ELVIS GIVES DIAMOND RING TO NEW GIRL
I think we can consider Elvis' intentions toward Lynda Thompson less than serious after what happened recently at the plush Las Vegas Hilton.
"Stand up, Baby," Elvis directed a girl in the audience, "and show the people the ring I gave you." The girl wasn't Lynda Thompson but, rather, a brunette beauty named Sheila who complied by standing a flashing a huge diamond.
Lynda wasn't at the hotel that night, but Priscilla Presley was. In fact, Priscilla and Sheila were sitting together! Hmmm…
Don't be fooled by the omission of Mike Stone's name in the above paragraph, Pris and Mike are still close and very much in love. Although Elvis and Mike, aren't exactly buddies, there has been little friction between them. And Elvis still cares for his ex-Mrs.
Also present was Dee Presley, Elvis' stepmother, though for how much longer we'd be afraid to say. On the other hand, El's father, Vernon was absent.
The Sheila who has the new ring was also with El at RCA Studios in Hollywood when he was rehearsing there for his Vegas engagement. However, she's not Lynda's only competition, because Elvis is also being attentive to a pretty 19-year-old girl whom he recently gifted with a $19,000 car. Yes, that's right!
But, whatever Lynda's problems with Elvis may be, she's keeping her cool and her comfortable lifestyle, developed since she began her association with Presley. She arrived at the exclusive (and expensive) Bistro, a Beverly Hills restaurant, in a rented limousine accompanied by one man and seven women, whom she was apparently treating to a meal, and, with great good humor, posed for photographers outside. Lynda certainly knows how to handle herself.
To wind up the report on the Presley's: Dee and Vernon were together at Elvis' opening, but that doesn't mean reconciliation. Dee chose El's opening an occasion to introduce her Nevada and West Coast friends to Bill Strom, a Memphis singer whom she's now managing. But don't get the wrong idea about their relationship. Bill is married and, in fact, was with his wife in Vegas. So much for gossip mongers.
Elvis' opening show was smashing. However, a few days later he was so ill he had to cancel two shows, and Hilton bookers were begging Charlie Rich to stand by as a replacement. Rich said he couldn't do it, which was just as well, since Elvis recuperated sufficiently to finish his Las Vegas commitment.
Cal York, Photoplay, December 1974
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFz6rwe_FPc
