimmyCool]

I recall this poignant excerpt from the DVD entitled "The Last Days of Elvis" or a similar production.

While I recognize that Larry Geller, like the late George Klein, occasionally adds embellishments to his narratives for entertainment value or to magnify his own involvement, the core events are firmly grounded in reality.

These recollections of Elvis' death, including the clip posted above, still evoke profound sorrow among his dedicated fans, friends and family, even after nearly 46 years. Interestingly, these memories also deeply resonate with fans who were not even born at the time, myself included.

[eligain]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Larry. He seems like a nice, sincere guy but I don’t think he was necessarily that good for Elvis, filling his head with all that (California cult crap) as Marty Lacker called it. But I guess if it wasn’t Larry, Elvis would have found some other “guru”.

In interviews but some of the other MM members, you could tell people like Joe Esposito didn’t. Like him very much. I remember some of our fan club members that followed the tours saying that he was always off by himself and not always included with the group.

Again, he seems nice but he does give off a kind of creepy vibe to me.

As far as whether he’s embellished the story, the only part that sounds a little contrived is borrowing the mascara. Wouldn’t a funeral home have actual hair dye and tools to deal with Elvis’ white hair growth?

[drjohncarpenter]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Larry. He seems like a nice, sincere guy but I don’t think he was necessarily that good for Elvis, filling his head with all that (California cult crap) as Marty Lacker called it. But I guess if it wasn’t Larry, Elvis would have found some other “guru”.

What exactly is "California cult crap"? Enlighten us.

Maybe your "mixed feelings" are because you are bereft of actual facts about Geller, spiritual pursuits, and what Elvis was interested in learning about both before and after he met Larry.

[eligain]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Larry. He seems like a nice, sincere guy but I don’t think he was necessarily that good for Elvis, filling his head with all that (California cult crap) as Marty Lacker called it. But I guess if it wasn’t Larry, Elvis would have found some other “guru”.

What exactly is "California cult crap"? Enlighten us.

Maybe your "mixed feelings" are because you are bereft of actual facts about Geller, spiritual pursuits, and what Elvis was interested in learning about both before and after he met Larry.

You will have to ask Marty what he meant by that, which I clearly said is what Marty called it.

You can see Marty's quote at the 40:42 minute point:



We had many discussions with Marty about Elvis' spiritual pursuits on the old Elvis newsgroup that Marty and Larry both participated on. Marty was not shy in saying that he felt Larry's presence and the material he kept feeding Elvis, messed with his head and was detrimental and not beneficial. He even confronted Larry directly about it on the newsgroup one night. Billy and Jo, Sonny and Joe Esposito felt the same way.

[jurasic1968]

Parker didn't like Larry and forced him in the spring of 1967 to quit after Elvis fell in the bathroom in March 1967 during filming Clambake. But in August 1976, after the infamous Houston concert, he agreed for him to come back.

[elvis-fan]

But in August 1976, after the infamous Houston concert, he agreed for him to come back.

Any idea why he did that? Did he think Elvis needed to have Larry around?

[jurasic1968]

Yes, he hoped Elvis will be in a better state of mind after discussing with Larry about topics like religion and spirituality. Parker had one thing in mind: his boy maybe could feel better and he could do a better show. After the disaster in Houston on August 28 1976, Parker also called back Dr. Nick to take care of Elvis on tour. He replaced Dr. Ghanem.

[tinseltown]

There is no evidence that Parker did get Larry back.
He just tolerated him this time.

[tinseltown]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Larry. He seems like a nice, sincere guy but I don’t think he was necessarily that good for Elvis, filling his head with all that (California cult crap) as Marty Lacker called it. But I guess if it wasn’t Larry, Elvis would have found some other “guru”.

What exactly is "California cult crap"? Enlighten us.

Maybe your "mixed feelings" are because you are bereft of actual facts about Geller, spiritual pursuits, and what Elvis was interested in learning about both before and after he met Larry.

You will have to ask Marty what he meant by that, which I clearly said is what Marty called it.

You can see Marty's quote at the 40:42 minute point:



We had many discussions with Marty about Elvis' spiritual pursuits on the old Elvis newsgroup that Marty and Larry both participated on. Marty was not shy in saying that he felt Larry's presence and the material he kept feeding Elvis, messed with his head and was detrimental and not beneficial. He even confronted Larry directly about it on the newsgroup one night. Billy and Jo, Sonny and Joe Esposito felt the same way.

How did Larry react directly to Marty on that board?

[jurasic1968]

There is no evidence that Parker did get Larry back.
He just tolerated him this time.

I didn't say this.

[tinseltown]

He also didn't "agreed" on Larry coming back.

[jurasic1968]

From Elvis Day By Day book, page 364: The Colonel's perspective was a pragmatic one. All opposition to Larry has faded by now. If Larry's presence keep Elvis happy and also in his renewed interest spiritual studies, so much the better for the show.

[tinseltown]

Yes, and?
Doesn't change one bit what I pointed out.

[elvis-fan]

Regardless of anyone's feelings about Larry Geller, Larry was not the cause of Elvis' declining health and ongoing addiction to pain medication... unfortunately that was all Elvis.

[eligain]

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Larry. He seems like a nice, sincere guy but I don’t think he was necessarily that good for Elvis, filling his head with all that (California cult crap) as Marty Lacker called it. But I guess if it wasn’t Larry, Elvis would have found some other “guru”.

What exactly is "California cult crap"? Enlighten us.

Maybe your "mixed feelings" are because you are bereft of actual facts about Geller, spiritual pursuits, and what Elvis was interested in learning about both before and after he met Larry.

You will have to ask Marty what he meant by that, which I clearly said is what Marty called it.

You can see Marty's quote at the 40:42 minute point:



We had many discussions with Marty about Elvis' spiritual pursuits on the old Elvis newsgroup that Marty and Larry both participated on. Marty was not shy in saying that he felt Larry's presence and the material he kept feeding Elvis, messed with his head and was detrimental and not beneficial. He even confronted Larry directly about it on the newsgroup one night. Billy and Jo, Sonny and Joe Esposito felt the same way.

How did Larry react directly to Marty on that board?

From what I remember (This was like 20 or more years ago) Larry would sort of weakly defend his position and then just disappear from the discussion. They both participated in several of the same discussions and they had several confrontations and that is the way they would usually always end. I remember Marty confronted Larry on spreading the bone cancer story and Larry denied spreading the rumor even though he had written in his book and said in interviews that Elvis was “riddled” with bone cancer and when Marty had sort of caught him in a inconsistency, he just left the discussion.