In my mind, Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, better known as Dr. Nick, is one of the main bad guys in Elvis’ history.  Yes, I know the state of Tennessee cleared Dr. Nick in 1981 of charges that he prescribed Elvis too many addictive drugs, but he lost his state medical license in 1995 for other bad conduct, so that tells you something.  Normally, I wouldn’t write anything in Elvisblog about Dr. Nick, but this story is just too weird to skip.

During his long association with Elvis, Dr. Nick received gifts from his favorite patient.  In 2000, realizing the value of these items, Dr. Nick entered into a 50-50 partnership with a Nevada entertainer named Bobby Freeman.  Freeman’s real name is Robert G Gallagher, and he is a self-described “little old country boy” with a third grade education.  In his act he sings original rockabilly songs wearing a cowboy hat with a bullet hole in it.  He plays numerous instruments; his specialty is playing the piano with his feet and other body parts.

Gallagher’s deal with Dr. Nick was to exhibit the Elvis collection in casinos.  Gallagher has stated, “We opened it at the Hollywood Casino in Tunica, [MS], 15 miles from Graceland, and it was held over three times, and I did entertainment shows opposite of it in the ballroom.”  This success gave Gallagher the idea to put the collection inside tractor-trailers and tour it nationwide.

It took years to build displays inside two custom-made 18-wheelers, but by 2005 they was ready.  Gallagher proudly described the truck interiors: “Everything is beautiful.  There’s carpeting everywhere – burgundy, two inches high, the best you can buy.  Every frame is carved gold.  You got your crown molding …”

Before the exhibit trailers were finished, Gallagher met Richard Long, a California businessman at a car show in Reno.  Later, Long saw his performance and hired Gallagher to do the show at his birthday party.  They kept in touch, and Long visited Gallagher in Reno and saw the mobile Elvis exhibits.  In April 2006, Long and Gallagher entered into an agreement to form a joint company to exhibit the memorabilia.

Long gave Gallagher $200,000 for himself plus $1 million to buy the Elvis collection from Dr. Nick.  Supposedly, Long agreed to put up to $1 million more into the company so Gallagher could pay the bills he ran up creating the tractor-trailer displays.  In addidtion, Long was to put an additional 1 million into the company to be used on an as-needed basis.  Sounds good so far, right?  Well, now it gets weird.

Long gave Gallagher the first $1.2 million, and presumably Dr. Nick was paid off.  However, Gallagher never turned over the Elvis collection to the newly formed exhibition company.  Somehow, he got the idea that the real value of the memorabilia was $250 million, and that Long was planning to sell it to Asian collectors and keep all the money.  So, Gallagher refused to turn over the displays unless Long came up with another $3.5 million.

In November 2006, Long filed suit.  He was willing to dissolve the company, sell the Elvis collection, and split the proceeds.  But, when the court convened on March 25, 2007, Gallagher was a no-show.  He proclaimed, “I didn’t show up because I knew they were going to pound the hell out of me.”  Indeed, Long’s attorney did just that, introducing the facts that Gallagher had a prior felony conviction for auto theft, had a prior judgment against him for $200,000, and had run up $500,000 in debt to Bank America.

The judge ordered Gallagher to turn over the Elvis memorabilia for inspection for insurance purposes.  Gallaher refused to do this, saying that photographing the items would devalue the collection.  Long’s attorney said, “The legal term for their argument is ‘a load of hooey.’” Gallagher again failed to show up in court this past May 12, and the judge ruled that Gallagher must turn over the exhibit to the exhibition company and pay part of Long’s legal fees.

So what is in Dr. Nick’s Memories of Elvis?  Here’s the list:

The black doctor’s bag used by Dr. Nick while treating Elvis.

A stuffed dog Elvis had in his suite at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Laryngeal scope Dr. Nick used to examine Elvis’ throat and

tonsils.

Wooden carved desk, made by Elvis’ uncle, Vester Presley, and supposedly used by Elvis in Graceland.

Puka shell and turquoise necklace Elvis gave to Dr. Nick.

38 Smith & Wesson snub nose once owned by Elvis.

The book, “The Prophet,” with hand written notations by Elvis

in the margins.

A bowl, taken to the Memphian Theater filled with fresh cut

fruit, for Elvis to eat during movies.

An empty prescription vial dated August 15, 1977.

A 14k yellow gold and diamond TCB pendant and necklace that Elvis gave Dr. Nick.

A glass nasal douche Dr. Nick used to irrigate Elvis’

sinuses.

Gallagher has called this collection “the greatest find since the Titanic.”  With the exception of the book and TCB pendant, I think I like the lawyer’s term: “A load of hooey.”

©  2007   All Rights Reserved   Philip R Arnold   www.elvisblog.net

Who ever thought we would have three superstar Elvis collectors in the news over such a short time span?  First, it was Chris Davidson and Jimmy Velvet when the Elvis-A-Rama Museum was sold to EPE back in October.  Then, two weeks ago, we had the “Elvis Empire Auction” that sold the entire collection of Jim Curtin of Philadelphia for approximately $2 million.  Like Davidson and Velvet, Jim Curtin has an interesting story.

Here’s a little history on him, according to an article by Jenny Paschall in the London Daily Express earlier this month.  Curtin bought his first Elvis record (“Return To Sender”) at age 12, and this set off a buying spree that eventually included every Elvis record ever released in the US, plus as many different foreign versions as he could find.  When he first saw Elvis perform on stage in 1971, his reaction was, “He was like a god… The chemistry was so powerful, it overwhelmed me.”  Apparently so much that Jim Curtin evolved from being a fan to a follower, and finally, to a friend of Elvis.

Curtin saw Elvis perform 51 times and shook hands with him 32 times.  His love of Elvis turned into a career.  As an expert on Elvis, he has written several books and countless articles about the King.  He acquired 25,000 pictures of Elvis for his collection and used them to publish calendars. In 1974, Curtin designed and commissioned a $2000 Gibson guitar with “Elvis Presley” inscribed on the fretboard.  During a 2-1/2 hour visit with Elvis, he presented the guitar to Elvis as a gift.

We all know a generous person like Elvis would not let a gesture like that go unanswered. Elvis reciprocated by giving Curtin the stunning white “Nail Mirror Jumpsuit” (sold at the auction for $125,000).  According to the London Daily Express article, when Curtin tried on the suit, “It was something spiritual… I wanted to look like him, sing like him, be like him.”  Indeed, he did start giving Elvis concerts as tributes to a great man, he says, not as an impersonator.  Well, if you do your hair and sideburns like Elvis, wear his clothes, and sing his songs, it sounds like impersonating to me.

Some news reports said Curtin was selling his Elvis collection in an attempt to win back his ex-girlfriend, Renata Ginter.  Supposedly, she gave him an ultimatum – Elvis or me.  However, she responded to this news by sending a letter to www.Elvisnews.com, in which she stated their relationship ended three years ago, and it was for personal reasons that had nothing to do with his Elvis collection.  Even more important, she stated she is now engaged to another man.

So Jim Curtin may never get the love of his life back.  He says he can’t sleep, the loneliness is killing him, and he has lost 30 pounds.  You have to feel sorry for him, but let’s hope he will find some happiness with that $2 million he just got.

At one time, it was said Jimmy Velvet had the largest Elvis memorabilia collection in the world.  He’s had plenty of highs and lows in his life, and his twenty-year friendship with Elvis has been the catalyst for some of both. 

Jimmy Velvet was a fifteen-year old high school student in Jacksonville, Florida when he met Elvis in 1955.  His substitute English teacher was Mae Axton (who went on to write “Heartbreak Hotel”), and she was also a show promoter.  One of the shows she booked was the Hank Snow Country Jamboree, and at the bottom of the bill was a little known singer named Elvis Presley.  Velvet was a rising local entertainer, so Axton brought the young man back stage to meet Elvis.

Jimmy Velvet and Elvis became friends.  Over the years, Velvet made numerous visits to Graceland, movie locations, and even recording sessions in Nashville.  He had a moderately successful singing career with regional hits like “We Belong Together” and “It’s Almost Tomorrow.”  He also became a diligent collector of Elvis memorabilia, one highlight being a 1965 Mercedes 600 limo that Elvis gave him.

After Elvis’ death in 1977, Vernon Presley gave Velvet the OK to create The Elvis Museum across the street from Graceland.  Later, he opened another museum in Kissimmee, Florida, near Walt Disney World.  For years, Velvet toured the country and a lot of the world with his traveling Legends Hall of Fame.

The most memorable purchase for his museums was the 85-foot long Elvis-A-Rama mural.  It had been created in 1979 by songwriter Mitchell Torok (remember his 1959 hit “Caribbean”?), and it was on display in Nashville, TN and Branson, MO for 18 years.  The name had been trademarked well before EPE embarked on its famous quest to combat the use of their Elvis and Elvis Presley trademarks in anyone else’s profit making ventures.

Jimmy Velvet had other business interests, and one of them went sour in the mid- 90’s.  He was forced to put up much of his Elvis memorabilia at auction.  Chris Davidson bought his first Elvis goodies at a Velvet auction in 1994, and in 1998 he purchased the Elvis-A-Rama mural and its trademarked name from Velvet.

One year later, Davidson opened his Las Vegas Elvis museum, using the trademark Elvis-A-Rama as its name.  If EPE didn’t like that, there wasn’t much they could do about it.  As it turned out, there was one thing.  They bought the Elvis-A-Rama Museum two months ago and announced it would close next year.

Jimmy Velvet still owns a small portion of his Elvis collection.  I won’t be surprised if we hear from him again.

© 2005   Philip R Arnold

If there were an Elvis Collectors Hall Of Fame, Chris Davidson and Jimmy Velvet would be charter members.  Davidson was mentioned prominently in the recent news reports about his sale of the Elvis-A-Rama Museum to Robert Sillerman’s SKX Inc.  We can be sure he pocketed a nice chunk of change when he sold his six-year old Las Vegas museum to the new powers behind Elvis Presley Enterprises.  Jimmy Velvet also figures prominently in the history of Elvis-A Rama and its namesake exhibit.

Extensive internet searches have not produced as much history on Chris Davidson as I would have expected.  The best source was a 35-minute audio interview at www.ladyluckmusic.com/radio/interviews/elvisarama.  If you already have Real Player on your computer, you might want to check out the interview.  However, I had to down load Real Player before I could listen, and now I’m getting pop-ups coaxing me to upgrade to their premium service.  I hate pop-ups.

Chris Davidson became an Elvis fan at an early age.  He was only seven when he bought his first Elvis album, and he was only ten when he talked his father into taking him to a 1975 Elvis concert at the Las Vegas Hilton.  Collecting Elvis started much later, after Davidson’s business career put him in a position to afford it.

His success in an auto body/detailing business he started at 19 must have paid off well and facilitated an interest in powerboats.  At least that would explain his move to the publishing business, where he is now the Editor of Hot Boat Magazine.  Davison’s interest in collecting started with baseball cards, and it was at a baseball card show in 1993 when he purchased his first Elvis autograph. 

The next year he attended an auction of Elvis memorabilia presented by Jimmy Velvet at the Las Vegas Hilton and was amazed at how many Elvis things you could buy.  Davidson left with two checks signed by Elvis and a 1955 letter from Elvis’ manager at the time, Bob Neal, regarding Colonel Parker taking over Elvis’ career.  Those purchases launched a new hobby that turned into an obsession, and finally evolved into a quest to create a spectacular Elvis experience.

The last big step toward this occurred in 1998 when Davidson purchased the huge Elvis-A-Rama interactive mural.  We’ll cover the history of the mural and the significance of its name in a later article.  And, of course, we’ll talk about Jimmy Velvet, the man who sold it to Davidson.  He has an interesting story, too, but I hope I don’t have to download anything else to dig up all the facts on him.

© 2005  Philip R Arnold