Elvis - are these stories true ??

[Burning_Love]

Hello everyone.
I was watching 'Elvis the definitive collection' dvds and Barbara Leigh, One of Elvis' girlfriends, was talking generally about Elvis and she said there was something different about Elvis, well anyway he began to do Karate and all of sudden a wig come off of his head and nobody knew what to do and then he just started laughing and everybody else did then he got it and put it back on and carried on. I am not sure whether this is true...??

And also, Linda was saying how she was with Elvis 24/7 and she said "When he went to get his facelift i was with him...." and so on. So Elvis had a facelift ?? I also find this hard to believe, or does it mean something else ???

Thanks.

[srj1967]

Not sure about the wig story.

But yes, Elvis had a facelift in 1975. By all accounts, it didn't do much good. You can see a difference in his eyes after '75. The facelift has been recounted in a few books over the years.

There are also stories that he had some work done on his nose in the fifties, but I've never noticed any difference between the early fifties Elvis and the later fifties ...

[Donut]

It?s said by Elvis? entorage that he had an operation done under his eyes in 76 I think (there?s a thread about this here somewhere). It?s hardly noticiable and some people don?t believe it but it changed a little bit his "sleepy eyes", you can see at the end of his life they didn?t look the same...
About the Barbara Leigh incident must be some joke Elvis put on them because Elvis didn?t need a wig at all and those things are not so easy to hid or disguise. Besides Barbara was with Elvis in 1970-71, Elvis was 35 years old and has a nice full head of hair by then and kept it till the end of his life.

[Tony Trout]

Not sure 'bout the wig story but the facelift story is the truth. He had a mini-facelift done at Mid-South Hospital on June 15, 1975. Here's the story from the wonderful Elvis-History website (I have no affiliation with website):

June 15, 1975:

Elvis is admitted to the Mid-South Hospital for two days for what the press reports as an "extensive eye examination" but what is in fact cosmetic surgery around his eyes. Both Dr. Nick and the plastic surgeon, Dr. Asghan Koleyni, try to talk him out of it but he insists by threatening to have another doctor perform the procedure if they won't.

[srj1967]

You can see how terrible his eyes looked here, drugs and so forth notwithstanding.

He really didn't need a facelift, but he was very vain at times.

[elvis himselvis]

I know he had done a facelift,but not under his eyes
thanks for the information

[srj1967]

I know he had done a facelift,but not under his eyes

Yes, he did. This was recounted in, from memory, ELVIS, WHAT HAPPENED, the Goldman book, and several other more credible sources. He had the skin at the sides of his eyes tucked back - although you couldn't really see much difference, according to friends - and a general lift.

[ruggishboo]

As far as the look of his eyes around the time of the facelift in June 1975, the only time I can see a difference was on the July 75 tour. In all the pictures I've seen of him on the tour, he does have a little bit of a more youthful look about him, and his eyes don't really have that "sleepy" look about them. However, by the end of the year and most of the next two years, his eyes looked pretty bad. He always seemed to have an exhausted and sickly look about him at that time.

[ajr]

Of course, Elvis had glaucoma too.
That causes blindness ,eventually.
The strong, bright lights hurt & blinded him.......

[Burning_Love]

Thank you all for getting back to me. I really appreciate it !!! And now i have more of a clue thanks

[KPM]

I've read about the mini eye lift, but the wig story is a new one. He had a full head of hair as far as I have been able to tell from pictures and movies.
In the final TV special I can notice it seems a little thinner in front but never heard about a wig. Since he died his hair for so long that can damage the hair over time and thin it.

[Leroy]

As far as the look of his eyes around the time of the facelift in June 1975, the only time I can see a difference was on the July 75 tour. In all the pictures I've seen of him on the tour, he does have a little bit of a more youthful look about him, and his eyes don't really have that "sleepy" look about them. However, by the end of the year and most of the next two years, his eyes looked pretty bad. He always seemed to have an exhausted and sickly look about him at that time.

The somewhat strange look after 1975 has a lot to do with the fact that Elvis used to dye his eye lashes and used mascara to darken them. But during a greater part of 1976 he didn't.

[MISSCLAWDY]

For what I understood from Barbara Leigh's story Elvis put a wig on just for fun , not because he needed it; did I got it wrong? She was saying how funny he was , always joking and then she told the wig story so I gathered he did it for fun...!

[Lisarose]

Elvis needing to wear a wig? Is there a glue strong enough to hold a wig on after hundreds of screaming fans are pulling, yanking, & tearing at anything on the man wanting to literally have a "piece of Elvis"? I think that if Elvis was wearing a wig, it would be in someone's collection now. No, it was just a funny joke.
I, too, have heard the facelift/eyelift stories, don't doubt it, but I don't see the difference it made either. Although, there is the photo of Elvis on the cover of EPE's Ultimate Collection where, imo, he is unrecognizable.