Elvis’ Friend Said He Felt ‘Naked’ When He Left the Musician’s Side
One of Elvis Presley’s closest friends was Jerry Schilling, whom he met when they were both young. Schilling was a key member of Elvis’ entourage and was present for some of the most significant moments in Elvis’ life. Despite the closeness of their relationship, though, Elvis could sometimes push Schilling away. After an argument about rental houses, Schilling decided he needed time apart from the musician. He admitted that this wasn’t easy.
Elvis Presley’s friend said it was difficult to separate himself from the musician’s world
In early 1976, Elvis took his friends on a ski trip in Colorado. At the end of their rental period, he told Schilling to find them a new place to stay so they could extend their vacation. After three days of tireless work, Schilling brought everyone to their new accommodations. As he tried to fall asleep, though, Elvis called him and said he wanted to switch houses.
To Schilling, this demand was so ridiculous and inexplicable that he no longer wanted to be around Elvis. He told him that he would be going home in the morning.
“I said, ‘You know what, Elvis? I don’t want to stay here. In fact, I’m leaving,'” Schilling said, per the book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. “He said, ‘Well, I said you could stay.’ His voice was shaking. He knew he had pushed me too far. I said, ‘No, I’m leaving. I’m going home.'”
Schilling didn’t want to end the friendship; he just needed space. He admitted this was difficult, as he had shaped so much of his life around Elvis.
“He had done more for me than anybody else in my life,” Schilling said. “It was just there were too many people bumping into each other, people were calling him ‘Boss.’ Everything just lapsed into everything else, and the rest of the world was just this tiny little bubble that you couldn’t really relate to anymore. You almost felt naked going out in the world when you left that environment, because it was all just based on him. But it was time.”
Priscilla Presley said all of Elvis’ friends had to mold their lives to fit his
This was typical of the people in Elvis’ life. Elvis wanted everyone to shape their lives to fit his. This meant keeping nocturnal hours, traveling often, and being away from family. Priscilla Presley said it was like living in a bubble.
“He didn’t go out, and he didn’t like eating in restaurants. He didn’t want people taking pictures of him with a fork in his mouth,” Priscilla said on the show Loose Women. “We lived in a bubble. We would go rollerskating. He would rent the [amusement] park where we would ride rollercoasters.”
She knew she had to follow Elvis’ rules if she wanted to be with him, but she couldn’t help feeling like she was losing bits of her identity.
“I had to adapt,” she said. “You had to adapt to survive. You lived his life and honestly did not have your own life. You watched the movies he wanted to see. Listened to the music he listened to. You really kind of lost yourself.”
Jerry Schilling is still close with Elvis’ family
Though Schilling and Elvis sometimes clashed, they remained close. Schilling is still good friends with Priscilla and remains in contact with the Presley family. He lived at Graceland while Lisa Marie Presley was growing up and became like family to her.
