Gary James' Interview With Elvis Presley's Stepbrother
David Stanley



David Stanley was just 4 years old when he moved into Graceland after his mother, Dee. married Elvis' father, Vernon. David stayed with Elvis at Graceland for 17 years and traveled with him until the end, August 16th, 1977. David is the author of a book titled, The Elvis Encyclopedia, which bills itself as The Complete and Definitive Reference book on The King of Rock and Roll.

We talked with David Stanley about his book, and Elvis Presley.

Q - David, every book that I've ever read on Elvis, and I must've read them all, paints a different picture of Elvis. Granted, he was a talented performer, and an American original, but as a man, when he was offstage, was Elvis really all that interesting?

A - He was. He still maintained that level of charisma and magnetism. But as far as sitting down and having a personal conversation with him, unless it was something he had a tremendous interest in, he wasn't much of a conversationalist. He enjoyed talking about military things. George Patton and the movie Patton, with George C. Scott was one of his favorite pictures. He used to love to talk about stuff like that. He loved to talk about cars. He enjoyed talking about aircraft, because of course he had several of his own. But when it just came to the everyday news and the everyday situations of the day, he just wasn't much of a conversationalist.

Q - Would that explain why Elvis never did grant interviews to the press?

A - Well, yeah. I could talk to Elvis. Obviously I couldn't have a real in-depth conversation. Sometimes he'd come to me and talk about Priscilla or Lisa or something like that, and that's a family matter. But as far as carrying on a normal conversation about every day affairs, he just wasn't in tune with what was going on around him, only if he was interested. Ironically, Elvis was interested in politics, and what was going on in the culture around him as far as the influence people were having on America, and where America was going and the negative influences of people like the Fondas and the Lennons and the Gloria Steinems. See, he'd talk about stuff like that, or he'd talk about police matters, more of hobby stuff. But he'd never really get into the issues of the day on a daily basis. I don't know if that makes much sense.

Q - People like myself would've liked to talk to Elvis about his background and his success.

A - I think Elvis, when it came to that though, was very humble. He would never talk about himself because he'd never want to be in a braggadocio situation. He didn't want to say, I started this. I heard this, and I did this because of that, and I succeeded because of this, and people love me because of that. If people asked him questions like, "Why do you think the crowd goes crazy?" or "Why do you think you're the greatest entertainer in the world?", I just think Elvis would be so humbled, it would be hard for him to answer it. He didn't talk about himself a lot.

Q - One of the biggest mysteries has to be what happened to Elvis' money.

A - (Laughs).

Q - No one has written a book about that. How did Elvis manage to go through $100 million dollars in twenty years?

A - My guess is, it's not where it went, it's where it didn't go. He didn't invest. Elvis didn't have a portfolio of investments. His father, Vernon, my stepfather was his personal business manager. Now, my stepfather had a fifth-grade education. You gotta understand, these people didn't have a lot of trust in investments. Elvis didn't invest any money. He did it one time with Joe Esposito and Dr. Nick on a thing called Center Courts, which was a racquet ball chain that collapsed. That was the only investment I saw him make. Even then, when that happened, that just reinforced the fact that he didn't invest. So, you got a guy not investing. You got a guy giving management 50 per cent. You got a guy who spends his money all the time. Elvis buying cars, giving to charity, no loopholes, no tax-breaks. Elvis was in the highest bracket he can be, and I think as a result of that, he just wasn't a big saver of money. I know you probably heard it, but Elvis just gave it all away. It was kind of like Jay Leno when he did that commercial for Doritos, "Don't worry, we'll make more." Elvis would always have to go out and make more, but he knew his talent was such that he could do that. Elvis never forgot where he came from, that's what was so cool about Presley. He felt that he was blessed and fortunate to live in a country where he could succeed. He had a gift that God had given him, and he shared that with everybody around him. It wasn't as though he gave Schilling and myself high salaries, though he did give us gifts from time to time. He gave outside of the realm of his group more than he gave within it, because he loved to see the less fortunate or somebody who didn't have the opportunities to have what he had, get something that otherwise would be impossible.

Q - I would imagine that other people got their hands on the money before he did.

A - Well you know, his tax bracket alone had to be phenomenal. At one time my stepfather told me he was in a 85-to-90 percent bracket. Good God Almighty, that's a lot of money. Then, there were no write-offs. One of the first write-offs he began to get in write-offs was when he started buying airplanes, when he bought the Lisa Marie. There was one of his major deductions. He just didn't invest. He didn't really take advantage of the I.R.S.

Q - Did you ever get the feeling that Elvis was maybe just a little afraid of Colonel Parker?

A - I think that Elvis' relationship with Col. Parker is as follows: Colonel Parker walks into Presley's life during the Sun Records sessions. He come in, buys him out; R.C.A., they spend $30,000 - $40,000 dollars. Elvis Presley came from the South. He came from the cotton fields. Suddenly, here's a guy who's promising him a tremendous amount of money. I figure that Elvis figured half of $500 million is better than nothing. He was a very loyal, loyal person. You gotta understand the Colonel came in, took him, guided him, took him in the direction the Colonel wanted him to go, which wasn't a bad direction. I mean Presley was making hit records, he did movies. He was making a million dollars a picture. You're talking about early '60s, all through the '60s. You're talking about three movies a year. That's three million dollars. Elvis goes into the Army, right? He's afraid he's gonna lose his career. I don't think so. Colonel carries him through re-releases, different situations with albums, and things that Elvis had already done. He kept his career alive. So Elvis was very loyal. He appreciated Colonel Parker. Now, a lot of people want to say Colonel Parker wasn't a good manager, he took 50 percent, he led Elvis down a drug overdose. How could he do that? I mean, Elvis Presley was responsible for Elvis Presley's own well being as far as his personal health. As far as his business, he seemed to be happy with the fact that his management had kept him on top for so long. Elvis recognized the talent, but he also recognized the means to protect that talent. I was around Elvis for a long time, and him and the Colonel had some disagreements, specifically when Elvis wanted to go to Europe, and Colonel said let's don't go. But other than that, I didn't see this big problem with Colonel Parker making the money he did by promoting Elvis the way he did.

Q - Have you seen Colonel Parker lately?

A - My goodness, I haven't seen the Colonel since my stepfather died in 1979. I mean, what is Colonel, 80 something?

Q - He's supposed to be writing his autobiography, and I believe he's close to 90.

A - It would be interesting if he did.

Q - Then I could interview him.

A - He probably wouldn't do it for less than 50 percent (Laughs). Nowadays 50 percent of somebody's profit is out. My God, that's robbery, but back then, understanding where Elvis came from, understanding how much he loved his mother, understanding how much he loved his father, and how he wanted them to have. Somebody offers you millions of dollars, again, half of millions is better than nothing. Elvis was just loyal. But let me tell you, as loyal as he was, he expected that same loyalty with him, and got it.

Q - There's a famous story going around that in the early '60s, Elvis and a group of people were seated around the dining room table and a voice cried out "Elvis!" and it was his mother's voice. Were you at the table when that happened? Does Gladys Presley haunt Graceland?

A - I'm just gonna be real candid with you, I wasn't there. I have never heard that story. The first time I heard it was when you just told me. There's a lot of things that have been said about Elvis and his mother, as far as haunting and talking to him. Elvis had a very deep love for his mother. Again, this guy was born in a shotgun shack that was no bigger than most bathrooms. He was really tight with this mother. His mother is gonna be tight with him, cause they lost one at birth. Elvis had that "why me?" syndrome, in other words, I survived the plane-crash type thing. A brother died and I didn't. He was very close with his mother. His mother and he had a unique relationship. You gotta understand what the era and time element was like then, and where he came from. After she died, he didn't talk a whole lot about his mother with people like me and Jerry and Joe. Now, he would talk to a guy named Billy Smith, who is a cousin to Elvis Presley, who's got a book coming out called Revelations Of The Memphis Mafia. Him, Lamar Fike and Marty Lacker. Harper-Collins is the publisher. It's gonna be a fascinating book. That's out in April '95. . .

Q - Everybody's got a book out on Elvis.

A - Well you know, they do, but you can't blame us. We were part of history.

Q - Do you know Joyce Bova? She's written a book called My Love Affair With Elvis.

A - I met Joyce in Memphis, this past August.

Q - Is she legitimate?

A - You know what? She is. She sure is. She knew Elvis when he'd come up to Washington, D.C. We came up there and he met with Nixon. But let me say this about the women in Elvis' life. Every woman who's ever written on Presley is more important than the one before. I know women that shook hands with Elvis who said they had an affair with him. Now, I don't know the extent of her story and how true this, this and that is, but I do know she did have a relationship with him. She was close to him. They did meet and visit when he was in Washington, D.C. and that was the extent of it. It wasn't a long-term thing. It didn't go on forever and ever in Elvis' life. But I met Joyce and spoke with her. She's a very sweet girl. Lamar Fike and I were talking to her. Lamar remembers her more than I do. They had a affair going on for a little while, but as far as a love affair, and she was the only woman in Elvis' life, it seems like every woman who's ever met Elvis Presley has the same story.

Q - Wasn't it pretty difficult for anybody to get close to Elvis with all the security around him?

A - Well, unless you were in the inner circle, you had a tough time being around Presley. There's a few of us who knew him. Jerry knew him. Joe knew him. Lamar knew him. I knew him. My brother Ricky knew him. We were with this guy all the time. We didn't look at Elvis like, "Oh, my God, this is the King of Rock 'n' Roll." This is one of our buddies. This is a bro here. This is a guy you can wrestle with, play with, goof off with. We didn't look at him like a superstar, so we could talk to him, play, and have a good time. Each of us had our own thing with Presley. Billy Smith would talk about his mother and family. I would be into karate, and fight and wrestle with him, because I was always this big, punk kid growing up with him. Lamar Fike would relate to the music perspective of Elvis' life. Jerry Schilling in management. Joe Esposito in the business side. Elvis had a lot of different personalities through the people he knew. So, it was tough to get inside that realm, and that's the way Elvis wanted it. If Elvis wanted to know somebody, he'd know 'em.

Q - At his last concert in Indianapolis in 1977, Elvis made what many consider to be a rather strange remark. He said in Spanish, "We will meet again."

A - Yeah, he did.

Q - What did he mean by that?

A - I believe Elvis knew he was going on stage for the last time. I don't know if you've read about me, but I've been very candid about Elvis' death. I think Elvis premeditated his death, and planned it, and that's all there is to it. Elvis Presley knew he was leaving us. He said something else that night before he walked on that stage that night: "I may not look good tonight on stage, but I'll look good in my casket." Two days before he died he said, "David, I love you," stood up, and hugged me. He hadn't hugged me like that since seventeen years before, when he welcomed me into his family. "You'll never see me again David. I'll see you in a different place." Of course, you know Elvis was into the mystic books and all this stuff. But, I think that Elvis was unhappy towards the end of his life. He was grossly overweight. He had a very, very serious drug problem. He loved Ginger Alden only out of choice, not heartfelt. It's like you wake up one day after you're a wild ass rock 'n' roller, and you say I want to settle down, and you've got problems in your life, and it's not as easy as you thought. I think those problems caught up with Presley, and the drug addiction that set in towards the end of his life, cost him his life.

Q - One sheriff I interviewed said that there were bodyguards of Elvis who, on many a night, did not recognize the Elvis that walked past them. There was even a rumor going around that Colonel Parker hired Elvis look-alikes to perform at many of the shows, that the real Elvis should've been at. What do you have to say to that?

A - I think that's absolutely ridiculous. Anybody who has ever worked for Elvis Presley has never made that statement to that individual. See, you gotta understand, it's one thing to look at a guy and he looks like he's overweight or something. It's another thing to know the personality. Elvis' personality remained the same. The only way Elvis Presley would've done that is if I would've known about it, or Jerry would've known about it, or Red or Sonny, or Dick Grob. That's the only way. Now, you know the next thing, and it's already started, is we're part of the conspiracy. We covered it up. But no bodyguard, and I would challenge this individual on a face to face issue, you tell me the bodyguard who said Elvis walked by him, and it wasn't him. He might've been some gate guard who saw Elvis once in his life, or some security guard who saw Elvis when he walked in the door. But, it wasn't anybody within the inner circle.

Q - Charles Thompson, co-author of the book The Death of Elvis, writes about you and what you did on the day Elvis died. He states, "David Stanley was in a hurry because he was trying to smuggle out a friend who shouldn't have been at Graceland." I asked Mr. Thompson who that friend was, and he said it was no big deal. He knew that name. Elvis had to approve everyone who was at Graceland. Was that a girlfriend of yours? Is it true that Elvis had to approve everyone who entered Graceland?

A - I am so glad and thrilled that you have asked me that question, because Charlie Thompson is an ass hole. Okay? Let me tell you something, this guy wrote this book The Death of Elvis, and he's got me downstairs banging some chick and makin' it sound just like you said, that Elvis had to have prior knowledge of who was comin' and who wasn't. I was Elvis Presley's brother, okay? I lived at Graceland for a long time. I came in, print this, at 12 o'clock that afternoon, I brought a friend of mine, his name is Mark White. He is the brother of a girl named Shelly White. Aurillia Yarborough, and Shelly White would cut Elvis' hair often times when he was in Memphis. I was living in this home with Aurillia and Shelly. Mark was in town. I came in at noon. Elvis was not to be disturbed until four or four-thirty in the afternoon. I came in, I said "Mark, come on in with me." We didn't have to ask if we could bring somebody around. I'd been around Elvis for seventeen years. I knew when it was cool, and when it wasn't. Mark and I came upstairs, came in, excuse me, and we walked in, "Hey, Joe (Esposito), hey Al, how you doing Buddy?" Ricky's downstairs sayin' "David I'll see you in a little while, I gotta go pack." I go downstairs in the basement with Mark White. Mark and I started shooting pool. Amber, who is Ginger Alden's niece, who was there playin' with Lisa Marie at that time, walked in to the pool room down in the basement of Graceland. She said, "Hey David, Elvis is sick." Now Charlie wants to make it sound like, oh my God, Elvis is gonna be mad because somebody's on the premises. No. I go, "Mark, Elvis is sick. We're supposed to be on tour tonight. Let me run you down to the gate, across the street and have somebody pick you up, because I gotta get on the phone and start makin' some cancellations." There's a difference between sick and Elvis lyin' dead on the floor. Nobody thought death. So, I drive him down the driveway and drop him off. When I'm comin' back up the driveway an ambulance comes in right behind me. Now, there's a circle double-driveway into Graceland. You go up one side, the longer driveway, or you can go up one driveway that just goes up the hill and into the back. I go into the back, the ambulance pulls around into the front. I get out of the car, and don't miss a step running up the steps. I walk in. Elvis is layin' face down in a fetal position. Joe Esposito, Charlie Hodge is there. The paramedics walk in. They say, "David, what's goin' on?" Excuse me, let me make sure I say this, no, "What's going on?" I say, "He's overdosed." There was no time to play games. Vernon comes in with Sandy. Vernon collapses against the shower 'cause he sees his son in a very bad way. We rolled Elvis over. We begin to administer first aid. Paramedics begin to put all kinds of tubes and stuff on him, and they start working on him, to no avail. I start picking up empty syringes and pills laying around the scene, because it was instinctive to take care of business. You automatically took care of business. Loyalty was everything. We don't want these people to think Elvis was a drug addict. I mean, after all, you didn't know it until after he was dead. Anyway, then I froze because it hit me, my God, this is a bad situation. I'm in shock for a second. Esposito says, "David help us." I grab Elvis by the feet. The paramedics grab him by the shoulders. We pick up this body and place it on the stretcher. I'm at the feet with Al Strada. Joe Esposito's at the head with the paramedics. We roll him out of his room. We take him to the steps and pull out the legs that have wheels on it. We carry him down the steps. We drop the legs back down. We roll him across. Lisa Marie, a nine-year old is screaming "Is Daddy okay? Is Daddy okay?" We come to the steps at the front of Graceland, carry him down the steps, throw him in the back of the ambulance. Dr. Nichopoulos pulls up at that time. Al Strada, Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito jump in the back of the ambulance. Nick jumps out of his car, "What's going on?" I said, "Get your ass in the ambulance." I walk in the house to go to the backyard. Now, I'm at the front of Graceland. I go through the front door, through the kitchen, back through the jungle room and out to my car. Billy Smith is comin' in. "Billy, what's wrong?" "Elvis is very sick. Get in the car." He gets in the car, we're going down the driveway. Now, Charlie Thompson can stick this right up his butt. According to Charlie Thompson I'm running down the driveway, trying to ditch somebody. That's not ditching. That's Billy Smith in the car with me. Sam Thompson, "What's wrong?" "Elvis is dead." Now, he used Sam Thompson as a source. Sam Thompson wasn't even there. He was pulling in the driveway, and we were pulling out. We shoot to the hospital. We pull up to the back, Billy jumps out. I throw my car in neutral, put on the power brakes, jump out of the car and run in. We go into a small room. Next door to that room is the trauma team. Metal clanging, bags blowing air in and out. Obviously they were in a code blue or whatever you want to call it. We're standing there. There's a doctor standing there. And it was me, Al Strada, Charlie Hodge and Joe Esposito and Billy Smith. We're standing there and Joe Esposito looks at the doctor and says, "How long do you think he's been without oxygen?" The doctor said, "Too long." Then Joe said, "We've lost him as far as his brain." The doctor said, "There's a strong possibility." Dr. Nick walks in, shakes his head, "Elvis is dead." I stood there, we felt like we were in a time capsule, first people in the world to know information that was gonna shock the entire world. But see, Charlie Thompson, because he wants to pull this Elvis this, or Elvis that, let me tell you something they've said, I was everything from not being on my job post to shacking up with some chick, and even Dr. Nick was on A Current Affair two or three years ago, saying Elvis was murdered, that I killed the guy. So, I've put up with this crap from everybody. Thank you for asking, and quote me, Thompson is dead wrong. He no more knew Elvis Presley than he knows his own business.

Q - And there's a guy who's a producer for 60 Minutes.

A - I know. I'll tell you, I don't have a beef with Charlie. Charlie is an investigative reporter. He wasn't there. He never knew Elvis. He never met Elvis. Didn't know Elvis' drug habits. Knew nothing about Elvis Presley. He wants to insult me by saying I'm downstairs banging some chick, and you know what? Even if I was, what business of his would it be? But that wasn't the case. The case and story is verbatim what I've just told you. I was real upset. I was on Geraldo and Charlie Thompson was on there and started that stuff. I mean, I laid into him. His book flopped, crashed and burned, because the people were smart enough to know this guy was nothing but an investigative reporter, and might have been a darn good one, but on this particular story, he missed the boat.

Q - You appeared on the CNN show, Larry King Live with Dennis Miller, the substitute host. You constantly referred to Elvis in the present tense. Deborah Wines of the Presley Commission tells me you were ordered by higher-ups to stop promoting your book, and to shut your mouth after that appearance. Is that true?

A - Well, she must not have seen CBS this morning. She must've missed Inside Edition. I just got through taping Sally. I just did Music City Tonight. I was on CNN, Showbiz Today. I'm doing thirty radio shows this week. I've been in every newspaper that will listen as far as promoting my book. Obviously, she's not watching TV.

Q - Deborah Wines, the policewoman from Michigan, also says that on the morning of Elvis' death, the mailman who had Graceland on his route was, for some unknown reason, taken off that route and a substitute carrier was used.

A - Bless her heart.

Q - This substitute carrier had Elvis sign for a certified letter at nine thirty that morning, and Elvis was seen picking up the morning newspaper at 10 that morning. This is important to The Presley Commission, because if Elvis had been dead for six hours on August 16, 1977, and he was discovered at 2 p.m., he could not have been signing for a letter, or picking up a newspaper, at 9 or 10 a.m.

A - Well, not that I have to prove that Elvis is gone, but first of all, Elvis didn't talk to mailmen. Elvis never signed for a package in his life. The mailman would go to the office behind Graceland where he dropped off baskets and baskets of mail. Any personal mail that would've come, would've gone through that office. Elvis never walked out on the lawn to get a paper, because, to be honest with you, he didn't get a daily paper. It's that simple. Let me tell you, Elvis is an icon. He's Mickey Mouse. They don't want to let him go. The only way that Elvis Presley could be alive is if people like me, Joe, Jerry and all of us were these great, big conspirators, and pulled this thing off. And, even then, it'd be impossible. It's a sickness. There's a loose bolt somewhere along the way. I don't understand what it is. I guess I'm not used to people loving me that much. I guess people love Elvis so much, they don't want to let him go.

Q - Was there no one around Elvis who could have changed the direction he was heading in?

A - I don't know if you've ever been around an alcoholic or a drug addict. The first thing they do is deny that they have a problem. They always tell the druggies and alcoholics that you can never deal with reality until you admit you have a problem. Elvis never admitted it. There was no one person. Everybody told Elvis, "You're going over the edge, man. You're blowing it pal." He didn't give a damn. I'd go up and take drugs off Elvis' table, and have a 45 stuck between my eyes. He would've never shot me, but I looked at it. We're dealing with a serious problem here. Nobody could talk to Elvis. He was the King of Rock 'n' Roll. He accomplished everything there was to accomplish.

Q - That's the terrible part of being a superstar isn't it?

A - Well, yeah, Elvis was the prototype. He didn't have anybody to go to. Hey listen, if Elvis and Michael Jackson met, Michael Jackson could at least sit down and say, "Elvis, what's it like to be a superstar?" Elvis didn't have that luxury.

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

The views and opinions expressed by individuals interviewed for this web site are the sole responsibility of the individual making the comment and / or appearing in interviews and do not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone associated with the website ClassicBands.com.