[Music] hi Tom Brown another edition of gates of Graceland and look where we are we're out in back of the mansion here is Angie Marchesi - right how are you good I'm on the little walkway here and we are you said we're headed to Vernon's we're gonna head to Vernon's office but this walkway is really special and it's one of my favorite places on property because in March of 1960 Elvis has just come home from the army he meets press in his father's office for a press conference but right before he walks through that door we have a small bit of footage of him leaving the mansion and walking down this exact same sidewalk right right through the door so it's really kind of like when you walk down this sidewalk like you're walking and Elvis's footsteps yeah and all these years we go into Vernon's office to just look through the window yes but I have heard a rumor that we might be doing more than that this time it depends on how nice you are - it depends on if I brought my own white cloth exactly yeah let's take a look and of course this incredibly famous sign of Vernon pres burn and yet on the front door please read and observe no loafing in the office strictly for employees only if you have business here please take care of it and leave her name's Leslie such a welcoming sign you just never came back here to have fun exactly her name was all business when he was back here in the office yeah well so we're gonna go go in but first the white gloves you know I even watched these with white gloves on it's not because I'm so scared I'll get something you know damage something but we're going in to Vernon's here let me get the door for you and whatnot long thing we're working we're working we're working come on oh all these years I've been through on the tour and I've only been able to that side of the glass and here we are in Vernon's office you the really unique thing about the office is that when the Moors built Graceland this was actually used for servants quarters okay Elvis had no need for it but his dad needed an office to take care of all of Elvis's personal business and this is where all the fan mail was sent so your letter to elevate letters to Elvis was here was here in this office at some point and you know and and they looked at everything they looked at everything they said it wasn't unusual for Elvis actually to sit here on the sofa and read fan mail he couldn't remember the good school and the office has gone through some changes you know when Elvis was here in 1960 it wasn't as big as it is now it has been expanded at one point the secretaries were strictly up here and Vernon was actually down here so this window was actually cut into the wall by Vernon not for us for tour purposes but Vernon did this okay and then when they expanded the room Vernon moved his desk back up here okay and we've seen the famous footage of Vernon at the end of Elvis in concert talking about Elvis you know passing away but also we've seen the like you said that the video of Elvis coming down the sidewalk for that March 1960 press conference from this room from of this room actually sitting right behind his dad's desk the cheers different but the filing cabinets are the same you don't move filing cabinet don't you know they stay where they are as long as they still work they cut a steak yeah speaking of filing cabinets as you can see what you really might not be able to see from the window okay are these over here Oh Angie first bathroom the bathroom I have to have to highlight this in the you know in the in the tone of the the message on the door yes he or she but one at a time the boss Vernon Presley yes you see EP a lot you don't see vep a lot all right I have a feeling that that that's that's very important it is very important and then one of the lamps I love this lamp this is such a 50s and if you look at the pictures from Audubon mmm-hmm this lamp used to sit in the living room senada body was moved here it was moved here Wow a refrigerator refrigerator refrigerator in the office and then filing cabinet so as you can see some of these are labeled where they talk about the years and dates business correspondence titles 1970 bills ranch correspondence we have sets actually moved all of the documents that are in here to the archives because this is where we get a lot of our information the checks the bills the receipts the gas receipts the titles for cars I mean anything that was personally bought by Elvis the paperwork came through this office it was in these filing cabinets you're really a forensic detective sometimes in placing people in places like you'll know that Charlie's picking up the car here because he had a gas receipt in Palm Springs so you place him there and maybe Richard Davis is in Memphis and you've got receipts for stuff he bought here and you ain't really cross reference reference where everything where everybody was and what was going on and then you mix in Colonels collection where it's like Oh Elvis was filming a movie or Elvis was in contract to do this and you kind of get both sides of the story yeah and these filing cabinets for those of you that are maybe too young to know this it used to be the world ran on paper and this is where paper was story it's just where paper was let's peek and see there's one cabinet here where we actually still have a couple of things including a file folder that actually has that's Patsy's writing on it totally since 1970 and I'm gonna get my official archival glasses and it looks like it's a running total item I wonder if this is for it could be for expenses for checks faint bills paid exactly so it's a running total of all the bills that were paid yeah in 1970 you have January February March April every month so that's the top as a summary sheet and then we go through individually and it will tell you what was paid who it was paid to what it was for or the account it was for and the amount I'm looking at the bigger numbers and there's you know car rented there are 93 dollars the smaller numbers but the bigger numbers saw Schwartz jewelry one watches for $2,100 oh wait there's a $6,000 one let's see what they did this this is January 1970 decoration basement TV and pool room at Graceland Goldsmith $6,100 department store here in Memphis at the time yeah so Schwab's pharmacy I love I can look at these things all day long and try to figure out oh we have that oh look design fees for wardrobe for Elvis's Vegas act the bill Baloo yeah February 1974 nine hundred and seventy five dollars yeah I see costume company for a wardrobe for Vegas $3,000 of course Elvis onstage recorded february nineteen seven some of those some of those outfits warm it that that engagement yeah right here on this on it said that's what I love it's really like putting pieces together I saw it can I see you guys go ahead saw a round trip like oh and there's charges by Priscilla at Goldsmith's round trip for HM Gilliland from Memphis to Las Vegas $300 American Airlines so he flew someone out to do his hair to do his hair yeah Charlie Hodge escorting from California to Memphis uh-huh oh my gosh this is really amazing really amazing and you really see how prices are going out for a lot of things and then Vernon would be happy that you've kept all this together because you want to keep those records together yeah and it's really it was really important to us and it's important to the collection that we kept the records as we found them so we do put things and acid free boxes that's a free files with us a free paper between them but we keep them in the same order so Vernon actually divided everything by month year and location and so if we're looking for documents in Vernon's collection that's how we search it cuz that's the way it's still filed today and for fans that you know sometimes say well Angie why don't you just leave everything where it is why do you have to take things out it's to preserve it it's for preservation sakes this building you know as lovely as it is is not temperature and humidity-controlled for document storage where the artifact building is and so to be able to preserve the items and for generations to come that's reason why things were moved yeah and you said something I had thought about before Vernon's really running multiple households yes because there's California and there's Graceland and then there was the ranch bills and everything so he had to really stay on top of all of it yeah oh and eldest really only trusted him to make sure that everything got paid everything was getting getting paid the only thing we have in here is a box one of my little boxes yes I recognize that you will close the store for us and in this box we have stored hmm little gifts and trinkets and things that were actually sent here to Elvis by the fans a lucky horseshoe yeah look at that so Elvis kept everything yeah let me let junior Fire Marshal ring yeah some flags hmm independence looks like a little badge so chances are if you sent it to Elvis it is still here in the archives I mean in there you know lots of crosses a letter opener yeah yeah so everything is still here these are bracelets with Elvis his name on them that were sent to him from fans as gifts that's even after all these years is such a great feeling to know that he cared so much about the fans that off and and answered letters and read letters from the fans and and really cared about what they thought about yep about his career and about how much his music meant to them because sending a little piece of themselves here he respected that and he said yeah if they took time to send it he he at least said he could take time to keep it just amazing the different a different era yes a different era of showbiz so we'll take these back to the artifact building later got it okay thank you for placing guys it's nice to know that that's taken care of they're taken care of so we have lots of other things in here as you can see yeah back over here we've got in this cabinet wallah oh look at that that's where it is - that's your style yeah tile samples you know adhesive removable labels packing tape brushes I know I know these are the little things you pray that I over the file so you put in the top of it yeah at the top of the page yeah so typical office supplies flares yes flare pins flare pairs staples mm-hmm for the stapler candles kiss power goes out because I'm sure if the power goes out Vernon says keep working yes do you candlelight by Carol I gotta keep working it was good enough ray bring I'm Lincoln it's good enough for you Justin it's it's really not only as it relates to Elvis yes incredibly interesting but it's a little bit of nineteen fifties sixties and seventies office history it really is and technology I mean the tech typewriters and the phone books and the copier really you know IBM this was the latest and greatest I've written so many television scripts on an IBM Selectric - I know this typewriter and it is a great typewriter and I guarantee you if you turned it on right now it would work and probably what works a warhorse even if you can't pick it up so that's always gonna it's always here I just you know and then I mean original telephone books yes from June of 58 these are all things that we can't see when we come by we know they're in here but we can't see them this is June 58 telephone book Memphis Collierville Germantown oh and something else is Louis way office you know I didn't say hidden safe now there's nothing in here now but we actually found a lot of car documents and license plates and things in there and the old steel case desk uh-huh great 1940s technology never never changes hahaha still working for us yeah yeah and then the old copier can't run an office without a copier yeah worse and then this is Vernon's desk oh so this is where you know this is where all of the bills got paid a matter of fact these books here hmm is what you used to pay bills checks this is from Elvis's account the EAP account EA Press link account and there as you can see from 7 November of 75 or $75,000 to talent contract pay promotional advance for December 12 through 15 engagement in Vegas yep [Music] Wow then we've got Exxon company USA fuel for the Jetstar yep $1,000 feel for the Jeff star eh crumped insurance yes yes lots of insurance yes seven thousand dollars in insurance so now we're in 76 yep yeah Chemical Bank Jetstar lotta jet star fuel yeah this is a lot during this time here that's a lot of what's going on here now we're in 77 here Hilton Hawaiian Village yep that was vacation wasn't April the 77 yes yes date in March yes / $16,000 group yeah March 3rd through March 12th 77 American Express yep [Music] then we've got June of 77 metal really good commerce oh yeah this is the best part of this collection is that they would ride it's a lesson for all of us it really is yeah on record keeping that they would actually write what the records of what the checks were for they actually used it and the last one was written August the 15th 1977 and look at this last check written on August 15th to the treasurer city of Memphis check number 610 and look at this check number 611 waiting to be written yep out of his account yeah the cheque that was never written mm-hmm but the last one on August 15 absolute history there and then of course Elvis and Verna had more than one checking account what do we have these are payroll payroll checks okay so this is the payroll account for staff so you'll see lots of names you recognize in here look at that Eugene Smith and these are from 56 [Music] treaty Forster William black William black will black his bass player yep it's not more Scottie no more Mike to William back DJ Hannah deejay $2,500 well that was the balance of the Evoque the check was for 83 dollars your ride only so they literally actually did what you're supposed to is like that's how much to check is that's what's left in the account and then these little check marks would be that they cleared the bank Wow so that's just for the week of 11 1756 mm-hmm they made 83 dollars there's another one for Eugene and then the new frontier Hotel Las Vegas hotel bill for Presley Jean Smith Nick Adams bill was eight hundred and sixty-seven dollars and 67 cents and then bill black fuchsia yeah and I was just hanging out with him in November of 56 out in Vegas Vegas deejay Scotty Eugene you see they cut there to become some formula yes that they were paid around the same time in the same order every mama huh okay hook piano it's for amplifier for bill black purchase $355 purchased November 29th and 1956 and again keeping great records to actually write what it was for you know it was it just here's a check to bill blocker here's a check to the piano company yeah Eugene Smith again bill black again DJ Fontana December 6th of 1956 this is a big year for Elvis 56 was was his breakout year break out here yeah Scotty DJ you know there's a point in time where all the the payroll was done by Tom Parker and Tom diskin then at a point in 56 Tom then takes the money left in the account for payroll gives it to Elvis and they start writing the cheque payroll so everything starts coming from Elvis's and from the Elvis Presley payroll account Vernon probably wanted to keep a monitor on that yes yeah yeah here's a cash check for $2,000 for a purchase of a car for grandparents and Louisville Kentucky so that's four that's for his granddad on his dad side that's Jesse he bought him a car he bought him a car yeah for $2,000 yes now and it cleared and it clear and it's kind of clear it's got a red check by it that was just fascinating so you really get it again you get a day in history and when he was in Kentucky buying the car there's my father here's his hotel bill from the hotel seal back in Louisville Kentucky Nestle party said yep yeah isn't that amazing like find a history of fitzy MOT Christmas bonus bonus four hundred and ten dollars that's not bad in 1996 what is this a 18% something for ninety dollars five hundred dollars she was getting a $500 or he was getting five hundred other bonus 18% withheld probably for taxes right right so that's why I ended up paying $410 and there's DJs there's DJs Christmas bonus bonus eight hundred and twenty dollars it was a thousand dollars and they took out a hundred and eighty on time on taxes now that always happens good year for DJ yep so Christmas bonuses and Jordan air yeah you Jerry hey Jerry at the Jordanaires so the last check we have in here is January 4th of 56 probably meant to be 57 would be my guess since that's December city success a lot they make the same mistake we all we all do we write the year before our days into the new years of hard November there's 57 yes and it is change out of some account Oh - Elvis $71,000 they're kind of closing out they're closing on an account yeah yep this is absolutely fascinating again things we can't see when we when we in the office but we know these are in here now yes oh it's just fascinating could for you to bring us up here all of us up here to get out of looking behind the curtain yeah I feel like though Vernon might think we're loafing right now yeah yeah we're having too much fun we should probably take off our white gloves and get out and get the business and get in take care of business out there thanks so much for joining us on this episode of gates of Graceland this is one of my favorite ones really getting to look into the business side of Vernon he's pretty smart cookie he really was really was easy etc' bead he did I'm Tom Brown that's Angie Marchesi thanks for watching I [Music] you [Music] you
