Elvis Presley secretly planned to quit showbiz at the height of his career and become a Bible-thumping evangelist! Diagnosed with glaucoma and convinced he was going blind, The King of Rock ’n’ Roll believed his life was coming to an end and turned to the gospel to save his soul. The music legend’s secret anguish is exposed in never-before-seen letters he wrote to his closest confidante, Holly- wood spiritual adviser Carmen Montez, which are now being bared in author Gary Lindberg’s blockbuster new book, “Letters from Elvis.” The notes reveal Elvis was physically and emotionally battered by betrayals and loss when he considered trading the stage for the pulpit, says Lindberg. Read on for details of this previously unknown chapter in Elvis’s life, and click here for more news of vintage Hollywood….
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But
Presley’s private life was a nightmare, too. One of his most shocking confessions came in January 1968 about the man the world knew as his dad. “
Vernon (left) is not my real father,” he wrote.
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He then revealed Vernon’s twin brother, Virgil, a railroad conductor and part-time evangelist, was actually his daddy. Elvis was just a toddler when Virgil fell off a moving train and was killed. “Uncle” Vernon moved in to help out and encouraged Elvis to call him “Dad,” writes Lindberg.
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But Vernon quickly landed a three-year jail sentence — and before he turned four, Elvis (shown here with his mother, ) was abandoned again. “For Elvis, life was a constant search for family and stability,” writes Lindberg.
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He didn’t find it in his fairy-tale 1967 marriage to
Priscilla Beaulieu. After daughter
Lisa Marie’s February 1968 birth, Elvis told Carmen he would stay with his wife only for the baby’s sake, according to Lindberg.
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The union exploded in December 1968 when Elvis kicked down the door of his guest house and caught Priscilla in bed with his part-time bodyguard Marvin “Gee Gee” Gambill Jr., his cousin’s husband.
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Furious, he threw Gee Gee out and “half killed him,” writes Lindberg. Elvis vowed never to forgive, but he took Priscilla back. In a 1970 letter, before Elvis and pregnant Priscilla were attacked in their Palm Springs home, he confided to Carmen he feared the child was not his.
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But Priscilla lost the child, according to Lindberg.
Priscilla’s uneasy truce with her husband lasted until Elvis introduced her to karate champion
Mike Stone. The ensuing affair ended the marriage, with Priscilla moving out in 1972 — and Elvis moving on.
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The letters — found in a suitcase auctioned off along with her other possessions after her 1982 death — reveal the love of Elvis’ life was a mysterious woman named Jeni Pearson.
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Elvis apparently brought her to Los Angeles to start a modeling career, which she abandoned. She vanished from his life — but he couldn’t stop thinking about her, writes Lindberg.
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He sent Carmen a magazine containing a photo of him with Jeni and a shampoo ad featuring the beauty, but the photos were not among the hundreds of celebrity letters to Carmen found in the suitcase.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
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Photo credit: Getty Images
But
Presley’s private life was a nightmare, too. One of his most shocking confessions came in January 1968 about the man the world knew as his dad. “
Vernon (left) is not my real father,” he wrote.
Photo credit: Getty Images
He then revealed Vernon’s twin brother, Virgil, a railroad conductor and part-time evangelist, was actually his daddy. Elvis was just a toddler when Virgil fell off a moving train and was killed. “Uncle” Vernon moved in to help out and encouraged Elvis to call him “Dad,” writes Lindberg.
Photo credit: Getty Images
But Vernon quickly landed a three-year jail sentence — and before he turned four, Elvis (shown here with his mother, ) was abandoned again. “For Elvis, life was a constant search for family and stability,” writes Lindberg.
Photo credit: Getty Images
He didn’t find it in his fairy-tale 1967 marriage to
Priscilla Beaulieu. After daughter
Lisa Marie’s February 1968 birth, Elvis told Carmen he would stay with his wife only for the baby’s sake, according to Lindberg.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The union exploded in December 1968 when Elvis kicked down the door of his guest house and caught Priscilla in bed with his part-time bodyguard Marvin “Gee Gee” Gambill Jr., his cousin’s husband.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Furious, he threw Gee Gee out and “half killed him,” writes Lindberg. Elvis vowed never to forgive, but he took Priscilla back. In a 1970 letter, before Elvis and pregnant Priscilla were attacked in their Palm Springs home, he confided to Carmen he feared the child was not his.
Photo credit: Getty Images
But Priscilla lost the child, according to Lindberg.
Priscilla’s uneasy truce with her husband lasted until Elvis introduced her to karate champion
Mike Stone. The ensuing affair ended the marriage, with Priscilla moving out in 1972 — and Elvis moving on.
Photo credit: Getty Images
The letters — found in a suitcase auctioned off along with her other possessions after her 1982 death — reveal the love of Elvis’ life was a mysterious woman named Jeni Pearson.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Elvis apparently brought her to Los Angeles to start a modeling career, which she abandoned. She vanished from his life — but he couldn’t stop thinking about her, writes Lindberg.
Photo credit: Getty Images
He sent Carmen a magazine containing a photo of him with Jeni and a shampoo ad featuring the beauty, but the photos were not among the hundreds of celebrity letters to Carmen found in the suitcase.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images