Priscilla Presley to discuss her life with Elvis Sunday at Music Hall
Elvis and Priscilla Presley have fascinated people for decades. Now, Metro Detroiters will have the opportunity to get a peek inside the life of the famous couple during “An Evening with Priscilla Presley” at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Detroit’s Music Hall, presented by Hollywood Casino at Greektown.
Presley will share personal stories and answer questions from the audience about her life as the wife of the King of Rock ‘n Roll, who died in 1977 at 42 years old.
“I’m sharing my life from the first time I met him and our journey in life and what it was like marrying the most popular human being, I think, on the face of this Earth,” she said. “People love him to this day… that’s the effect that he had.”
Moderated by iHeartRadio’s Jay Towers, the event will cover Presley’s life from the time she met Elvis when she was 14 years old and will share home video footage, in addition to telling stories.
“This could be the last opportunity to hear the real Elvis and Priscilla story directly from Priscilla Presley and be able to participate in an intimate setting with her,” said Jay Goldberg, president of Gold Entertainment, the event’s promoter.
Presley may be most famous as Elvis’s former wife, but she became an actress in her own right, known for portraying Jenna Wade in the 1980s TV drama “Dallas” and Jane Spencer in the “Naked Gun” films. While she said her show will cover her life until present day, a lot of it will focus on her relationship with Elvis.
“I enjoy telling the stories,” she said. “I enjoy answering the questions and having them know Elvis better.”
The event supports the release of Sofia Coppola’s biopic “Priscilla,” which came out in November. The film depicts the courtship and marriage of the couple from their first meeting until separation, based on Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me.” While the film shows tender moments between the couple, it also paints a less flattering picture of the iconic singer as a controlling, unfaithful and abusive partner.
While Presley said she was initially nervous about the accuracy and reception of the film’s release, she said Coppola did a great job.
“I’ve always liked Sofia’s work. I like her films, I like her as a person, she’s very sensitive,” she said. “She has a very famous father, and she could relate to me very much.”
Presley was also impressed with actress Cailee Spaeny, who played her in the film. When the nervous actress asked Presley for guidance on how to portray her, Presley had one particular piece of advice.
“Just be sensitive, just be sensitive to [Elvis],” she said. “She did a great job.”
One aspect of the film, however, that Presley would like to set straight was a particular scene in which an angry Elvis throws a chair at her following a dispute with his manager Colonel Tom Parker.
“I just happened to walk in the room at the wrong time,” she said. “I walked in, he’s looking down, he picks up a chair and throws the chair but just sees me as I stop from coming in… and he was so apologetic.”
She said Elvis did have a temper, but not as bad as people thought.
“If one of the guys (in his entourage) did something or did not carry out something that should have been done, he’d be upset, just like normal people,” she said, “but did he get upset a lot? No.”
Despite their divorce, Presley said she and Elvis remained close until the end of his life. She continues to champion his legacy and is the co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that turned their famous Graceland home in Memphis into a popular tourist attraction.
“There’s a lot of things that people don’t know about him,” she said. “He was very superstitious but an amazing human being… I haven’t met anyone like him. He was a gift.”
'An Evening with Priscilla Presley'
7:30 p.m. Sunday
Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts
350 Madison St., Detroit.
$59 and up