Modern Screen - January 1977 - Body Guard Book.

[Domino]

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[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks for the share. Just a single page and a tiny photo from 1974. Interesting.

And so the dam was about to burst, with intimations of sex and drugs. To this day I question why Elvis or management did not step in to stop the publication of the "bodyguard book." There is no way someone who wielded power the way Tom Parker did from the minute Presley hit the big time in 1956 suddenly forgot his hammer. This thing should have been put to bed in the fall of 1976, and perhaps followed by a quantum change in philosophy in how to deal with the star and his health issues.

But instead it snowballed in 1977, and everything went to hell. It's such an awful, crash-and-burn ending, it hurts to think about it.

[Domino]

Thanks for the share. Just a single page and a tiny photo from 1974. Interesting.

And so the dam was about to burst, with intimations of sex and drugs. To this day I question why Elvis or management did not step in to stop the publication of the "bodyguard book." There is no way someone who wielded power the way Tom Parker did from the minute Presley hit the big time in 1956 suddenly forgot his hammer. This thing should have been put to bed in the fall of 1976, and perhaps followed by a quantum change in philosophy in how to deal with the star and his health issues.

But instead it snowballed in 1977, and everything went to hell. It's such an awful, crash-and-burn ending, it hurts to think about it.

Yeah....why wasn't it stopped? They could have payed off Red,Sonny & Dave and the book would be gone.Why didn't anyone care enough to try and stop it? Seems everyone was just gonna get what they can cause they knew it wasn't going to go on much longer.Maybe the Colonel thought the book would rattle Elvis back again so he let it go.Or maybe not.I've always read about after Elvis died ,the Colonel said that this doesn't change anything.Is that story true?

Elvis ,some how,made himself a part of peoples families.In my family seeing Elvis the way he was in 77 and the whole story about his final months is a very heart breaking thing.It's maddening to think it didn't have to go that way.The Colonel & Vernon are pretty much the only ones that would have had any luck at getting him healthy.He couldn't fire his Dad and I would think if he tried to fire the Colonel he would end up pennyless.

[elvisjock]

One would think that, after John O'Grady's failed attempt to buy the guys off, Colonel and Hookstratten would have found another way to stop the project. Could it be that Parker bought into the idea that the book might motivate Elvis to get clean?

One of the problems inherent in understanding the star/manager relationship is that their conversations (which were very rare by 1976) took place in private. We don't know what they talked about, and each of them went back to their respective camps with their own spin on the subject matter.

[Domino]

One would think that, after John O'Grady's failed attempt to buy the guys off, Colonel and Hookstratten would have found another way to stop the project. Could it be that Parker bought into the idea that the book might motivate Elvis to get clean?

One of the problems inherent in understanding the star/manager relationship is that their conversations (which were very rare by 1976) took place in private. We don't know what they talked about, and each of them went back to their respective camps with their own spin on the subject matter.

I didn't know that there was an attempt to buy them off.So that's probably why the Colonel didn't try.
I think by this point in Elvis's life,he was kind of on the fence.So tired of it all but then there's his daughter,his fans and other reasons to find a way to balance it all.Problem was he was looking for the quick fix.He was waaaay beyond the quick fix.
As for the private conversations between Elvis & Parker,really who knows.
I would think maybe Elvis was all agreeable but once outside the door,he could be thinking "he ain't gonna run my personal life".
Well,I've always thought that as much good the Colonel did for him,he did as much bad for him.
Elvis was a man who needed a challenge.It was time to tour the world but I suppose it was you'll tour the world when you get clean and on the other side ,I'll get clean when you get me a tour.
Or maybe it was nothing like that.All we know is it could've been different if more people around Elvis cared and if Elvis cared more about himself.

[jurasic1968]

Vernon didn't think one second that by firing Sonny, Red and Dave he will build a tsunami. And in October 1976 when Elvis spoke to Red on the telephone, he did nothing to convince Red to stop the book. The Colonel? He did nothing because he didn't care about Elvis personal problems, but only about the money.

[drjohncarpenter]

Vernon didn't think one second that by firing Sonny, Red and Dave he will build a tsunami. And in October 1976 when Elvis spoke to Red on the telephone, he did nothing to convince Red to stop the book. The Colonel? He did nothing because he didn't care about Elvis personal problems, but only about the money.

This could all be true, but I suspect Elvis naively thought it would not be published, or management would wave their magic wand. It didn't happen.

[eligain]

I can't believe that the Colonel didn't try to stop this. Even if he thought that it would rattle Elvis to change and clean up, I can't believe he wouldn't have considered that the revelations would ruin Elvis' career so even if Elvis did clean up, he wouldn't have a career left to salvage. It is just unbelievable that the Colonel and Vernon and ELVIS let this snowball when they could have put this to bed without a hint to the public of what was going on. At this point, with this article, the cat was already half out of the bag. It was essentially too late because had they paid them off after this, the speculation would have still run rampant. Plus, he still would have probably died within the year anyway.