In light of the increasing fame for Elvis Presley during the late fifties, it was essential to ramp up his security measures – some might say to drastic proportions.
After moving into Graceland with his extended family in 1957, he had his Uncle Travis Smith positioned as a guard at the entrance gates. Elvis took extra steps in fortifying his Tennessee home, installing surveillance systems all through the Memphis property. He even went as far as to install two-way mirrors in the property.
Throughout his later years, it was reported that Elvis’ prescription medication made him “paranoid” – but the star also had to contend with overzealous fans who might try to break into his home. According to Express.co.uk, who attended a virtual tour of the property hosted by archivist Angie Marchese, the property boasted some impressive CCTV.
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The Elvis expert said cameras were set up in the kitchen, in Vernon’s office and even in Elvis’ upstairs bedroom. She said: “The cameras are still in use today. This was a security system Elvis had added in the sixties, so he could kind of see what was going on here at Graceland whenever he was here.
(Image: GRACELAND)
“He really had an open-door policy that if you were a friend of his and you wanted to bring somebody out to Graceland, Graceland was your house too. So you could bring anyone out you wanted to. The only place that no one was allowed to go was upstairs, without being personally invited by Elvis himself.”
The King was quite the tech enthusiast, often checking out the cameras in his bedroom to suss out who was milling about the house before he’d make his grand entrance downstairs.
Not just content with cameras, when Elvis rocked up in 1957, he had a privacy wall fitted on the first-floor landing that’s still visible from the entrance hall today. And get this it’s kitted out with a couple of sneaky one-way mirrors so The King could have a gander at who was entering his Royal quarters without being spotted.
(Image: Michael Ochs Archives)
Rumours even abounded that in 1976, Born to Run hitmaker Bruce Springsteen was so desperate to meet The King that he decided to attempt to enter his property. After performing in Memphis, Bruce allegedly jumped the wall at Graceland and ran up to the mansion, only to be stopped by security guards.
The rocker was told Elvis wasn’t home, and was politely escorted off the property. Bruce later recalled: “Back in ’75… We were down in Memphis, and I remember it was late at night, and I was sittin’ in a motel room with me and my guitar player, Steve. We got a taxi to take us out to Elvis’ house.
(Image: Getty Images)
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“It took us out there in the middle of the night, and I remember we got outta the cab, and we stood there in front of those gates with the big guitar players on ’em. When we looked up the driveway, in the second story of the house, you could see a light on, and I figured that Elvis has gotta be up readin’ or somethin’. And I told Steve, I said: ‘Steve, man, I gotta go check it out.’
“And I jumped up over the wall and I started runnin’ up the driveway, which when I look back on it now was kind of a stupid thing to do because I hate it when people do it at my house. I was filled with the enthusiasm of youth and ran up the driveway and I got to the front door and I was just about to knock, and guards came out of the woods and they asked me what I wanted.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
