I love Todd. Still do. He was phenomenal at navigating the responsibilities of his job, whereby he earned promotions, and he was the gatekeeper for Elvis Presley fans around the world. He was smart, funny, quick-witted, talented, and a good man who I respected and cherished our friendship and who Todd was.
I met what would be a lifetime friend in Todd Morgan in 1983 the third time I visited Graceland starting when it opened in 1982. We were the same age. We both liked Elvis. We communicated for decades until sadly he passed on March 1, 2008, at age 45. Todd was 7 months “older” than me and I used to tell him that he had the dream job (i.e. working at Graceland/EPE) I wanted and he would tell me I had the dream income he wanted. We always tried to one-up the other. He would surprise me with something unique about Elvis and I would counter him with other facts and life events. I miss Todd every day and my prayers go out to his family 24/7.
I had spoken to Todd about a week to 10 days before he died. He mentioned something about an upcoming promotion and staying in Memphis but reporting to someone in California (if my memory is true) and he was excited about it. We agreed that when next I visited Graceland again we would do lunch and/or dinner as we had in years past. It was his turn to buy and I would joke that getting a quarter out of Todd was an accomplishment. We would laugh at that.
Todd always asked about my family, how I was doing, and if I enjoyed (then) Atlanta and (later) the Washington DC area where I resided. I invited him to come out but it never occurred. I should have persisted more. Sometimes I still look at our emails I read them over and over. I miss him and I was blessed to know him. Todd Morgan was one of a kind.
* PHOTO of Todd Morgan
To Todd Morgans’s family, friends, and loved ones please know you are forever in my thoughts and prayers.
In a few days, it will be January the 8th (2022) which is the 87th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Aron Presley (he was born in 1935).
Graceland will have visitors from around the world as it has had since its opening in 1982. Elvis’ music will be on the airways. His movies will be on television. Elvis fans around the world will acknowledge this day. Those curious about Elvis will utilize their search engines online or go old school and go to the library. Some fortunate enough will ask others, like this man, about Elvis and how it was when Elvis lived on this earth and dominated the entertainment field. I often feel kinda sorry for those who never were around to truly get to be living breathing Elvis Presley fan during his career and remarkable life.
Lisa Marie may appear or she may release a statement. Priscilla will most certainly do the same. My prayers go out to them and their family members.
Many in the “Elvis Presley community” will converse and share insights and firsthand stories about Elvis.
For those reading this if you have not yet done so, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you seek out – support – purchase their works – visit their websites – watch their videos – etc. these unique and exemplary people who are exceptional sources concerning the life of Elvis such as; Billy Smith, Jo Smith, Alanna Nash, Russ Howe, Steve Binder, Paul Lichter, Larry Geller, Jerry Schilling, Linda Thompson, Ginger Alden, Kathy Westmoreland, Betty Harper, and Sandie Kay Stevens.
Personally, I will think about what life would have been like had Elvis been with us longer. I will reflect on his failing health. His career. His love of his mother. How he influenced millions. His wonderful 4 1/2 octave vocal range. How he cared about others in need. His loyalty. His triumphs and his failures. His style. His vocal inflections. His 3 decades of works. His legacy. His loves. His compassion. His charitable endeavors. And I will revisit my own personal memories.
I wish you all a healthy, blessed, and happy 2022.
Take care and may God bless you and yours always.
Jeff Schrembs
PS: THANK YOU Jack Soden for all you have done and do for Elvis Presley fans worldwide.
Man, somedays it seems like it was yesterday and other days it seems like an eternity.
This is one of the harder posts I’ve made in all these decades.
We knew Elvis had gained weight and didn’t look his best. We saw constant photographs and there were times he wasn’t as swollen and yet more times he was so swollen it almost brought you to your knees.
It wasn’t cool to be an Elvis Presley fan in 1977 nor had it been for years. Yes, we bought all his records including the garage of re-issues. We still loved his music but longed for the days when he was in better health. But, through it all, he always had the gift from God of having a 4 1/2 octave range and he showed it off in concerts and on vinyl.
Elvis was still selling out stadiums across America as he had for 8 years. Remarkable. He should have been financially set for life but between Colonel Parker, never taking tax write-offs, and his spending habits that were not the case. But there were whispers that Elvis felt an obligation to his fans, to his employees, to Lisa Marie, to RCA, and with all this pressure he buckled down and went on tour. Time after time after time. How Elvis pulled this off is beyond my comprehension other than he was given gifts from God and he used them throughout his life and he was to leave to go on tour later the (sad) following day of August 16, 1977 the day Elvis Aron Presley died.
I specifically recall the last concert he performed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1977. He was very bloated and yet his infamous suit(s) help hide the weight along with ace bandages which were tightly wrapped around him so that he could fit into his (since 1976) altered suit. But from the time the Sweet Inspirations hit the stage to the sound of 2001 A Space Odyssey came the excitement was building and just when you thought you couldn’t stand it anymore, with the constant screaming there stood the remarkable man still young (looking back in hindsight only 3 years removed from his 30’s) with his infamous guitar and that…voice. There wasn’t before, during, or since Elvis Presley became an entertainer that anyone could touch his stage presence. This was before auto-tune. Before multi-million dollar stage gimmicks. Before lip-singing onstage. No backup dancers to draw your attention away from talented, yet boring, performers. Elvis just needed a stage and an audience and he rocked out.
I was going through some magazines from 1976 and 1977, before he died, along with other collectibles concerning Elvis and there was vitriol for sure but there was also respect, appreciation, and fans galore.
NOTE – I have to go now for this is too emotional. I will finish it in the upcoming future.
I have always liked, and respected, Elvis Presley onstage and more importantly offstage.
I’ve spent, thank you chronic sleep apena, thousands upon thousands upon thousands of hours; collecting, cataloging, converting to digital formats, etc. so many photographs – videos – recordings – books – handwriting/letters/notes/etc. And yet I have never once monetized my collection or my knowledge.
Elvis Presley’s legacy is in trouble because those such as Billy (Elvis’ cousin who was Elvis’ trusted friend and beloved cousin) & Jo Smith have not been formally recognized, respected, and honored as PRICELESS assets. This is an abomination that is decades in the making and it needs to stop…now.
Elvis Presley’s legacy is in trouble because people my age and even older were the LAST generation who grew up during Elvis’, whole and/or in part, career (i.e. 1954-1977). Those who shared their memories and knowledge. Those who shared their facts and favorites with fans locally and around the world. Those who paid their hard earned money to go to see him in concert and/or in movie theatres. Those who revealed in Elvis’ successes and understood his failures and even his being…human. These are the people who are (sadly) dying in record numbers. Each is irreplaceable and my heart and prayers go out to the families and loved ones
ACCORDING to Lana Wood Natalie’s sister: Intrigued by 21-year-old Elvis’ music and image, Natalie, then 18, had asked her Rebel Without a Cause co-star Dennis Hopper to introduce them. She was charmed by their first dates. “To go to the movies, he bought out the theater,” Natalie’s sister Lana Wood exclusively told Closer Weekly in the magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands now. “That’s not what she was used to.”
Elvis, meanwhile, was starstruck by Natalie, a former child actress. “She was in Miracle on 34th Street when he was a little boy,” Ray Connolly, author of Being Elvis: A Lonely Life, told Closer. The singer invited her home to impress his parents, but his mother Gladys soured on the actress quickly. “Natalie wore a very flimsy nightgown around the house,” Connolly shared. “Gladys was like, ‘Not in my house!’”
Natalie, meanwhile, found Elvis’ close relationship with Gladys troubling. “His mother said something like, ‘Come and sit on Mama’s lap,’” Lana recalled. “They were very affectionate, and it bothered Natalie. She called and asked our mom to make up a story about why she had to come home.”
Their brief romance ended with no regrets. “Later, he called her ‘Mad Nat,’ I think for how angry she got,” Connolly said. Natalie also put the trip behind her. “There were people that she idolized,” Lana said, “Elvis was not one of them.”
DIRECT QUOTE from Natalie Wood:
A former child actress, she had blossomed into an 18-year-old sweater girl and Oscar-nominated actress by the time she met Elvis in 1956. However, in her following comments in the San Francisco News on October 14, 1956, she sounded more like a normal 14-year-old girl with a crush on Elvis.
“I saw his picture in the paper before he got very popular and I liked his eyes. I thought then I just had to go out with him. He’s really great and the most totally real boy I’ve ever met. He’s a real pixie and has a wonderful little boy quality. He’s very courteous and polite and so sweet! He’s the nicest boy I know. A wonderful dancer—and he sings all the time to me. All the girls in the country are in love with him—so why should I be any different?”
When Natalie Wood came to Memphis in 1956, and yes they dated briefly, she was the teenage queen of Hollywood and she was drop dead gorgeous. Their brief fling flamed out with both parties giving, to personal friends, different accounts. BUT there were witnesses to the relationship and there have been several interviews, books etc which go into detail about this period in the lives of these two vastly different (except in looks as both were blessed in those areas). The books authored by Alanna Nash comes to mind.
Elvis
The King got all shook up when he dated Natalie Wood.
Elvis was still dating his high school sweetheart Barbara Hearn whenhe met Natalie.
As a traffic light turned green, Elvis Presley gunned the engine of his Harley Davidson, causing his passenger, Natalie Wood, to hold her head scarf more tightly. At the height of the singer’s early stardom he’d brought his famous new girlfriend home to Memphis, Tenn. — but it didn’t work out the way either expected.
Intrigued by 21-year-old Elvis’ music and image, Natalie, then 18, had asked her Rebel Without a Cause co-star Dennis Hopper to introduce them. She was charmed by their first dates. “To go to the movies, he bought out the theater,” Natalie’s sister Lana Wood tells Closer. “That’s not what she was used to.”
Elvis, meanwhile, was starstruck by Natalie, a former child actress. “She was in Miracle on 34th Street when he was a little boy,” Ray Connolly, author of Being Elvis: A Lonely Life, tells Closer. The singer invited her home to impress his parents, but his mother Gladys soured on the actress quickly. “Natalie wore a very flimsy nightgown around the house,” Connolly says. “Gladys was like, ‘Not in my house!’ ”
Natalie, meanwhile, found Elvis’ close relationship with Gladys troubling. “His mother said something like, ‘Come and sit on Mama’s lap,’” says Lana. “They were very affectionate, and it bothered Natalie. She called and asked our mom to make up a story about why she had to come home.”
Their brief romance ended with no regrets. “Later, he called her ‘Mad Nat,’ I think for how angry she got,” Connolly says. Natalie also put the trip behind her. “There were people that she idolized,” says Lana, “Elvis was not one of them.” — By Louise A. Barile, reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows
“Gladys was embarrassed,” says Connolly. “She didn’t like the idea of this fast Hollywood girl with her son.”
I have always liked, and respected, Elvis Presley onstage and more importantly offstage.
The Elvis Expert 