Jerry Schilling Remembers Close Friend Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley performing on the Elvis comeback TV special on June 27, 1968. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Tens of thousands of Elvis fans from all over the world have converged on Memphis for the annual “Elvis Week” leading up to the anniversary of his death – August 16^th, 1977.

They come together to pay tribute, celebrate his music and movies, and hear from those who knew him best. Jerry Schilling is one of the many in town to share stories and personal recollections.

Schilling was only 12 years old when he first met Elvis Presley. Their chance meeting happened during a pickup football game at a local park and changed Schilling’s life forever. The fact that it happened just before the rest of a world discovered the singer, and turned him into a global superstar, was fortuitous. It laid the groundwork for a deep and lasting friendship built on the things the two had in common.

“We were both teenagers and he didn’t have a hit record yet, so I got to know him before he became the famous Elvis Presley,” Schilling recalls. “He grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi but moved to Memphis when he was 12. So, we were both living in the same poor neighborhood.”

Schilling says even back then, however, there was something special about the way Elvis carried himself.

“I was a huge fan of James Dean and Marlon Brando, and here was Elvis in a pair of jeans and t-shirt (like they wore) and nobody knew who he was. But he had a rebel streak, he had charisma. I’ve met a lot of people and had clients who were famous, and they usually develop that ‘after’ they’ve had hit records or movies or both. Elvis had it – even when he had nothing.”

This was the summer of 1954. Things would soon take off for Elvis.

“When he started going on the road, I was still in high school at the time,” says Schilling. “But when he was in Memphis, which was all the time when he wasn’t working, things would get pretty crazy. He would rent the amusement park, and we’d ride rollercoasters all night or he’d rent the theater, and we’d watch all-night movies. We kept up the friendship and I was always welcome.”

Elvis would later ask Schilling to come to work for him. In the years that followed, Schill filled many different roles. He was a member of the “Memphis Mafia,” served as a bodyguard, worked with Elvis as a photo double in movies, co-produced a karate film for Elvis, and much more.

Their work relationship began in 1964 when Elvis headed to Hollywood to shoot his next movie.

“We drove across country in a little Winnebago and Elvis drove all 2000 miles,” Schilling remembers. “It was such a fun time. We’d stop at truck stops and get lunch, he’d throw me the football, and I’d dive for passes. And we had these great conversations. It could start off talking about a girlfriend, then go into religion or politics. Elvis was a very smart man; he was ahead of his time.”

When they were in Memphis, Schilling lived with Elvis at Graceland. He even drove Elvis and Priscilla to the hospital for the birth of Lisa Marie.

The place he once called home still holds special memories.

“We never called it Graceland, we just called it ‘the house,” he says. “And we never called it the Jungle Room, although that’s a good name for it. That’s where we watched football games. I have great memories of going back to the house and just sitting in the kitchen and talking. Elvis was great to talk to.”

In 2006, Schilling wrote a book about their relationship called “Me and a Guy Named Elvis.”

It takes readers on an up-close and personal journey through so many of the experiences he lived, right alongside Elvis, through the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Schilling, who went on to become an actor, documentary producer, and manager for acts like the Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis, spent a lot of time with Elvis on set during many of his films. He believes Elvis had great depth and insight when it came to making movies and had the potential to become great actor.

“I think Elvis could have been a Barbra Streisand, in terms of acting ability, or a Clint Eastwood. I used to go to the dailies with him at MGM and Paramount and he’d say, ‘When I go see Brando or James Dean in a movie, they’re not in every scene, so I can’t wait for them to come back. But here, these guys have me in every scene.’”

Schilling pauses, then adds, “I don’t think Hollywood wanted him to get too smart. They had these formulas for him in films with 12 songs.”

Throughout his life and career, Elvis was known for his incredible generosity. Today, Schilling still lives in the California home Elvis gave him more than fifty years ago. It was a gift that came from the heart. Elvis knew Schilling’s mother died when he was an infant, and as a child, he moved around to stay with different relatives.

“This is the house Elvis bought me in 1974,” Schilling says. “He stood right here on this balcony and said, ‘You never had a home, and I want to be the one to give it to you.’ We all know he was generous with cars and things, but I think I’m the only person he bought a home for, outside his immediate family.”

After Elvis died, Schilling stayed close to Priscilla, Lisa Marie, and has worked hard to help preserve Graceland and make sure the singer’s legacy lives on.

“Elvis had a great career,” he says. “Unfortunately, it was only 23 years. But he left us with a great body of work.”

And for Schilling, the music and the movies live on, and so does Elvis – in spirit.

“What I loved most about Elvis is his humanity. He was just the greatest human being. And I love what he stood for.”