Danish director, writer producer, interviewer for TV documentaries, feature films and stage plays, Annett Wolf died. She was 88. R.I.P.
Back in L.A. while editing the show Annett learns of the King’s passing from his manager Colonel Parker. Annett persuades Elvis’ father Vernon Presley to give his eulogy seated in his son’s study surrounded by tens of thousands of letters from fans around the world.
On FECC a list of the filmed sequences done by Annett and her crew in June and July 1977, as they appear in the finished TV-Special:
- Interviews with fans outside arena (Cincinnati?)
- Shots from Lincoln, on highway from Omaha to Lincoln
- Interview with Omaha building manager Charlie Mancuso
- Lisa Marie arrival at Indianapolis airport, Elvis deplaning
- Interviews with fans in a salon
- Driving on Memphis-Arkansas Bridge into Memphis
- Driving on West Des Moines highway
- Presley MC Al Dvorin backstage, preparing items for sale
- Fan speaking about polio poster child
- Fan talking about Sioux City tornado (event happened on 6-16-1977)
- More fan interviews
- U.K. fans in Cincinnati, including Todd Slaughter
- Vernon interview in Sioux Falls on 6-22-1977
- shots of Graceland property, including Vernon by horses
She obviously did a lot of work in a lot of cities, with Memphis the final stop. The interview with Vernon was captured in his Sioux Falls Holiday Inn hotel room.
She was the last person to film Elvis alive at the Indianapolis Airport on June 26th 1977 together with her cameraman, Don Stern. The live show was aired October 3, 1977, two months after Elvis Presley's death.
House For Sale
A Beverly Hills home that Elvis Presley owned hit the market for $24.5 million.
House Not For Sale
A Missouri woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge accusing her of concocting a brazen plot to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale.
During a hearing in front of a Memphis federal judge, Lisa Jeanine Findley pleaded guilty to a charge of mail fraud related to the scheme. She previously pleaded not guilty to the two-count indictment, which also includes a count of aggravated identity theft that will now be dropped.
When asked by the judge if Findley was admitting guilt and accepting responsibility, she said “Yes.”
Findley will be sentenced on June 19. She would have faced up to 20 years if convicted, but she is expected to receive less than that under the plea deal.
Findley, of Kimberling City, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter borrowed $3.8 million from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death in January 2023, prosecutors said when she was charged in August 2024. She then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if Presley’s family didn’t pay a $2.85 million settlement, according to authorities.
Findley posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents, and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May 2024, prosecutors said. A judge stopped the sale after Presley’s granddaughter sued.
Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most storied pieces of real estate in the country using names, emails and documents that were quickly suspected to be phony.
In May, a public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre (5-hectare) estate said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Riley Keough, Presley’s granddaughter and an actor, inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley.
The judge halted the foreclosure sale of the beloved Memphis tourist attraction, saying Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.
After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said. An email sent May 25 to the AP from the same email as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the U.S. and uses the internet to steal money.
In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called the scheme “nonsense” and praised the work of federal authorities.
“Graceland matters so much to so many people around the world – just go to Memphis during Elvis Week and listen to all the different accents and languages of fans who make the pilgrimage,” Skrmetti said. “All of Tennessee is glad that Graceland remains safely in the possession of Elvis’s heir and that it will remain a celebrated Memphis landmark for generations to come.”
Elvis' Black Mamba Ferrari Dino On Display
Graceland announced that Elvis Presley’s 1975 Ferrari Dino 308GT4 Coupe makes its way from Graceland in Memphis to Charlotte Motor Speedway, April 3-5. The sleek, black-on-black, Italian-made masterpiece nicknamed “Black Mamba” will be on display all weekend, giving fans an up-close look at one of the king’s prized rides.
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Unlike most of his personal collection – which Presley bought new – he made an exception for this Ferrari, which he purchased for US$21,000 in October 1976, simply because he loved the way it handled on the road.
The story of Presley’s Ferrari Dino is almost as iconic as the singer himself. After being named an honorary captain of the Memphis Police Department in 1976, he equipped the Ferrari with dashboard police lights. Staying true to his larger-than-life persona, instead of pulling people over to issue tickets, he was known to tell them to slow down and leave them with an autograph as opposed to a fine.
This marks the first major update since the popular exhibit opened in 2022. To complement the new additions, the existing jumpsuits in the exhibit were also rotated to give visitors a fresh perspective.
Located within the Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum, the exhibit features a stunning 21-foot floor-to-ceiling display of Elvis' iconic stage costumes, offering visitors an unprecedented view of his legendary jumpsuits.
Some of the highlights include:
- White & Black Cossack Suits from Elvis’ first Las Vegas engagement at the International Hotel in 1969.
- Rope Collar Suit featured on the cover of Elvis’ On Stage album.
- Blue Brocade Suit worn in Las Vegas in February 1970.
- Webbed Fringe Suit worn only once at the Forum in Los Angeles on November 14, 1970.
- Black Butterfly Suit from early 1972 which Elvis famously wore during a spontaneous photo session in his hotel suite.
- Additional jumpsuits include Amber Stone Suit, Pontiac Suit, Arabian Suit, Black Conquistador Suit, Dragon Suit, Embordered Flame Suit, Green & Red Dude Suits, and Orange Target Suit.
The jumpsuits that are being rotated out of the display are returning to the Graceland Archives for some rest and preservation until they make their next debut.
“These jumpsuits are not just costumes or pieces of stage wear, they are pieces of art,” said Angie Marchese, Vice President of Graceland Archives and Exhibits. “They made Elvis' already-powerful stage performances even more memorable - defining what true rock style was.”
In addition to jumpsuits, the exhibit also features Elvis’ beautifully detailed capes, his numerous belts, two-piece suits, studded boots, jewelry, and more. Some iconic highlights include:
- Aloha from Hawaii jumpsuit and show cape, worn for the first-ever satellite concert
- Aztec Sun jumpsuit, the last jumpsuit Elvis wore on stage
- Original Drawings by Bill Belew, designer of Elvis’ stage wear and personal wardrobe from 1968-1977
- The Elvis: Dressed to Rock is just one of the many new and refreshed exhibits happening at Graceland in 2025.
In January, Graceland opened the 90 for 90 Exhibit that features 90 curated stories told through items specially selected from the over 1.5 million artifacts housed at the Graceland Archives. Throughout 2025, Graceland will also welcome the opening of:
- Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii Experience featuring captivating visuals, sounds, and artifacts from Elvis' iconic 1973 performance.
- Graceland in Red in August, will recreate Elvis' 1974 Living Room transformation with its original red French Provencal decor and furniture.
- The Colonel exhibit, delving into the life of Elvis's manager, opens in August.
- In addition, Graceland’s newly renovated Elvis in Hollywood section at the Elvis: the Entertainer Career Museum, which already offers photo op vignettes from Elvis’ movie career – including a New Orleans “King Creole” set, Jailhouse Rock prison setting, and western saloon, will introduce more movie set photo ops in 2025, including a beach, a carnival, and a garage.
(Source: FECC / IMDB / Annett Wolf/ Mansion Global / AP / Graceland)