Why Elvis’ Bodyguard Threatened to Kill the Singer’s Masseuse
Elvis Presley’s bodyguards protected him from physical threats, but they also wanted to safeguard his reputation. When they learned about a rumor circulating about Elvis, they decided they needed to put a stop to it. One bodyguard decided that the best path forward was to threaten the perpetrator’s life.
Elvis Presley’s bodyguard tried to protect him against rumors
When Elvis stayed in Las Vegas to play residencies, he got frequent massages from the same man, whom his bodyguards called Big Bill. Each time, Elvis tipped him $100, which his bodyguards felt was more than generous. They were frustrated, then, when they heard Big Bill was spreading rumors about Elvis’ drug use. They discovered this while talking to a stranger from New York.
“Anyway, it seems that one of these guys from New York was getting a massage, and this Big Bill starts shooting his mouth off to him that he has massaged Elvis Presley and that he is a head [drug-taker],” bodyguard Sonny West said in the book Elvis: What Happened? by Steve Dunleavy. “My mind gets buzzing, and I think, if Big Bill told a perfect stranger this, how many people has he told?”
The man from New York offered to “handle” Big Bill for Sonny West, but he took matters into his own hands.
“We had to shut the guy up,” he said. “Anyway, I got the telephone number of Big Bill and I called him. ‘I said, ‘Could I speak to Big Bill?’ He answered the telephone and then I said, ‘You don’t know me. I’m just telling you. You have been shooting your mouth off about a certain celebrity that used to give you a one-hundred-dollar tip, and you have been talking about how he is a head . . . and I tell you now, stop it, man, or you are gone.’ I then hung up.”
He said he would have done anything for Elvis
Sonny West said Elvis had no idea he did this. He just acted as quickly as possible to protect his boss.
“Elvis didn’t tell me to do it. I was acting on my own,” he said. “In fact, I never told him about it. I just handled it that way because there was no use getting him upset over something if it could be handled.”
Sonny’s cousin, Red West, said Elvis’ bodyguards were willing to do practically anything for the singer.
“He always wanted to know if we were really dedicated to him,” he said. “Of course in those days, there was very little any one of us wouldn’t have done for him.”
Elvis’ bodyguard later said he felt foolish for being willing to take a bullet for the singer
For years, Elvis’ bodyguards were willing to jump in front of a bullet for him.
“If anyone was going to hurt him, they would have had to kill us to get to him,” bodyguard Dave Hebler said. “That was the relationship.”
Upon reflection, they admitted they felt “stupid” for being willing to do this on the salaries Elvis paid.
