My interview with Elvis' 'sister'

Image of Lacy Kemp

My interview with Elvis' 'sister'

When I wrote a story about Eliza Presley, the woman who claims to be Elvis Presley's half-sister -- and on top of that, to be in regular contact with Elvis himself, who faked his death in 1977 and has been living out his days in obscurity -- I guess I did expect a reaction.
What I got was a taste of the cottage industry of Elvis-related professionals -- those who believe Elvis is alive and those who've devoted themselves to debunking claims made by people who claim to be in touch with Elvis, or related to him.
In the debunking camp are two Elvis historians who got in touch with me the day the story was published and persisted in calling for the next few days. One was Cory Cooper, whose e-mail handle is "elivisexpert" and who told me on the phone that Eliza Presley's claims "make (him) want to vomit." And there is Patrick Lacy, who runs a blog at www.elvisdecoded.com. Both offered to speak with me for a follow-up piece about their research into Eliza Presley, who they say is a fraud. But they declined to contribute their story to my blog.
I also heard from Eliza's birth mother, Flo Clark, who called to vent about Eliza. Clark, who really did hang out for a time with Elvis and his entourage back in Memphis, said there was no hanky-panky -- not with Elvis, and not with Vernon, Elvis' dad, who Eliza claims is her dad, too.

 

Clark, who hasn't spoken to Eliza since 1993, is angry and feels that Eliza's efforts are a stain on her good name.
I wouldn't presume to know what's true and what isn't in the case. My overall feeling is that Eliza's claims are a matter for the courts to sort out, not me.
Still, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be Eliza. Imagine you, like Eliza, grew up not knowing where you were really from, wondering about your biological origins. Then, as a teenager, you found out your biological mother had been actual friends with Elvis Presley. Who wouldn't wonder whether somehow, some way you might yourself be a Presley?
And I can't help but feel that the guys like Cooper and Lacy who've devoted their lives to exposing various Elvis myths are also, in a way, in the business of Elvis mythmaking. They need people out there making claims about Elvis in order for their own work to have a purpose.
The common thread among virtually everyone I talked to about this story is that they are giant Elvis fanatics. This cannot be a coincidence. Nearly every single one is a person longing to be a part of something larger than themselves, something historic. Being connected to Elvis -- whether through a family connection, as Eliza claims, or through the academic work that Cooper and Lacy do -- lets them plug into a whole universe of American pop culture history.
We all want to have a life larger than the one we have. So in a way, who can blame them?
Robert Mentzer is a community conversation reporter for the Wausau Daily Herald.