Nancy Czar Interview for "Sixties Cinema" Blog: Q. When did you meet Elvis Presley? I met Elvis on January 8, 1961 at a touch football game at a park on Beverly Glen opposite Sunset Blvd. The date is ingrained because my seventeenth birthday was four days prior to this. I went to Hollywood High and would hang out with French movie star Michelle Morgan’s son Michael and Gwen Verdon’s son Jim. I always wanted to meet Ricky Nelson so they invited me down to watch. Not only was Ricky playing on their team but so was his brother David Nelson, Clint Eastwood, Troy Donahue, Robert Conrad and Gary Lockwood—all of the upcoming stars of the day. Their opponents were Elvis and his entourage. Q. How long did your romance with him last? A. I had a whole different relationship with Elvis, who was about eight or nine years older than me, than probably nine tenths of the people who walked into this man’s life. We dated for about a year off and on. I was fascinated with Elvis and his lifestyle was interesting to me as I think it would have been for any teenage girl. I was still growing up when I met Elvis. It matured me very fast. We clashed on a lot of areas because even at my young age I could see the stupidity surrounding him. You are a grown man—are you going to let an eighteen year old girl tell you what to do? I don’t think so—definitely not Elvis.
Q. Why did Elvis surround himself with his entourage on all his movie sets? A. The reason was to keep Elvis from getting bored. He needed to do something between takes because he could not sit still. He had to constantly move but looking back that is probably from the uppers and downers he was prescribed. When I did Girl Happy he was into playing football with the crew. By the time I did the next movie Spinout with him a year later, he was into karate.
What is one surprising thing you can reveal about Elvis?
Elvis was so terribly polite all the time but he had a temper that you could not believe. I was with him a few times when he would throw something at the TV and walk out of the room in a huff. On the flip side, Elvis was a generous human being. It is well known that he would buy cars for people but if there was a friend who really needed something Elvis would send the money to help him out no questions asked.
Q. What did you think of Col. Parker? A. I never liked Col. Parker who to me just used Elvis as his meal ticket. A lot of people would say that Elvis did exactly what he wanted to do. Yes, he did probably later on in his life, but when I was around him if Col. Parker said, ‘Jump’ Elvis would say, ‘How high?’ Elvis would defy the Colonel on certain issues, but when it came to bigger decisions he deferred to the Colonel. Elvis hated doing those movies because they were the same old travelogues with different pretty girls. As long as Elvis got $1 million and his 10% of the box office receipts that is all the Colonel gave a damn about. He never read a script.
Q. Do you think Elvis performing in Las Vegas was a good thing for him?
No, it was a death sentence. Early on when you see pictures or film of him there he looked incredible and he was incredible. Even though I knew this man for years and worked with him on two movies, the first time I saw him perform live in concert was at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. My socks were blown off. He was phenomenal. For Elvis to get up to put on a show like that once but sometimes twice a night must have been exhausting. Keeping up that pace coupled with his horrible eating habits took at toll on him. Nobody really monitored him. The Colonel was raking in the money so all he cared about was getting that check every week and a cut of the house to pay his gambling debts.
Q. Is Elvis still in your life today? A. One of the great things about Elvis was that he would always say, ‘When I die I wonder if people will remember me?’ That is a direct quote from him and has to be the understatement of the century. I just sat there and looked at him and said, ‘You have got to be kidding.’ I have been living in Bangladesh and despite of all my accomplishments here I am known more for dating and working with Elvis Presley. Even in this poor rural country, Elvis lives. You don’t know how many people want to meet me just because I knew him. I still can’t get that through my head. When I am introduced to ambassadors of other countries, they say, ‘She was not only our Consult-General, but she was Elvis’ girlfriend.’ It amazes me is the interest Elvis is still generating.
He is still bigger than life and probably the most famous person who ever lived.