VERNON Presley was the father of Elvis Presley, The King of Rock n Roll.

He stood by Elvis every step of the way, right up until the King’s untimely death.

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Who was Vernon Presley?

Vernon Presley was born on April 10, 1916, in Fulton, Mississippi.

He met and married Elvis’s mother Gladys Smith when he was just 17 years of age.

As Gladys was four years older than him, and he was underage at the time, the pair had to lie about their age in order to get married in 1993.

According to the book Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, Vernon worked various small jobs trying to make ends meet.

Elvis and his father Vernon Presley


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Elvis and his father Vernon PresleyCredit: Getty
In 1938, he served eight months in prison after altering a cheque.

Things took an uphill when Elvis began finding success, Vernon started working alongside him as his mentor and guide.

Vernon was known to have managed Elvis’ affairs from Graceland, where their family lived from when Elvis was 21.

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He was married to Elvis’s mother Gladys until her death in 1958, aged 46.

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Just two years later, he married his second wife, Dee, and they moved into a home on the Graceland estate.

How did Vernon die?

Vernon died when he was just 63 years old due to a heart attack in June 1979.

This was just two years after his son had passed away.

After Elvis’s death, Vernon was named executor of his estate, but after his passing, the inheritance went to Lisa Marie Presley, his daughter.

However, she was only able to collect the money when she reached the age of 25.

What did Vernon say about Elvis?

Elvis shared a special bond with his father, he always referred to him as, “daddy”, and his dad often referred to Elvis to everyone as “the boy”.

Vernon was always encouraging and supportive of his son’s career and spoke of how Elvis had always stood out from everyone else: “Well, in some ways and some of the clothes he wore was different.

“The way he wore his hair was quite different to what there was back then, you know.

“And he was criticised quite often about it and it really didn’t bother him and he didn’t change it and he went on (keeping it) like it was anyway.”

In a 1945 interview, Vernon described Elvis as a special gift, he said: “When Elvis was about ten years old, the reason was revealed very clearly to me in a way that I can’t explain.

“l can only say that God spoke to my heart and told me that Elvis was the only child we’d ever have and the only child we’d ever need.

“Elvis was a special gift who would fill our lives completely.”