Importance Score: 45 / 100 🔵
At the tender age of nine, Lisa Marie Presley experienced the tragic loss of her father, the King of Rock and Roll, in August 1977. Even at that young age, she seemed to grasp the gravitas of the situation. Those close to her also understood the severity of Elvis Presley’s health, his daughter having an intuition that his end may soon be near.
Lisa Marie Presley’s Premonition
According to various accounts provided by Lisa Marie and those nearest to her, she possessed a strong feeling that Elvis’s time was limited. The intuition seemed to strengthen on the last night she saw him alive.
Elvis Presley’s Declining Health
By the late 1970s, Elvis Presley’s well-being had significantly declined. The iconic musician dealt with numerous health issues, many made worse by his excessive consumption of prescription medications.
- He faced diagnoses of glaucoma.
- High blood pressure.
- Liver damage.
- An enlarged colon.
He was frequently described as bloated, weary, and experiencing chronic discomfort. Reports from Graceland staff and close friends depicted a similar scenario: Elvis was isolated, heavily medicated, and increasingly secluded. Lisa Marie, despite her youth, was more perceptive than those around her realized.
A Child’s Words, a Father’s Promise
In Alanna Nash’s book, The Colonel, Lisa Marie recounted a poignant experience shortly before her father’s demise. “One evening when I was five or six, we were watching television,” she said. “I glanced at him and asked, ‘Daddy, Daddy, I don’t want you to die.’ And he simply looked at me and responded, ‘Okay, I won’t. Don’t worry about it.'”
Riley Keough Reveals More Details
In 2022, Lisa Marie’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, shared further haunting insights in An Oprah Special: The Presleys – Elvis, Lisa Marie and Riley. According to Keough, Lisa Marie had a disturbing premonition on the final evening she spent time with Elvis.
“She told him goodnight, and I believe she sensed, upon saying goodnight, that something was amiss,” Keough confided in Oprah Winfrey. “I think she frequently sensed that he wasn’t well. She would recount instances of finding him in his bathroom, appearing disoriented or struggling to stand upright. Additionally, she penned letters as a child, expressing, ‘I hope my daddy doesn’t die.’ So there was a clear sense of unease.”
The King’s Final Hours
Just hours after their goodbye, Elvis was discovered unresponsive in his Graceland bathroom early on August 16, 1977. He was swiftly transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest, although the impact of his prolonged prescription drug dependency has been extensively documented and debated ever since.
Life After Elvis: Lisa Marie at Graceland
Following his passing, Lisa Marie remained at Graceland with her mother, Priscilla, and other family members. However, according to Nancy Rooks, the family’s longtime maid, Lisa Marie generally stayed away from the upper floor of the mansion – particularly the area where Elvis had died.
Avoiding the Upstairs
Rooks wrote in her book, Inside Graceland: Elvis’ Maid Remembers, “I observed a change in her whenever she visited the house after his death. I only recall her going upstairs once, several years after his passing, when she requested that accompany her to his bedroom.”
A Moment of Remembrance
“She became very still as we entered the room, pausing to look around for a moment before retrieving a black and white ballcap from his closet and leaving the room with it,” Rooks noted. “I believe the mere knowledge that her father had passed away upstairs was too much for her. I imagine it would be for most children her age.”