Reply With QuoteI've heard he was going blind at the time of his death. But I question that, even if the source is his own private physician.
Hy Every one, I am wondering..does any one here can enlightened me about Elvis wearing contact lenses due to his glaucoma? I heard he had glaucoma towards the end of his life, but not from the very beginning.
I've heard he was going blind at the time of his death. But I question that, even if the source is his own private physician.
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I'd never heard of Elvis wearing contacts, I have seen him wearing eyeglasses. I've read about his glaucoma, but not a lot, so i dont' know a lot about it,however, i do recall that the primary blame, so to speak, was his constant performing - the lights. In an interview, Ronnie Tutt states that in those days, the concert engineers simply didn't have the knowledge they do now about the best way to set up lighting to protect the performers, andRonnie also suffers with a severe sensitivity to lights since he was directly behind Elvis.
I know there's a phone call recorded on a cd titled "Calling Elvis" where Elvis discusses his glaucoma with a Denver policeman, but I don't know what that phone call says as I don't own that cd.
Just pretend, I'm holding you, and whispering things soft and low.
And think of me, how it's gonna be and just pretend I didn't go
Thank you both for the response, I am just trying to get more info, I heard from someone who is Elvis fans in Kentucky USA, that Elvis went to eye doctor there to fix his eye problem... (?? ) it is unheard of, the thing about Elvis World is that I try to get the fact out of the myth ...
there are several articles in http://www.elvis.com.au/ I usually head there first for information.
Just pretend, I'm holding you, and whispering things soft and low.
And think of me, how it's gonna be and just pretend I didn't go
i knwo when he filmed Flaming Star they asked him to wear colour contacts its the only time I've heard of him wearing them. I've read a few times that Elvis had mild Glaucoma in one eye
I never looked for trouble but I never ran.
I only know he had glaucoma in his left eye. And I know it started in 1971. Iīve noticed something a few days ago, that might have something to with it: In the movie "Thatīs the way it is" the spotlight shines right in his eyes, but in "Aloha from Hawaii" the spotlights donīt shine in his eyes anymore. Did anyone else notice that? I think thatīs because of the glaucoma. And Iīve noticed something else in the Aloha from Hawaii rehearsal concert: When he introduces Charlie the spotlight shines right in his face for a second and when it does he closes his left eye for a second. Did anyone else notice?
Nicole:
I do not think that this has any relation to his eye problem.
I think that it has a relation to the position of spotlights. I think that there is very important factor - size of venue (Hilton is not as big hall as HIC arena or halls when On Tour was filmed). That means that spotlights are much closer to performer and probably much higher than in large hall. Other than that - in Las Vegas the lights in venue were not turned off - in HIC there (from DVD) it seems like there was weaker light. Thats horrible contrast of spotlight with the dark below the stage - thats the reason why artists are not able to see more than first few rows (like Elvis said before Funny How Time Slips Away in 72).
Heya, my understanding is that there are different degrees of glaucoma but Elvis's condition though serious hadn't reached the worst stage. He did require some dramatic medical intervention on at least one occasion when he had to be injected directly into the eyeball. Two of his lovers in the early 70s Joyce Bova and Barbara Leigh attest to this episode and to hospital stays as a result of his condition. It may also be of interest to you to read Dr. Nick's book which elaborates more on this. Hope this was of some help.
I noticed a long time ago that Elvis left eye always looked,for want of a better word, lazy. If you watch this clip from Double Trouble about 1:02 into it when he blinks the left lid is way out of synch with the other eye. This is when I first noticed it. Also it can be seen in some pulicity shots.
We must also take into account the camera flashlights he faced during his life, and lighting for still pics.
I know that the March 16-18 1971 recording Sessions in Nashville had to be canceled as he had a severe pain in his eyes, or one of the at least.
There is picture too from the same year, probably around the same month, where you can see him wearing a patch in one of his eyes.
Glaucoma has stages and the fact that Elvis had to have his eye drained and had injections at different times tells me it must have been a pretty serious problem.
Work in Progress!
The only time I have heard of Elvis having to wear contacts was for Flaming Star were he was required to wear brown contacts because of the part he was playing. Seems they irritated his eyes so he didn't wear them.
Wow thank YOU everybody... So basically Elvis' might had the symptoms of eye problem was way before 1977 ?I heard he already had it since the Army years ? hmmmmm I thought one' cant joined Army with such condition..? I agree with Cliff that he used different color of lenses on Flaming Star because its the part of the role he played .
You may be right about the Army thing.Originally Posted by buttonhead
Wow thank YOU everybody... So basically Elvis' might had the symptoms of eye problem was way before 1977 ?
Update on the Flaming Star contact lenses. I was right, but it seems he was fitted for them but they were never used. Hmmm, wonder if it was because of his eye problems.
Wonderful and interesting topic Buttonhead. Thank you for raising it. It's nice to be able to use all the useless information I have gathered in my memory banks over the years.
LOL Cliff,... you re welcome and actually another elvis fan who brought this to my attention.. he said something about Elvis wearing contact lenses since he was in the Army... and there were pics where elvis eyes could be blue and green and brown in different occasion..he mentioned about Elvis eye doc was in Kentucky USA.. It makes me thinking ? if its real ? I have never heard it except towards the end of his life his glaucoma was mentioned due to his drug abused.
My concern is that there were too many bogus story about Elvis,... with internet some people also could altered so many elvis pictures, they put elvis head on someone else' body,.. or crop his pictures as if it was a part of some events while Elvis never attend,.. make up stories off it.. See I am alright with every one who such huge elvis fans to do that for fun. but not to content where it became a fool of the world to hear.... or spread rumor that never happen. I keep reading Elvis news and still reading some books.. which i gotten interested ( again )... SO thats why i asked this topic..
One thing people need to remember is that Elvis had hazel colored eyes and they are known to appear bluer at times, browner at times, grayer at times.
Hazel is a very variable color.
Work in Progress!
Sorry. have to correct you, his eyes were definitely blue. If you read any of the memoirs by Barbara Leigh, Joyce Bova and Kathy Westmoreland they all specifically mention how profoundly blue his eyes were. It was one of the first features they were all drawn to. When you see him in TTWII singing I Just Can't Help Believing and Bridge Over Troubled Water you will see what I mean.Excuse me for being so pedantic but wanted to clarify this.
Last edited by readyseve; 04-26-2012 at 06:27 PM.
Back in the day we had no internet, no paparazzi. All we had were fan magazines which I always bought. If it had Elvis' pic on it I got it. Most of these magazines had little snippets of news from movie sets usually released by the press agent for the movie,I'd guess. This is were I remember reading about the contact lenses on Flaming Star. I suppose they thought that it would be strange having Elvis play a blue eyed Indian. For whatever reason he didn't wear them I guess they figured his character had a white father so he could have got the blue eyes from him.LOL Cliff,... you re welcome and actually another elvis fan who brought this to my attention.. he said something about Elvis wearing contact lenses since he was in the Army... and there were pics where elvis eyes could be blue and green and brown in different occasion..he mentioned about Elvis eye doc was in Kentucky USA.. It makes me thinking ? if its real ? I have never heard it except towards the end of his life his glaucoma was mentioned due to his drug abused.
My concern is that there were too many bogus story about Elvis,... with internet some people also could altered so many elvis pictures, they put elvis head on someone else' body,.. or crop his pictures as if it was a part of some events while Elvis never attend,.. make up stories off it.. See I am alright with every one who such huge elvis fans to do that for fun. but not to content where it became a fool of the world to hear.... or spread rumor that never happen. I keep reading Elvis news and still reading some books.. which i gotten interested ( again )... SO thats why i asked this topic..
Something else I remember reading in these magazines was that in the Cantina scene in Fun In Acapulco they had to have an oxygen bottle for Elvis as the smoke used in it would get to him and he would have to have a dose of oxygen now and then to help his breathing.
Of all the things I have read over the years never have I heard of him wearing contacts while in the Army. I don't know when contacts were developed for vision but I'm sure if he wore them it would be for this reason and not to enhance, or change his eye color.
Sorry but Ken was right. Elvis' eyes were a light hazel which do appear blue, grey even green at times depending on what he wore or the colours around him...my son has the same eye colour and they do vary. We saw Elvis up close in person in Tahoe in '73 so there is no doubt in my mind on the colour of his eyes.
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