In a new interview, the actress, who dated the King of Rock and Roll after his split from Pricilla Presley, likens caring for him to 'looking after a newborn baby.'
- Oct 26, 2022
AceShowbiz - Linda Thompson has something to clear up. The actress, who dated Elvis Presley after his split from his wife Priscilla Presley, has claimed that the Baz Luhrmann-directed movie "Elvis" underplayed the role that she played in his life.
In a new interview, Linda opened up that she saved Elvis' life "about ten to 12 times." She shared, "Every time Elvis was hospitalized, I'd share his room. The film showed his ex-wife, Priscilla, at his bedside. She never even visited him, let alone stayed. Those last years, I saved his life about ten to 12 times."
Linda ultimately chose to end their romance after growing tired of Elvis' unhealthy lifestyle and his infidelities. The actress actually likened caring for him to "looking after a newborn baby."
She told the Daily Mail newspaper, "I struggled to accept the other women as I was faithful, but I was so addicted to loving him that I lost myself and what I wanted while he was addicted to drugs. they were his true mistress. I was exhausted caring for him, it was like looking after a newborn baby. I was scared he would die on my watch. When I asked him to reduce his medication, he'd say, 'Don't worry about me, honey, I'm going to live till I'm 85.' "
Elvis died in August 1977, aged 42, after years of prescription drug abuse and unhealthy eating. And Linda admits that his health issues took a toll on his appearance. She said, "For his 1973 'Aloha From Hawaii' concert, Elvis trained and lost weight. He looked like a 6ft 1in Greek god. He'd say, 'I'm one good-looking SOB.' In some ways he was a freak of nature, his looks, build, voice, talents, he had it all. But like Greek gods, he was flawed."
