It’s been two months since I last posted a review of Elvis photos that I’ve recently discovered on the internet. So, let’s do it again, and hope no Photoshopped images slip in. I know the one above is for real. Isn’t that a great picture of Elvis, Gladys, and Vernon? It was cropped from a larger 1956 shot showing the whole odd car and an old man.
There they are. The car is a 1956 Messerschmitt KR200, a three-wheeled, two-seated microcar. One website says Elvis owned and drove the car for at least a year, before trading it to Memphis clothes store owner Bernard Lansky in return for a three-hour shopping spree in 1957. Another website says Bernard’s brother Guy bought the car. My guess is that Elvis never drove it again once he started buying Cadillacs.
I believe this was taken on the set of Love Me Tender. Looks like the horses wanted to be in the picture. Let me know the next time you see another Elvis photo showing armpit sweat. There can’t be many out there.
This post had no tag on this, so can anybody place it? Obviously a movie set. Elvis sure is in deep thought.
Did Elvis have it good, or what? The girls fawned all over him. Elvis looks pretty amused by the whole thing.
Elvis is being crowned, but there was no info with the posting. I wish it was a picture of him alone, wearing the crown. Does anybody know anything about this one? If so, please post them on Comments.
Isn’t this a great shot? I love the shading effect. It looks like the work of a professional photographer, but it could have been just be a lucky shot by a fan in the audience who caught Elvis looking up to watch Tom Jones at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV, September 3, 1974.
This is a fan photo taken when Elvis lived at Lauderdale Courts. Is that a sleeveless shirt Elvis is wearing? What’s the strap around his ribs?
It’s pretty rare when a new picture of teenaged Elvis pops up. This young lady was so thrilled with the snapshot that she kept it in her blue-jeans pocket for weeks – with obvious results.
Here is a shot of Elvis from behind while performing at the Boston Garden, November 10, 1971.
Young Elvis in a swim trunks. He filled out one much better in Blue Hawaii in 1962. I’ve got some more pics of him waterskiing at a young age that we’ll review next time.
We all have seen many photos with Elvis, Scotty, and Bill together. Have you ever seen this one? Does Elvis’ clothing give any clue where it was shot? Bill Black looks a bit like Brad Pitt, doesn’t he?
With the exception of his Army induction haircut, this is the closest cropped I’ve ever seen Elvis.
The tag on this was “Elvis mother with a donkey at Graceland.” I guess that could be right because they had so many acres originally. You can notice a little smile on Gladys’ face. I wish there were more photos of her smiling. They’re pretty rare.
Here’s a shot that had a tag under it saying Elvis is hanging out of a troop train window and kissing his mom goodbye just before deployment to Germany. Alert reader Jo advised that it couldn’t be Gladys because she was already dead by the time he took the train to NY and embarked on the SS Randall for Germany. Jo says the train made a stop in Memphis and that’s why George Klein is in the picture. The woman is a fan.
I believe this would be inside the Graceland wall. Elvis probably had the gatekeeper let in some pretty girls to chat with him. Along with Alan Fortas and Joe Esposito, at least that’s what the tag says. I’m not so sure. Any clues?
All Elvis fans know his real hair color was a sandy brown. I found three shots recently showing him before he started dying it black.
This one is a colorized version of a shot snapped on August 7, 1954 when Elvis first played The Eagles Nest in Memphis. Looks like they got the hair color about right.
At first I thought this was Elvis playing Jodie Tatum in Kissin’ Cousins, but that was filmed in 1964 when he was 29. He doesn’t look that old here.
This is a clip from the movie. But look at the big cigar in the first pic. Elvis didn’t smoke them as a teenager, did he?
The tag on Pinterest said it was taken on the set of Loving You in 1957. Otherwise, you’d think it was a Photoshopped picture. Either way, it’s a very strange one.
© 2018 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
love original pics!!!
Hi, Phil. I agree with the above corrections people have suggested. I can add that Elvis played “Jodie”, not “Judy” as listed, and that photo has some odd aspects to it, perhaps modified stupidly. I can say for sure there were a LOT of sweaty shirt photos from “Follow That Dream”–I think Florida heat had left its marks in many photos from the movie.
Hi Diana: I went back and corrected the spelling to Jodie.
Phil Arnold
I thought Elvis’s mother died before he deployed to Germany.
Hi Pat: Thanks for catching the error. I’ve gone back and corrected the text under the railcar picture.
Phil Arnold
Hi Phil,
Another excellent, informative and intelligent discussion about Elvis photos. You bring out the best in all of us who are true Elvis fans. I appreciate your efforts.
Regards
Billy Martin
Hi Billy: Thanks again for the nice comments.
Phil Arnold
Hi Phil
Photo of Elvis with cigar is in fact from Kissing Cousins. If you search images from KC you will find one where “Elvis” facing “Elvis” with a tree between them. Elvis in blond wig is wearing that particular shirt as in your photo. In terms of Elvis smoking from an early age, I have several photos of a very young Elvis smoking a pipe [with his cousin Gene and a couple of young children sitting on a front stoop probably Lauderdale Courts [kids are identified the Fruchter children who lived in apartment above the Presleys]. I also have a photo of Elvis smoking a cigar during San Antonio tour in 1956.
Hi Selma: Thanks for all the information. Comments have come in from other readers clearing up things on some of the other pictures. I plan to do a follow-up article about all of them, so you could do me a favor and email me the photos you mentioned. philarnold@charter.net
Thanks, Phil
Hello Phil:
In the photo taken inside the wall at Graceland, that is Marty Lacker in the photo, not Alan Fortas. Gerard
Hi Gerard: That makes more sense.
Phil
The photo of Elvis from “Love Me Tender” isn’t with Elvis’ actual arm sweat. It’s Hollywood painted, to make it look like Elvis was working hard in the field. Take another look at the movie and you can see that “sweat-stained” shirt when Clint Reno (Elvis) comes in from the field to welcome brothers Vance (Richard Egan), Brett (William Campbell) and Ray (James Drury) home from the war. Hollywood would never film real sweat, only painted on stains.
Hi Paul: Thanks for the information. Even though it was pointed on, my point was that you will probably never see a another picture of Elvis with underarm sweat.
Phil Arnold
Picture Elvis with horses was taken on the set of “Loving You”, there more with Dolores Hart and the one one below is a publicity photo shoot of “Loving You”
Hi Dolores. Thanks for the correction. ElvisBlog readers do such a good job of catching the wrong tags on Elvis photos. I’ll make the correction.
Phil
The picture of Elvis leaning out of the troop train is not kissing his mum who was already dead by the time he took the train to NY and embarked on the SS Randall for Germany. The train stopped briefly in Memphis which is why George Klein is in the picture. He is kissing a fan but I don’t know her name……
Regarding the pic of Elvis being ‘crowned’ – this was an award from a cinema chain for Elvis being responsible for the most sales of popcorn during his films! I have so many Elvis books that I am not sure which book has this info, but will try to find it!!!
Hi Jo: I should have figured out the timeline on the train trip, but at least you caught it and I could make the correction. Thanks. When you find the book reference to the popcorn sales record and let me know, I’ll make that change too.
Phil