Pigtails, Presley & Pepper

I want to tell you a story, my life story. It’s a Hollywood story in the truest sense. It’s a story of love and innocence, of comedy and tragedy, of fame without fortune and how I killed Elvis Aaron Presley… Well almost. Before the story’s done, I may even tell you the secret to life. ** It was a normal, nothing special Friday in the month of October, 1963, when I had gone shopping for groceries. When I got back home, our housekeeper Louise said that she had taken a call while I was out. It was from my agent, Sam, and that I should call him back right away. Wondering what was so urgent; I picked up the phone and called him back: “Hello Sam. Louise said you called, so what’s the emergency?” He asked me: “What are you doing right now?” I said: “I’m just putting away groceries and then I’ll start making some dinner for Buck… Why?” He said: “Well I just got a call from MGM, and they want you for a movie part that they thought you’d be perfect for.” I said: “That sounds great. When is the audition?” He said: “Well that’s the thing. They want to see you right now.” I said: “Right now? I’m not ready to audition right now. I need some time to prepare.” He said: “Well there is no audition. They said that if you can be in Culver City in the next thirty minutes and fit into the costume, the part is yours.” I said: “Gee, it’s such short notice and Buck will be home in the next couple of hours. What’s the name of this movie?” He said: “It’s called Kissin’ Cousins and it stars Elvis Presley so if you are the right size for the costume…” Before he could finish his sentence, I said: “A movie with Elvis? Sam, I’ll be any size they want me to be. Why are they offering this part to me out of the blue?” He said: “Well I was told that Elvis saw you on a TV show and said: ‘who’s that girl? I think she’d be right for the part of Midge. I want her in the film.’ So one of his guys jumped into action to find out the name of ‘that girl’ and contacted ‘that girl’s’ agent… But if you don’t want it?” I yelled: “I do! I do!” I said goodbye to Sam as I threw the phone back on the hook. I grabbed my car keys and asked Louise if she’d finish putting the groceries away for me. She looked at me in shock as I ran to the front door. To put her mind at ease, I looked back and said with a big smile: “I’m going to be in an Elvis movie.” When I arrived at the studio, I went straight to wardrobe. They brought out a WAC uniform for me to try on, which I did, and I thought it fit like a glove. The wardrobe lady wasn’t so sure. She looked me up and down and from back to front. When she got to the front, she had a frown on her face. I thought: oh no, am I going to lose this part because it does not fit the way she’d like? She turned away, grabbed a few tissues and started to stuff my bra with the tissues. When she was done she stood back and said: “There, that’s better.” Any other time I would have been insulted, but those magic words clinched the role for me. After I changed into my regular clothes, she sent me to the Production Office where I was given a production schedule and my call time. My call was for early Sunday morning at the studio. We would then be transported to the film location at Cedar Lake, just west of Big Bear Lake. Usually things move slowly in Hollywood, but this was going crazy fast. I couldn’t help but wonder why, but by the same token I was going to be the last person to ask why. I was too thrilled about co-starring in a movie with Elvis to start asking too many questions. ** It was now time to shoot the scene. I jumped into the jeep as Elvis, in full costume as Jodie, laid down where Lance had been. Before I started up the jeep, I thought: “Why is Elvis lying there? Shouldn’t it be a stuntman? Where is Lance? Oh my gosh, this is my second opportunity to accidentally kill Elvis. Why is this happening to me? Why would the director let this happen? No insurance in world would cover this accident.” Once again I asked no questions. With a shaky hand but a steely determination to make this work I started up the engine. As I waited for the director to give the signal I just kept thinking, all I have to do is hit the brakes with the same timing as I did with Lance, and all will be fine. What’s the worst that could happen? Maybe I miss the mark and park the jeep on top of Elvis. Maybe the brakes give out, and I run right over Elvis and take out half of the crew while I’m at it. That would certainly make the following day’s newspapers. I could see the headlines… “MARGIE KILLS THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL” or “PRESLEY PUMMULED BY PEPPER”