Memphis Mafia

Elvis' family knew it.

The Memphis Mafia, Joe Esposito and Sonny West and all the rest, his hangers-on, his entourage, they all knew it.

Elvis never got anywhere near codeine.

And so one of the telltale signs is in the larynx, inflammation would be an indicator of anaphylaxis.

He could not go outside without being mobbed by fans, so he lived almost entirely at night and slept through most of the day.

Elvis surrounded himself with a group of friends who would later be dubbed the Memphis Mafia.

They were companions, errand runners, and drivers.

This little bubble allowed Elvis to be himself without the weight of his public persona.

But this soon began to change.

These people protected Elvis from the world, but they also depended on him for their livelihoods.

And as so often happens, the Memphis Mafia began to shift from a loyal group of friends to a circle of yes-men.

Of course, we cannot talk about Elvis without talking about his lifelong manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

I'm not sure.

But he was part of the Memphis Mafia, the Elvis crew.

And he was in this movie.

And we'll talk about Elvis and his connection to the movie in a couple minutes, too.

He also directed Kid Galahad with Elvis.

And so that's part of probably the connection with Elvis.

Red West, who I mentioned earlier that was in the movie, probably part of it because, uh, the Memphis mafia went with Elvis everywhere all the time.

You know, they went to him on the movie sets and everything.