Exclusive Interview
Dorri Olds met with Elvis Presley’s long-time close pal Jerry Schilling on Apr. 18 for an exclusive interview about Tribeca Film Festival’s movie, “Elvis and Nixon.” The five-star film is a hilarious send-up about a peculiar piece of 1970 Americana: Elvis Presley flew to our nation’s capital to persuade President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey) to deputize him as a federal agent-at-large.
Presley showed up unannounced at the Northwest Gate of the White House with his buddy Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer) and convinced awe-struck guards to hand-deliver Presley’s note to Nixon that requested a sit-down.
White House staffer Egil Krogh (Colin Hanks) is told that Nixon wants nothing to do with the entertainer and especially not during the Prez’s naptime. Shilling and Elvis’ bodyguard Sonny West (Johnny Knoxville) come up with plan B. Presley will sign an autograph for Nixon’s daughter if he will agree to the meeting.
Olds and Schilling met at Tribeca’s Conrad Hotel.
Dorri Olds: What is it like seeing your life reenacted all these years later?
Jerry Schilling: It’s pretty strange, you know. It still hasn’t really set in for me. It’s strange. But it’s something I’m very proud of. To be on-screen with my best friend, character-wise, is quite an honor for me. I loved and admired this guy since I was 12-years-old and he was 19. I’ve seen the whole gamut of his career and shared a lot with him. We had a 23-year friendship and a 10-year professional relationship, so it’s quite an honor.
He seemed like a very complex man. What was the hard part about being his friend?
Wow, that’s a great question. I think, for me, it was to be able to give back the friendship and the professional relationship on a level that he had given me the opportunity to do. I wasn’t satisfied just being one of the guys—which I was thrilled to be. I wanted to be involved in his films and his touring.
I quit working for him a couple of times to just [go pursue those types of things] then he would bring me back in. That was the hardest thing because I think I was the only guy that ever quit working for Elvis. Well, a couple guys got mad but then they came back. I quit for professional reasons. Normally, the relationship was over when that happened—the close relationship.
Were you afraid you were risking the friendship when you separated from Elvis professionally?
That was the hardest decision I ever made but we kept the relationship. When I wanted to go into film editing, he called me about three weeks later [and said], “Do you do that editing on the weekend?” I said, “No.” He says, “Where are you? I’m coming by to pick you up. We’re going to Palm Springs for the weekend.”
So, yeah, we continued the friendship. But I wasn’t happy doing just that. He was happy with me being there. I picked up and did this and that and worked security, but that wasn’t enough. I didn’t think I was giving back enough for him, nor was I giving back enough for me. That make sense?
It does. Do you see the irony of Elvis wanting to be a narc for kids on drugs when Elvis is known as a drug addict who self destructed?
I think you have to qualify that and I think it’s very important. Elvis had a prescription problem, there’s no doubt about that, but drug addict? Street drugs? The image of drug related music? That was another thing he was totally against, you know. [Becoming a federal agent] was his way, in his mind, of giving back to the country. He felt a responsibility to rock and roll and he was proud of that. He did not like the new drug-influenced rock and roll, nor was he any part of that.
Do you think there was denial about addiction by making a differentiation between alcohol, hard drugs, and prescription drugs?
I think especially back then. I think people are learning more that addiction was addiction, whether you get it in a prescription, a bottle, or on the street. I don’t think we knew that back then. If a doctor gave you something, you thought it was okay. It’s not like he ever bought a drug on the street.
What can you say about the phrase “Memphis Mafia”?
We used to go to Vegas before Elvis was really working there a lot. We’d go in a limousine and we had these mohair suits and we carried guns—concealed weapons that we had permits for. A Las Vegas journalist said, “Oh, Elvis and his Memphis Mafia are back in town,” and that stuck. It’s kind of an affectionate term that we liked. We saw a lot of mafia movies. [Smiles]
What were the threats to his life?
There was one major threat in Las Vegas. Somebody put a menu under Elvis’ door and crossed his face out and wrote backwards so we knew it was a deranged person. [It said,] “I’m going to kill you onstage tonight.”
This is one of the times I wasn’t working for Elvis, I was working in film editing. He called me and said, “I need you to come. I’ll tell you about it when you get here.” He sent a Leer jet for me [to fly me] from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. And the FBI came.
The hotel said he didn’t have to do the show. When I got there he was white and angry. He said, “I’m not going to let any so-and-so dictate my shows. I want you in the orchestra and another one of the guys in the orchestra.” We had guns and the FBI took it really serious. Somebody called and offered $50,000 dollars to one of the guys and said if Elvis would pay he’d tell them what the plot was. There were very serious things like that.
Wow, very serious. How do you think he went from “Elvis the Pelvis” rebel rock ’n roller to seeking approval from the establishment?
I think Elvis never set out to appeal to one genre of people. He loved all people. The establishment that we are talking about now didn’t like him in the beginning. Elvis was the ultimate liberal. But when he came back from the Army, it changed. He [went] on the show with Frank Sinatra and loved the idea that the people who criticized him, politicians or whatever, now liked him.
Very few people can appeal to both. That’s why he knew what to say to get to Richard Nixon. He would also know what to say to get to John Lennon. Elvis was a very smart, as you said, complex person. He appeared to be just a nice guy but he was very complex.
What I needed to do for myself [was to] be productive. I never thought I could do that with Elvis. I grew up, you know. I was 21 years old when I went to work for him. My aspirations got bigger as I grew up. Luckily, he gave me that opportunity and then incorporated, “Come back to work for me, you can work on my films. Come back to work for me, you can work on my tours.” That gave me the background to be, if you will, a major music manager of the Beach Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Joel.
Jerry Lee Lewis must have been a handful.
You know what? He was pretty good to me. We only had two arguments in seven years.
Really? Gosh, that’s fantastic.
Yeah, but they were big ones. [Laughs]
Wish we had more time. Can’t wait to read your book, “Me and a Guy Named Elvis.”
“Elvis & Nixon” is rated R. 100 min.