Viva Las Vegas: Elvis stars in 1964 teaser with Ann-Margret
59 years ago this week, on July 10, 1963, Elvis Presley recorded the title track of the single Viva Las Vegas. The iconic track was a movie tie-in with the film of the same name. But while the star was recording the song, he likely didn’t expect the movie to change his life drastically.
Elvis met Ann-Margret just before shooting began in 1963. Their first meeting has been described as “electric”. Before long, they were meeting up in private to spend time together. Eventually, a steamy affair between them began.
Elvis and Ann-Margret would ride motorcycles and go partying together on weekends in Vegas. What’s more, the Swedish-American actress would quickly become ingrained in Elvis’ way of life. She hung out with the star and his Memphis Mafia – even gaining her own nickname in the process: Rusty, after her character in the blockbuster movie.
The couple became inseparable. But meanwhile, Priscilla Presley was waiting dutifully for Elvis at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.
Marty Lacker, one of the key members of the Memphis Mafia and a long-time friend of Elvis, recalled that Ann-Margret became everything that Priscilla wasn’t.
“Ann genuinely liked people,” Marty said. “And she liked every one of us.”
Elvis Presley had a sordid affair with Ann-Margret (Image: GETTY)
Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret had an instant connection (Image: GETTY)
Elvis Presley’s life (Image: GETTY • EXPRESS)
Marty continued by comparing Ann-Margret to Priscilla, who was not always the biggest fan of Elvis’ entourage.
He said: “[Ann-Margret] wasn’t intimidated or threatened by us. I think she also respected us. We used to have a lot of fun with her. She had a terrific sense of humour.”
Elvis and Ann-Margret’s relationship continued to blossom over months of filming. What started as a sordid affair had dove-tailed into a loving relationship built on respect and mutual attraction, and it was for these reasons that Elvis was eventually completely honest with the star.
Ann-Margret opened up about this love-filled relationship in her own words in her 1994 memoir My Story.
READ MORE: Viva Las Vegas: Elvis and Ann-Margret set misbehaviour made final cut
Elvis Presley and Priscilla later got married in 1967 (Image: GETTY)
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Ann-Margret wrote: “I knew I’d crossed into a certain uncharted territory when Elvis asked to be alone with me, but later the frequency with which it happened made me happy.”
She added: “It meant Elvis truly trusted me.”
The King trusted her enough to open up to her about things he had never told anyone else before. He told her about what he longed for in the future.
“Like everyone else, Elvis had dreams and desires,” she wrote. “Hopes and hurts, wants and weaknesses. He didn’t reveal this vulnerable side until everyone had disappeared, until those private moments when we were alone, after darkness had blanketed the city and we’d parked somewhere up in the hills and could look down upon the sprawl of LA or up at the stars.”
Years later, Ann-Margret was asked about what she thought of Priscilla waiting for Elvis back at home. She replied: “She wasn’t there.”
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Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
Elvis and Ann-Margret were forced to split after a year of seeing one another. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when Ann-Margret was misquoted in talking about being engaged to Elvis.
This report was spotted by Priscilla, who was furious about the King’s infidelity. Before long, Elvis had broken things off with Ann-Margret. And within the following six months he proposed to Priscilla after years of being in a relationship with her.
Ann-Margret recalled Elvis being “forced” away from her.
“There were other factors in Elvis’s life that forced him apart from me,” Ann-Margret remembered in her memoir. “And I understood them.”
She added: “Elvis had always been honest with me, but still it was a confusing situation. We continued to see each other periodically, until we had dated for almost a year. Then everything halted. We knew the relationship had to end, that Elvis had to fulfil his commitment.” (sic)
Shortly thereafter, on May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla were married in Las Vegas. One week later, on May 8, 1967, Ann-Margret married her partner Roger Smith.
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