The moment Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley became soulmates: “He trusted me”
The idea of understanding a man like Elvis Presley feels absurd.
His face is written into American culture in a way that has only been matched by a few entertainers ever since, and even if he wasn’t everyone’s favourite singer when he started, he reshaped the way that everyone thought about what a pop singer could be. But in between the tough exterior was a gentle soul, and Presley ended up finding one of his soulmates years before he actually got married.
Then again, Presley’s reputation as one of the most sought-after human beings on Earth at the time wasn’t lost on him. He knew that he had an ability to start a frenzy with any crowd he worked with, and even when he came back after years away from the spotlight, it only took a few hip shakes and the first few lines of ‘Jailhouse Rock’ for everyone to see what they had been missing all those years.
When talking about his legacy, though, Presley’s movies have always been a bit of an acquired taste. There are many moments where he had a role that was made for him, but at the rate that he was putting out most of his best albums, his movies were either vehicles for the songs or an extra bit of fluff to keep that perfectly coiffed hair in the public eye. But in between movies like Blue Hawaii, Viva Las Vegas was when Ann-Margret entered his life.
But Margret didn’t need to stand next to the biggest star in the world to be seen. She had already been branded as a female counterpart to Presley and had even done her own version of ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, but when they matched onscreen, something felt different. They were practically linked in every respect, and when looking back on the whole thing, Margret knew that there was more of a connection than what was happening onscreen.
Even when talking to Charlie Rose years after the fact, Margret was wistful about the time she spent with ‘The King of Rock and Roll’, saying, “Our relationship was very strong, very serious, and very real. We were together for one year, and he trusted me, and I don’t want to betray his trust even in death. There’s so much negative that has been written about him that I want to celebrate his life.”
And whereas Presley’s life with Priscilla was always kept extremely private, Margret’s background made them feel like natural-born soulmates. Anyone can look like they have a great rapport with someone when they see them onscreen, but Margret had all of the moves of Presley down as well. She could sing, dance, and knew how to joke around to make him not look like one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
Although Presley’s death was still an extremely touchy subject years after his demise, it’s easy to see why Margret would have been so protective of him. This was someone whose legacy has been redefined a few times without anyone there to monitor it, and while there’s little one can do about that in Hollywood, it’s a lot different when it’s someone that you care about long after the cameras stop rolling.
While Margret never wanted to come between Presley and his wife when they were together, their tale remains a brilliant look at what could have happened had things taken a different turn. Because as much as Priscilla helped to protect the mystique of Presley for years leading up to her death, there are always going to be pieces of his history that were between him and Margret that no one could take away.
