Elvis: Trailer for concert documentary ‘That’s the Way It Is’
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After almost a decade of mostly bad Hollywood movies, Elvis Presley had a stunning return to live music, following his 1968 TV Comeback Special. From 1969 until his death in 1977, The King would perform 636 shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in month-long stints of two a night, which is the subject of a documentary on BBC Four this evening. The night owl star would perform two shows a night, relying on uppers and downers to get through his hectic, energised schedule with his wild Memphis Mafia.
Elvis’ ex Joanie Shoofey, a former Miss Nevada married to the International Hotel’s president Alex Shoofey, has shared her memories of the star’s time performing his Las Vegas residencies there.
Speaking previously with Elvis expert Billy Stallings Spa Guy on his YouTube channel, she recalled: “He used to mess up his suite so bad. We had to redo it every time he was there. They all dyed their hair and [there was] black dye all over the walls. And one time he shot the TV with a gun. I mean he was wild, he was not nice in a room. But they were having a good time. That’s not my kind of good time but we had to redo the whole room every time they would leave. But that’s okay, they were wild that bunch that he ran with, y’know. I don’t know what they were smoking or doing but… [laughs].”
When Elvis was at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, Joanie claimed she was the only one who had access to him in getting the star to meet fans.
She remembered: “I kept bringing people to meet him. And I was the only one who could get anybody in there. Because he didn’t want to meet that many people. He was tired of [it].”
It was during this time in the early 1970s that was a big turning point for The King, as he peaked and then began to decline.
David English, the author of a book on the Elvis: That’s The Way It Is documentary film, previously told Express.co.uk: “In every fan’s mind, it’s Elvis at his peak. The world was his oyster here. He couldn’t do a thing wrong at that particular point. He really looked good and his voice was in good shape.”
The Elvis expert believes the big turning point for The King was after he separated from Priscilla in 1972 and later divorced a year later.
English said: “You can slightly see [his decline] in the following year [1971] but really after he got divorced. So after Madison Square Garden, you start to see slight physical decline. He still looked good at Madison Square Garden.”
The singer even lost weight for January 1973’s Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite concert, but it was all downhill from there as he ballooned in weight and continued to abuse prescription medication.
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https://www.youtube.com/embed/8fDzEIkdpeY
English added: “From that point onwards you can see a steady decline in both his musical aspirations and interests and his physical state. Just gradually going downhill, in quite a short time actually. Only four years.”
Elvis died of a heart attack on the toilet upstairs at Graceland on August 16, 1977 at just 42.
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