Interview: The Memphis Mafia's Jerry Schilling Talks About His Relationship With Elvis Presley

In 1972, Elvis Presley packed up the Memphis Mafia and set out on a groundbreaking mission. With the help of innovative producers Robert Abel and Pierre Adidge, and young film pioneers like Martin Scorcese, he was going to finally make the first real Elvis Presley movie. The plan? To perform in 15 cities in 15 days, not small concerts but giant, sold-out arena shows, and with multi-cam film crews in tow.

Elvis Presley, The King, planned to introduce the world to a man they had never met before: himself. He asked Jerry Schilling to join him on the production. The two had met when Schilling was 12 and Elvis was 19. Their friendship had grown over the years with Schilling becoming a member of the Memphis Mafia, and well known in his own right as a producer, personal manager, actor and tour manager. He was a man whom Elvis respected, and whose advice he trusted implicitly.

Jerry Schilling worked on the production, and post-production editing, of Elvis on Tour, due for remastered release from Warner Bros on August 3rd, 2010. He helped to create, with the implementation of multi-screen, multi-cam and montage technology, a film that would reveal Elvis as never before. Elvis on Tour would go on to win the Golden Globe. Unbeknownst to both men at the time, it would also be Elvis Presley's final film.

I talked to Jerry Schilling about the film, his life as a member of the Memphis Mafia, and his relationship with Elvis. The news of Elvis's death had a devastating impact on him. "I just felt a tremendous loss. Felt insecure. He had been there, in my life, since I was 12 years old."

Article Author: A Geek Girl

I'm a Technorati writer and a music/book geek. I created Interviews From The Edge because I'm passionate about the creative process of all artists. I get crushes on dead people. I have a passion for fashion and a shoe / boot fetish. …

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