Friend remembers the day Elvis died
The most asked question Joe Esposito hears as he traveled the world on speaking gigs about his best friend Elvis Presley?
"They ask me, 'What was he really like?' "
His answer:
"Nicest guy in the world. He had an aura about him that you just couldn't help but like the man. That's why he's so big today," said Esposito, Elvis' best man at his wedding.
On the 34th anniversary of Elvis' death, Esposito was selling his book, "Elvis Intimate & Rare," on Tuesday near the entrance of "Viva Elvis" at Aria. His wife, Martha, has cancer expenses mounting at the rate of $10,000 a month.
About 2:15 p.m. on Aug. 16, 1977, Esposito was downstairs at Graceland, preparing for the trip to Portland, Maine, Elvis' next appearance.
A telephone rang. Elvis' fiance, Ginger Alden, was calling, seeing if "any of the guys" were down there.
That's how the nightmare began for Esposito and Elvis' Memphis Mafia.
It sounded like Elvis had fainted.
Esposito raced upstairs and found Elvis on the bathroom floor, cold to the touch and his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"I knew he was dead," Esposito said.
When Esposito looked up, he was horrified to see Lisa Marie, 9, watching.
Esposito had Alden take Elvis' daughter to another room. An ambulance was on the way.
Less than an hour later, Elvis was officially pronounced dead.
Elvis fans aren't the only ones who want to know more about the singing legend, whose career had been revived in Las Vegas eight years earlier at The International, now the Hilton.
Over the years, Lisa Marie has asked Esposito questions similar to the fan queries he hears at every stop. But, no, he said, they've never talked about the day Elvis died.
"I told her what a wonderful human being he was," said Esposito, who has lived in Las Vegas the past five years. He worked at the Wynn as a VIP host and a limo chauffeur before retiring in 2009.
He prefers to remember Elvis on his birthday, Jan. 8, not on the anniversary of his death.
"Not a good day," he said.
SIGHTINGS
Grammy-winning Latin crooner Luis Miguel, with on-again, off-again girlfriend Daisy Fuentes, dining at Morels French Steakhouse & Bistro at the Palazzo on Tuesday. A bodyguard stood nearby as he dined and shared a bottle of Bond Pluribus Hills Cabernet 2004. Comedian-actor Gilbert Gottfried, with his wife at Joe's Stone Crab (Forum Shops at Caesars) on Tuesday.
THE PUNCH LINE
"(Republican) Newt Gingrich, who came in eighth place in the Iowa straw poll, said he's 'not dead yet.' Then he was invited on 'Dancing With the Stars,' and he said, 'OK, now I'm dead.' " -- late-night TV host Conan O'Brien
Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
