Untold stories about Elvis! by Dottie Ayers (1960 article)

[The fool]

Untold stories about Elvis!
by Dottie Ayers
Flip, September 1960

[drjohncarpenter]

Another upload, another treat for those of us who are fascinated by Elvis' early years. Thank you once again.

Dottie Ayers (Booth) is a name I most recognize from the memories she shares in Rose Clayton's Elvis Up Close: In the Words of Those Who Knew Him Best. One wonders if this 1960 publication put her on the outside of the Presley group, as her stories seem to end around this time, and Elvis apparently never liked such articles to be written by "insiders." She seems to have been around between 1956 and 1960 only.

All of the photo captions are somewhat erroneous, although a few of the images are "new" to my eyes.

580300_in Memphis.jpg

580324_leaving Memphis for Ft. Chaffee.jpg

580818_w Eddie Fadal_Junior Smith.jpg

And one of her stories, about "the gang" throwing Elvis a Christmas-New Year's-Birthday party but renting out "the Winsor Room at the Hotel Gaysoe" and gave him a plaque which read "Happy Birthday, January 8th, 1957, from Your Gang." This presumably happened the first week of January, 1957, at the Hotel Gayoso on Main Street, just before he left for New York and his final Ed Sullivan appearance.

If Dottie is still with us, she's about 80 years old now. I hope she is well and happy, if so. Thanks again.

[drjohncarpenter]

Found a photo taken March 24, 1958 that made newspapers the next day, and included Ayers:

580324_w Cummings_Ayers_Little Rock.JPG

IN THE ARMY NOW -- Singer Elvis Presley, who was inducted into the army yesterday, is fed angel food cake by Cecelia Cummings, 15, of North Little Rock, Ark , and Dottie Ayers, president of the North Little Rock Presley Fan Club. Elvis and 21 other draftees stopped briefly in the Arkansas city last night (Unifax Pboto)

It turns out Elvis' bus stopped off at Fisher's Steak House in West Little Rock for a thirty-minute rest stop before completing the six-hour trip to Fort Chaffee. Elvis was actually fed a bite of chocolate cake.

[The fool]

Another upload, another treat for those of us who are fascinated by Elvis' early years. Thank you once again.

Dottie Ayers (Booth) is a name I most recognize from the memories she shares in Rose Clayton's Elvis Up Close: In the Words of Those Who Knew Him Best. One wonders if this 1960 publication put her on the outside of the Presley group, as her stories seem to end around this time, and Elvis apparently never liked such articles to be written by "insiders." She seems to have been around between 1956 and 1960 only.

Thanks, Doc. I knew the name was familiar. I must check the Elvis Up Close book again to see what she had to say.

[hilton22000]

Thank you very much, great magazine, like always. I wonder about this photo, new to me - could be a 56 concert?

[drjohncarpenter]

Thank you very much, great magazine, like always. I wonder about this photo, new to me - could be a 56 concert?

It's either 1956 or 1957. A photo credit might provide a clue. They are usually listed in the first few pages of the magazine. The fool, can you take a look, or upload the credits page for us?

[The fool]

I checked. There are no photo credits anywhere in this magazine.

[drjohncarpenter]

I checked. There are no photo credits anywhere in this magazine.

Thank you for checking. The photo will remain a mystery, at least for now.

[Red Cat]

Cecelia "Chee Chee" Cummings, 16, was the girlfriend of the diner owner's son, Roy Fisher Jr.
Cecelia:"I had the honor of feeding Elvis his favorite, chocolate cake. I was actually feeding him a piece of cake and dropped it in his lap. I reached down to pick it up and everyone just died laughing. He was very nice about it and we were both embarrassed. He was so shy. It was an experience I'll never, ever forget.“
See more: https://books.google.de/books?id=cFTFaGDw4zsC&pg=PT21&lpg=PT21&dq=Fisher's+Steak+House+in+Little+Rock,+AR+Elvis&source=bl&ots=vdAwMUKFvJ&sig=QxNE7aBfG4ACQhUv6hiQxz3BJ7U&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjC-9vB0ujJAhUFFg8KHRSDA64Q6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=Fisher's%20Steak%20House%20in%20Little%20Rock%2C%20AR%20Elvis&f=false