Richard Davis dies: Elvis' valet manager, movie stand-in, and member of the Memphis Mafia, died on Wednesday night in his sleep, apparently from a heart attack. Richard, who played a lot of touch football with Elvis, joined E's entourage in 1962 and worked for E for 7 years. Elvis bought him a white Cadillac convertible. He was eventually fired by Vernon Presley in a cost-cutting move. Following Elvis' death, Richard faced a few years of very hard times. He worked part-time at George Klein's gigs. After the casinos opened in nearby Tunica, MS, Richard righted his Life and found employment at one of them in the security department, eventually becoming a supervisor at one of the casinos. At some of GK's gigs, he would tell stories, but it was always the same two stories -- (1) of how Elvis threw flash bulbs into his swimming pool, then shot them all, causing the debris to sink to the bottom of the pool and being hell to clean out; and (2) how he had once hidden in the rafters at a movie studio and dropped water-filled balloons on the Mafia below. Richard Davis, overall, was a very nice guy. He seemed to be enjoying to the fullest the re-birth of his Life. So sad it had to end at this stage. (Elvis News, Source: Bill Burk, 27 August 2004)


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