Gary James' Interview With The Co-Pilot Of Elvis Presley's Plane, the Lisa Marie
Ron Strauss
From 1975 to 1977, Ron Strauss flew Elvis Presley around the U.S. in Elvis' plane, the Lisa Marie. And now, in a new book titled Destined To Fly: The Story of Pilot Ron Strauss: From Iowa to Elvis, co-written with Sally A. Hoedel (www.ElvisAuthor.com), Ron Strauss is telling his story.
We spoke with Ron Strauss about his time with Elvis.
Q - Ron, you really packed a lot of information in this book of yours. How did you remember all of the conversations you had? Did you keep a diary or a log of some kind?
A - No. I just have a good memory.
Q - That's a good thing to have. A very good thing!
A - Yes. (laughs)
Q - I actually saw Elvis in concert at the Syracuse War Memorial on July 28th, 1976. After you landed the plane, what did you do? Did you stay with the plane? Did you go to the venue later that night and watch Elvis? Where did you stay when you were in Syracuse?
A - It depends on where we were going. For example, when we landed, if Elvis was just going to Syracuse and doing the concert, then he would get back on the airplane and we would go to the next place. Normally, if we were going to stay in Syracuse or wherever for three or four days, then we'd to to a hotel and sometimes we'd stay at the same hotel he did. Sometimes we didn't.
Q - He did two days in Syracuse and stayed at The Hotel Syracuse. Does that ring a bell?
A - I can't remember.
Q - I looked at the contract you had with Elvis that was in the back of your book. I didn't see anything that said you couldn't talk to the press about your job. Did anyone ever approach you and ask, "What's it like working for Elvis?" Did anyone ever seek you out?
A - No. A lot of reporters did that, but we wouldn't answer any questions or give an interview.
Q - Right, but you weren't told you couldn't talk to the press, were you?
A - No, we weren't. We just did that on our own.
Q - Did you ever see that Elvis movie released last year, 2022?
A - No. I didn't and I won't because I know Hollywood sometimes can do crazy things and I just wouldn't go.
Q - And that movie was sanctioned by the Presley estate. There's a part in the movie where Elvis collapses backstage, before a show in Las Vegas. Tom Hanks, who portrays Colonel Parker, says to the media, "The only thing that's important is to get that man onstage." Did you ever hear Colonel Parker say something like that?
A - No.
Q - Did Colonel Parker fly on the Lisa Marie?
A - Only once. We flew him from Palm Springs to Tampa, Florida and that was it. That's the only time I know that he flew on the airplane.
Q - How did Colonel Parker get to Elvis' gigs? Did he have his own plane?
A - Elvis had a Jet Star, and that's mainly what Parker flew on.
Q - He had a separate jet then?
A - Yes, but it's the one parked next to the Lisa Marie in Memphis.
Q - Did Colonel Parker have his own entourage aboard that plane?
A - I don't know, because I didn't pay any attention to him.
Q - Did you like him?
A - Well, I didn't like him that much.
Q - I'd ask why you didn't like him, but I have a feeling you won't answer that question.
A - I won't answer that. (laughs)
Q - That's what I thought. When the crew was being hired to fly the Lisa Marie, Vernon Presley told Elwood David, "If we hire you as a pilot, you do the flying and we do the entertaining. Can you keep that straight?" Entertaining? What's he talking about?
A - Well, I don't know if he told Elwood David that because when we went in for the interview it was strictly a sound proof type deal. Vernon told me, "You guys do the flying and we do the entertainment," and I said, "Yup." Then he asked me how much money I wanted to make and I told him, and that was it. That was the shortest interview I ever had.
Q - In the book you said, "You never mingled with the entourage that surrounded Elvis. You had a job to do and you did it." You never interacted with Elvis?
A - Well, Elvis came in the cockpit many a time and asked us different things. We did mingle a little bit, but not that much. We kept it more professional, the crew did.
Q - Did he ever ask if he could take over the controls?
A - No. But I asked one time, he came in the cockpit and said, "Hey, how's it going?" "Good." I said, You want to fly it?" He said, "Nope. That's what I hire you guys for."
Q - I mentioned that I saw Elvis in concert. I told that to somebody who said, "If you saw the real Elvis. Colonel Parker was known to use Elvis impersonators." So, I ran that by David Stanley years later and he said he was in Syracuse, New York with Elvis and I saw the real Elvis. Did you ever look at Elvis twice and say, "Is that really Elvis?"
A - No. Never did. In the latter months he put on some weight, but that was it.
Q - On page 109 of your book you write: "Elvis was suffering from severe colon/bowl disease, adrenal fatigue/insufficiency, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, painful arthritis, glaucoma in both his eyes, a genetic lung issue and a malfunctioning liver." How is it possible that Elvis could perform every night?
A - Well, I don't know. He took the medicine. I don't know.
Q - On page 67: "Not only was Ron destined to fly, he was destined to fly the King Of Rock 'n' Roll." Elvis didn't like to be referred to as the King Of Rock 'n' Roll. As a matter of fact, he stopped a show once when he saw a banner calling him The King and he said, "There's only one King, and I'm not him." Did you ever hear Elvis cut anybody off when the referred to him as The King?.
A - No.
Q - Page 85: "There was a bomb reported to be on the Lisa Marie. Joe Esposito says, "Before we do anything, let me go talk to Elvis." Joe came back and the plane was airborne. When a bomb is reported to be on a plane, isn't it there some kind of protocol in place where Federal officials take everyone off the plane and sweep the plane?
A - Well normally, yes. But here's the story. I think we were leaving Pittsburgh and it was early in the morning. I think he'd done a midnight show Christmas Day or New Years. Anyway, we were taxiing out and the FBO (Fixed Base Operator) there said, "C'mon back." And we said, "Well no, we're not coming back." And then we continued on and the FBO said, "You better come back right now!" "No, we're not coming back." And he said, "You better come back because we have a bomb scare in your airplane." Ooops! So, we stopped and called Joe up to the cockpit. "Hey Joe, we got a bomb scare. We're gonna tell Elvis we got a bomb scare and we're gonna return back to the FBO." And he said, "Before you do that, wait a minute. Let me go talk to Elvis." So, he talked to Elvis. Five minutes later he came and said, "Take us to Memphis." I flew it just as hard as it would go, below 10,000 feet. We have a 250 knot indicated airspeed. We just kept it as hard as it would go until the last minute. Then we just slowed up and landed. No problems. Anyway, Joe told us, "You know, we've been getting bomb scares since 1955 or thereabouts. It's probably some jealous husband or wife or girlfriend. Don't worry about it." So, off we went.
Q - The FBO asked you to turn back?
A - It was actually TWA because they're the ones we normally operate with because they had past 880 experience (the type of aircraft Ron Strauss was flying).
Q - You never had a photo taken with Elvis, but did you ever get an autographed picture or an autograph?
A - Well, my wife got a scarf that was autographed by Elvis and I got numerous items; a gold necklace he gave me, and flowers off his first grave. I got the yellow Corvette I got in 1976 and I still have it.
Q - On the day Elvis died, you went out to L.A. to pick up Priscilla, her mother, father, sister, Joe Esposito, Jerry Schilling, and George Hamilton. George Hamilton? Was he a friend of Elvis or a friend of the family?
A - Well, I assume he was a friend of Elvis. We didn't care how may people or who got on the airplane. We didn't pay any attention because we were busy in the cockpit. So, the flight attendant would come up and give us a head count. That's all we cared about. The airplane originally would carry 121 people. When Elvis got done, it would only carry like 29.
Q - Did you go inside Graceland and walk past Elvis' casket?
A - Yes, I did.
Q - What was that whole scene like at Graceland that day?
A - Well, it was very sad, that's for sure. We were inside the mansion when all this happened. As far as the fans coming by, I don't know. I was outside.
Q - Page 141: "I tell people that anyone can be anything they want to be, but the hard truth is that some are going to have to work a lot harder to get it." You go on to say about your life: "A big part of it was just luck." Right. And Ron, you can't measure luck. You were at the right place at the right time with the right skill. All the rights had to line up.
A - Well, that's true. (laughs)
Official Website: www.ElvisAuthor.com
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