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Rare interview with Rick Stanly/Joe Esposito EVENTS of 8/16/77
KING: Was he dead on the bathroom floor?
ESPOSITO: Yes, he was. I was -- hope there was some -- but he was -- he was gone for quite a while.
KING: Rick, where were you? RICKY STANLEY, ELVIS PRESLEY'S STEPBROTHER: Oh, actually, I had just come back. I had been with him the night before. And he called me and asked me to come upstairs, and I was bringing him a prescription, sleeping pills. And we talked for a while, and then I said good night to him. And then he called me back. And I went upstairs, and we sat and we talked. And he was a little bit bummed out because -- what's referred to as the "bodyguard book" -- he had it. And he looked at me and said, Ricky, what's my little girl going to think when she reads this? And I said, Well, you know, I don't know, Elvis...
KING: There was a book out about him?
RICKY STANLEY: Yes, sir. It was revealing to his public his private life.
KING: I see.
RICKY STANLEY: And he was a little upset about it. He wanted to know what Lisa would think and he wanted to know what the fans would think. And then we continued and started talking about my relationship, my being messed up on drugs and how I needed the Lord. And eight hours later, he was gone.
KING: How did you hear about it?
RICKY STANLEY: I heard about it when David came in, my youngest brother. And I said, David, Joe says we've got to get him up at a certain time because we're going to leave for a tour. And I'm going to run a few errands. So at a certain time, get him up. I ran some errands, and I was sitting in a restaurant, Larry, and I had this premonition -- I've never had this happen before -- that something was wrong. And before the food even came back, I got up and drove back to Graceland. There was an ambulance sitting out in front. And the first thing I thought, Well, maybe it's my grandmother, Elvis's grandmother, or maybe something's happened to my dad, Vernon Presley. But when I stepped into Graceland, it was kind of chaotic and...
KING: But you had a premonition?
RICKY STANLEY: Yes, sir. Yes, I did. And I've never had that before. I haven't since.
KING: Now, David, you were in the house?
DAVID STANLEY, ELVIS PRESLEY'S STEPBROTHER: I was in the pool room when Amber, a friend of Lisa's, walked in and said, Something wrong's with Elvis. I had a friend of mine named Mark White (ph), who was somebody I'd known for years. And I said, Mark, listen, I need to get you out of here. I didn't think anything bad. I didn't think the worst. Obviously, I mean, Elvis had been sick, but to think the worst was not my first thought. I said, Mark, I really need to take you home. So I buzzed him down the street, which was around the corner from Graceland. As I came back, an ambulance was pulling into the driveway. And I followed the ambulance up, and the ambulance went to the front door, and I went to the back, ran up the steps. And as I rounded the corner, Joe Esposito and Charlie (ph), Vernon Presley, Sandy Miller (ph), Vernon's friend, and some others were converged around Elvis. And they rolled him over, and it was obvious, as Joe said, that he was gone. And you know, the sight is one that haunts me to this very day because when I looked down and saw Elvis Presley laying there dead, I wasn't looking at a superstar or the king of rock-and-roll, I was looking at a man who had picked me up 17 years before and gave me a hug and welcomed me into his life. So it was a dark, tragic day.
We did put him on the gurney. We carried him down the steps. We put him in the back of the ambulance. Joe did jump in the ambulance (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Dr. Nick (ph) pulled up soon and jumped in the back of the ambulance. I ran through the house. I saw Billy Smith (ph). He said, What's wrong? I said, Something's wrong. Elvis -- I believe Elvis is dead.
We drove to Baptist Hospital. We got there about 10 minutes after the ambulance did. And we walked in, and there was a small room and several were in there -- Joe and Charlie, Al Stratas (ph), a couple of the others. And as we stood there, there was -- you know, there -- we just really didn't know until the doctor walked in and shook his head and said, He's gone.
And it was a very eerie feeling. It was like -- it was like the Kennedy assassination. It's ironic I say that. I'm here in Dallas, Texas. What it was like to be the first five people in the world that knew the news that would shock the world? And it was a very sad day, a very tough day for all of us.
I'm no "fan" of The Stanley Brothers, .......
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cherokee
LOL, yeah I read ya, Cap. Still: Vernon Presley never fathered, nor adopted the Stanley trio, but they hardly ever refer to him as their step-father, which is what he was to them. :!:
Actually, in real life, they do use the "stepfather" designation.
Perhaps they just omit it just to tick-off the fans sometimes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cherokee
Cap, do you know what became of their real father? If they stayed in contact and if the man is still alive? :hmm:
As far as I'm concerned, EP was their father-role model.
Have no idea about their paternal biological history, ......... simply because, it is of no interest to me.
- Capt. "EL."
PS - Cherokee, ....... be careful not to read too much into my posts sometimes .............. ;)
