Ever wondered why so many dislike Marty Lacker?

[LaurieT]

I use to dislike them all with a passion, like I mentioned they filter their memories thru their egos, but after reading nearing 70 books on Elvis and listenening to differing interviews I have come to the conclusion that the basic story is too similar to be all lies.
Their motives for writing the books are always "to tell their story"-but really its money. But I guess I have mellowed some, to quote Elvis from "Wild In the Country".......
"hates like a snake biting its own tail"
Over time I have tried to see their sides, their problems, their difficulties in the situation they were in-they could have quit (and overtime many were fired or quit).....but Elvis always wanted them back and they wanted to come back-almost like a disfunctional marriage.
They fed off Elvis, and Elvis should have got real professional accountants, bodyguards, travel secretaries, tour managers etc......for his needs as a superstar who had many jobs to be filled-but he went the good old boy route-hiring friends he felt comfortable around........never works, employees as friends, bosses as friends the lines blur and people get attitudes and problems develope. Elvis wondered if they were using him, and they wondered if Elvis would ask real outside employees to do the things he asked of them 24/7.
I once asked Marty,
"wouldn't Elvis also have a side to the story you guys tell and how would you feel if Elvis wrote a book on you, Red or all of you and gave his personal take on them"
Marty said he was sure Elvis would tell a different story from his view.....and he asked me what I was implying...I told him that its was easy to tell a story when the other party can not rebute it.
Elvis does not have that chance, but I also remind myself that he was human...he would have his own personal filters to tell his story thru.
The one MM that I really have a problem with was Lamar-he once told a story about being on the Lisa Marie in Elvis' bedroom on the plane and how Elvis was having trouble putting on a some pants or a jumpsuit-that was just a little too small-and Lamar supposedly called Elvis "fat a$$" and Elvis supposedly replied "You been waiting years to call me that" and laughed.
That story just did not sound true-I could not imagine anyone let alone Lamar calling Elvis fat a$$ to his face and then Elvis laughing about it.
Lamar also helped on the Goldman book with many horrid angles and stories that were not just tactless but downright mean in spirit.
But we all have our thoughts on these people as a group and individually.

I agree with a lot of what you said.
I also agree with Lacker,,Elvis would be none to happy at all about how they treated Billy. It is disgusting. Which brings me to another point,,as much as some have said,,we still do not know everything,,and we could never imagine what it was like completely. Yes, there were perks,,but they gave up a lot too,,I know this for a fact. Not that many folks,,could handle being there for their bosses 24/7. Elvis came first,,before wives, children, extended family. And outside friends,,was almost an impossible thing because you never knew if someone was just using you to get to Elvis. So,Elvis, and his life became their universe. Now how is it that the one,,who was the most devoted, there most of it, and spent the last hours with the man they are "supposed" to love so much,,gets royally screwed. Yet the fly by night Schilling is elevated.
The reason is very simple actually. Jealosy.

[KPM]

I agree with a lot of what you said.
I also agree with Lacker,,Elvis would be none to happy at all about how they treated Billy. It is disgusting. Which brings me to another point,,as much as some have said,,we still do not know everything,,and we could never imagine what it was like completely. Yes, there were perks,,but they gave up a lot too,,I know this for a fact. Not that many folks,,could handle being there for their bosses 24/7. Elvis came first,,before wives, children, extended family. And outside friends,,was almost an impossible thing because you never knew if someone was just using you to get to Elvis. So,Elvis, and his life became their universe. Now how is it that the one,,who was the most devoted, there most of it, and spent the last hours with the man they are "supposed" to love so much,,gets royally screwed. Yet the fly by night Schilling is elevated.
The reason is very simple actually. Jealosy.

Yes it is a shame the way Billy has been treated-but lets not forget-Elvis did not mention Billy specifically in his will....and Elvis could have very well left some bequest to him legally that would have been untouchable by anyone....Elvis did not do this.
I have heard rumors of a second will, that the will was changed, that pages were left out......all rumors with no real backing.
A will is usually held by the lawyer who drew it up, a copy would have been given to Elvis and with large wills one is kept sealed in a bank or safety deposit box. The will could not have pages missing from one copy and not missing from the others, the pages run in sequential order, with sub sections, etc.....all in order-you could not just throw out pages-because it would throw off the sequential order of the whole document.
The lawyer who drew up the will attested to the fact that it was indeed the last will of Elvis and the court agreed and accepted it as such.
Elvis just did not leave Billy anything specific-the closest Elvis's will came was in mentioning that in times of hardship relatives could be helped at the descretion of Vernon (paraphrasing the section)
So unfortunately it is Elvis who dropped the ball for Billy-why I have no clue.......he may have felt he had plenty time to revise and revisit the will in the future and just did not worry about it (that happens pretty often in many families)
Or he may have known his finances were not where they ought to be at that moment and he wanted to assure that Lisa was first and foremost cared for.
No matter what I agree Billy should be at the least given some type of work from EPE.

[1100ccRider]

People dislike Martyr lackey because he's a total a**hole. I used to have epic scuffles with him back in the alt.elvis.king days, following his entry under a false flag, and I've never seen any behavior from him that's suggested he's anything more than an arrogant blowhard who firmly believes that his recollections of Elvis (though Moon Unit was, by his own confession, totally whacked out of his mind on drugs during some of these times) are the ONLY version of events can be true and that any variance from his Official And Certified Memories is the sign of a liar. He's a nasty piece of work whose opinions and emphatically 'only one true truth' about Elvis and those times mean nothing to me. He can go Fike himself, as far as I'm concerned.

Other than that, I like the guy.

[ELVIS_]

He's still doing what he did back then. Riding on Elvis' coat tails or Cape..lol

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

IMO Marty's style of confrontation attracts like minded individuals who then feel the urge to challenge and provoke him into getting a predictable response

There are a LOT of myths surrounding Elvis and quite a few of them are are upheld by the MM because it puts them in a good light, Marty and all the others have slightly differing versions of each story and because they have repeated these stories so many times they themselves believe their version to be the only true version.

Its hardly surprising that a man in his 7th decade cannot recollect minute details with precision?

Some need to give the guy a break...

[LaurieT]

IMO Marty's style of confrontation attracts like minded individuals who then feel the urge to challenge and provoke him into getting a predictable response

There are a LOT of myths surrounding Elvis and quite a few of them are are upheld by the MM because it puts them in a good light, Marty and all the others have slightly differing versions of each story and because they have repeated these stories so many times they themselves believe their version to be the only true version.

Its hardly surprising that a man in his 7th decade cannot recollect minute details with precision?

Some need to give the guy a break...

As KPM said, you take all the stories into consideration,,there are usually a certain amount of commonalities in them.
And I agree with you KPM about the will. But things happen. My father had to and things got all messed up with the help of my sister. I don't feel the will is the issue per say. I think no matter what,,whomever is executor has to be honorable in trying to abide by what is in writing and then what they know the person would have wanted. They should know well enough that forcing Billy off of Graceland with nothing (Vernon's doing) and then Priscilla firing him,,,,would not please Elvis at all. I am also pretty sure that Elvis would have like it if Lisa kept in closer contact with those that loved her so much. Sometimes relationships mean even more, and Billy, his family, including him mom,,not only lost Elvis,,they lost Lisa too. That to me is a dang shame.

[KPM]

As KPM said, you take all the stories into consideration,,there are usually a certain amount of commonalities in them.
And I agree with you KPM about the will. But things happen. My father had to and things got all messed up with the help of my sister. I don't feel the will is the issue per say. I think no matter what,,whomever is executor has to be honorable in trying to abide by what is in writing and then what they know the person would have wanted. They should know well enough that forcing Billy off of Graceland with nothing (Vernon's doing) and then Priscilla firing him,,,,would not please Elvis at all. I am also pretty sure that Elvis would have like it if Lisa kept in closer contact with those that loved her so much. Sometimes relationships mean even more, and Billy, his family, including him mom,,not only lost Elvis,,they lost Lisa too. That to me is a dang shame.

Yes its complicated-why was Billy fired? I do not think I have heard the reason-the clue to the break may be why he was fired. If harsh words happened between them or Priscilla heard of Billy saying negative things about herself or what was happening at Graceland...that could be the answer.......heII hath no fury like a womans scorn.....
The will unfortunately is always considered the last instructions from the deceased-so even though we all think we know what Elvis would want......don't most of us wonder why he did not make specific legal bequeaths to him.....wouldn't that be the thing the Elvis we know would have done? The image and perception is one thing.....the human being much harder to pin down.
So legally the executors are bound to look at the will and determine what the deceased wanted........thats where the whole thing begins.
If Elvis had said in his will Billy can live rent free at Graceland for the rest of his life, with a monthly allowance-that would have solved the problem from day one.......or if he had left Billy a lump sum bequest. He just did not do this-and it left a question and problem for whomever handled the estate. It is a shame when people lose out on close relationships (I know) but its not just the situation here-all families have these type problems that hurt some....that does not make it right.... just not peculiar to Elvis's family.

[Tony Trout]

Shoot me if you want but I have no problems with any of the guys in the MM.

[Diane]

Kapow!!!!

[KPM]

Kapow!!!!

[Brian]

I don't know why people are so upset and dislike Marty Lacker for these specific comments.

Marty has been saying for years that after Elvis died Billy helped Priscilla, Jack Soden and the executors with the opening of Graceland.

Priscilla in return didn't treat Billy very well.

Priscilla also kept Billy and several other of Elvis' family members away from Lisa.

It didn't have to do with money.

Marty just saying that if Elvis knew about this he'd be pissed off at Priscilla.

That's it.

[Brian]

People dislike Martyr lackey because he's a total a**hole. I used to have epic scuffles with him back in the alt.elvis.king days, following his entry under a false flag, and I've never seen any behavior from him that's suggested he's anything more than an arrogant blowhard who firmly believes that his recollections of Elvis (though Moon Unit was, by his own confession, totally whacked out of his mind on drugs during some of these times) are the ONLY version of events can be true and that any variance from his Official And Certified Memories is the sign of a liar. He's a nasty piece of work whose opinions and emphatically 'only one true truth' about Elvis and those times mean nothing to me. He can go Fike himself, as far as I'm concerned.

Other than that, I like the guy.

Yes.

That why i dislike Marty Lacker.

I have no problem with his opinions or views it's his arrogant attitude.

[presley31]

Most of everything we hear is all heresay with all the gossip we hear about priscilla,Marty or billy in my opinion. I think elvis sure wouldn't be happy with any of them he had in his life but he was a forgiving man. I think elvis would be thrilled knowing that all his fans have access to the place he loved best and yeah prscilla didn't do it herself but she couldn't of walked away and where would graceland be than?