Judy Spreckels
Encyclopedia
Judy Spreckels is an American writer, publisher and trial historian. She was a friend of Elvis Presley
during the rock 'n' roll singer's rise to stardom.
." She says that she "was with him and the guys all the time." They drove bumper cars in Las Vegas
, rode horses in California
and hung out at Graceland
. "There wasn't a crowd then, just a few guys," and she emphasizes that she "had nothing to do with being a yes man for him and obviously he trusted me." She also claims that Presley told her secrets "that I never told and will never tell." In 1956, the singer sat for a portrait she drew. He inscribed it, "To Judy Spreckels, I love you, baby. Elvis Presley." For this drawing and a photograph of her with Presley, see also Judy Spreckels, "Elvis Presley: His Favorite Picture." Modern Screen, May 1957. In February 1957, the same magazine included the article, "Elvis And Me" describing her as "Elvis' No.1 fan."
On June 11, 1956, Time
magazine ironically reported:
When Presley and Spreckels visited Graceland
, she said, "We stayed up all night listening to Elvis singing and playing the piano. He liked to sing hymn
s. ... He introduced me to Amazing Grace
." She also went to the funeral of his mother Gladys in 1958, saying "I have never seen anyone as sad as Elvis was ... He grieved. He cried continuously. We were in the front hall at Graceland, and he stood there hugging me for a half-hour. He was crying and crying and crying. It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen." In a letter of August 25, 1958, Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker
confirms that Judy Spreckels came "to Memphis to be with Elvis for the Funeral [,] this was very kind of her also. And I know Elvis did appreciate this so very much."
Spreckels also remembers that in Los Angeles
, where Elvis made movies, she went out on a Sunday with him and his friend, actor Nick Adams. Another time, the trio went horseback riding and were captured in a photograph at the ranch. This snapshot shows Spreckels smiling up adoringly at Presley. She is in the possession of many photographs showing the star looking at her all the time, "and he was laughing. It was just such a fun time." "We loved each other," she says. "But it was just a really terrific friendship."
In 1956, during Elvis' first engagement in Las Vegas
, visitors to the shows included Judy Spreckels, Hal Wallis (who had just signed Elvis to his first movie deal) and entertainers Ray Bolger
, Phil Silvers
and Liberace
. In later years, Spreckels still attended Presley's Las Vegas concerts, and he would stop the show to introduce her to the audience. She had married by then and so had he.
As a trial historian, Spreckels has "been attending Los Angeles-area trials off and on for forty-six years."
and at home in Beverly Hills. Soon after, this ranch was sold.
Spreckels now lives in the San Fernando Valley
.
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
during the rock 'n' roll singer's rise to stardom.
Spreckels' relationship with Elvis Presley
Spreckels describes herself as having been like a sister to Presley when he was about 21 and she was two years older. According to her own account, she was "a companion, confidante and keeper of secrets in the exciting days of his early career". At that time, "Elvis was surrounded by the first wave of what would become known as the Memphis MafiaMemphis Mafia
The "Memphis Mafia" was the nickname for a group of friends, associates, employees and "yes-men" whose main function was to be around Elvis Presley from 1954 until he died. Several filled practical roles in the singer's life. For instance, they were employed to work for him as bodyguards or on tour...
." She says that she "was with him and the guys all the time." They drove bumper cars in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, rode horses in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and hung out at Graceland
Graceland
Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
. "There wasn't a crowd then, just a few guys," and she emphasizes that she "had nothing to do with being a yes man for him and obviously he trusted me." She also claims that Presley told her secrets "that I never told and will never tell." In 1956, the singer sat for a portrait she drew. He inscribed it, "To Judy Spreckels, I love you, baby. Elvis Presley." For this drawing and a photograph of her with Presley, see also Judy Spreckels, "Elvis Presley: His Favorite Picture." Modern Screen, May 1957. In February 1957, the same magazine included the article, "Elvis And Me" describing her as "Elvis' No.1 fan."
On June 11, 1956, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine ironically reported:
- Scampering aboard a plane in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, impulsive Judy Spreckels, 24, ex-wife of SugarSpreckels Sugar CompanyThe Spreckels Sugar Company is an American sugar beet refiner that for many years controlled much of the U.S. West Coast refined sugar market. Spreckels Sugar was founded by entrepreneur, industrialist, newspaper publisher, and railroad executive Claus Spreckels in 1881...
Daddy Adolph B. Spreckels Jr., was soon in Memphis and the offices of the daily Press-ScimitarMemphis Press-ScimitarThe Memphis Press-Scimitar was an afternoon newspaper based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. Created from a merger in 1926 between the Memphis Press and the Memphis News-Scimitar, the newspaper ceased in 1983. It was the main rival to The Commercial...
. She had learned that a photograph, made last month in Las Vegas, showing her with dreamboat Groaner Elvis ("Hi luh-huh-huh-huv-huv yew-hew") Presley, 21, had appeared in the newspaper, and she had hopped to Tennessee to buy some copies of that edition. Was she in luh-huh-huh-huv with Presley (TIME, May 14) ? "Oh, no, he's too young," cooed Judy.
When Presley and Spreckels visited Graceland
Graceland
Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community about 9 miles from Downtown and less than four miles north of the Mississippi border. It currently serves as...
, she said, "We stayed up all night listening to Elvis singing and playing the piano. He liked to sing hymn
Hymn
A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...
s. ... He introduced me to Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
." She also went to the funeral of his mother Gladys in 1958, saying "I have never seen anyone as sad as Elvis was ... He grieved. He cried continuously. We were in the front hall at Graceland, and he stood there hugging me for a half-hour. He was crying and crying and crying. It was the saddest thing I'd ever seen." In a letter of August 25, 1958, Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
confirms that Judy Spreckels came "to Memphis to be with Elvis for the Funeral [,] this was very kind of her also. And I know Elvis did appreciate this so very much."
Spreckels also remembers that in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where Elvis made movies, she went out on a Sunday with him and his friend, actor Nick Adams. Another time, the trio went horseback riding and were captured in a photograph at the ranch. This snapshot shows Spreckels smiling up adoringly at Presley. She is in the possession of many photographs showing the star looking at her all the time, "and he was laughing. It was just such a fun time." "We loved each other," she says. "But it was just a really terrific friendship."
In 1956, during Elvis' first engagement in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, visitors to the shows included Judy Spreckels, Hal Wallis (who had just signed Elvis to his first movie deal) and entertainers Ray Bolger
Ray Bolger
Raymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
, Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
and Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
. In later years, Spreckels still attended Presley's Las Vegas concerts, and he would stop the show to introduce her to the audience. She had married by then and so had he.
Writer, publisher and trial historian
For a while Spreckels ran a small publishing company and edited Horses magazine in California. In 1966, she wrote an eloquent article about the late National Horse Show Jumper champion, Ben O'Meara. She also worked as a ghostwriter of books.As a trial historian, Spreckels has "been attending Los Angeles-area trials off and on for forty-six years."
Horse ranch
In 1978, Spreckels sold horses and spent the next two years resting at her horse ranch in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and at home in Beverly Hills. Soon after, this ranch was sold.
Spreckels now lives in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
.