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While Colonel Parker saw to it with discretionary measures that Elvis did not overextend himself either publicly or socially, Walt Disney contractually forbid Annette to appear in Beach Party movies that would show her naval! Annette, herself, would not wear bikinis in public. Both the Colonel and Disney set strict limitations on their clients which included who they socialized with, who they dated, and what type of films they could appear in. Elvis, however, was not one to directly obey authority and oft times managed to evade the Colonel's rules and regulations.

The closest thing to Elvis and Annette appearing together has been on the covers of movie magazines.

So, did Elvis and Annette ever meet? Did Elvis ever want to date Annette and vice-versa? Actually, Annette was definitely an Elvis admirer and fan(a story about an "almost meeting" appeared in the 35th anniversary edition of "Elvis International," the official magazine of Graceland.) That story was based upon an account of the first newsreporter ever to interview Elvis Presley, May Mann.1 May had attempted to bring Elvis and Annette together...yes; it's true! The story goes that Elvis confided to Mann about marriage to a girl who would have to be as "sweet and beautiful" as his momma, and one who would have to be a true love. Mann immediately thought of her friend, Annette Funicello, twenty years old at the time, single, and very sweet. When Mann mentioned a meeting between the two to Annette, "her big eyes lighted with a real thrill at the thought."2 May then mentioned it to Elvis who contemplated the meeting, and was even impressed by Annette's sweet and innocent charm. However, it was Elvis who eventually declined to meet Annette for, apparently, while he did have marriage on his mind, two other gals were playing tug-o-war with his heart: Ann-Margret in Hollywood, and Priscilla Beaulieu recently graduated and in California on a visit with her parents. Priscilla was already residing at Graceland® the stage already being set for her to inherit the king's castle.

Thus, the meeting that should have taken place between Annette Funicello and Elvis Presley never did happen. One can only imagine how the two may have hit it off.

An interesting tidbit: Annette Funicello was one of the gals slated to star as the lead with Elvis in the 1967 film "Speedway." Annette turned down the offer which then went to her good friend, Nancy Sinatra.

1-source: "The Private Elvis," by May Mann, publ. Pocket Books, 1977, p. 181

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Paul Anka on Elvis

Paul Anka once dated Annette, and, actually, fell in love with her. It didn't work out, however. Annette was America's sweetheart. As Elvis would have said about her: "She is a good girl."

In his autobiography, "My Way," Paul Anka describes how he felt about Elvis. Elvis loved Anka's song My Way and wanted to sing it. Paul was doubtful it was a good fit for Elvis, but, as it turned out, Elvis gave a phenomenal rendition of the song.

"I got to know Elvis pretty extensively when he first started coming to Vegas. He would come over to Caesars Palace, see the show, come over and visit, sit backstage. Through that whole evolution, from when he hit town to when things started going bad for him, and where he started losing control, I would sit with him and just try to tell him, “Man, you’ve got to get it together, you can’t live this twilight half-life. Get a hold of this situation or it’s going to pull you under.” But he couldn’t — would usually only see me in his suite. His social terror was extreme. I’d say, 'Elvis why don’t we just go out to dinner, go for a walk?' 'Oh, no!' He was terrified of that. You’d go over to his hotel — we both worked the Hilton — and he’d have aluminum foil on the windows; he never wanted to see the daylight. He’d go up to Vail, Colo., and I’d be up there with my family skiing — in the daylight. Elvis wouldn’t get up until the sun went down, and only then would he go up on the mountain with the floodlights turned on, to snowmobile. He was that kind of creature. Nice guy, but so locked in that prison of celebrity, of who he was, and his image, the person inside shrivelled up. Sometimes you sat and talked to him and it was as if he were already gone. You couldn’t save him."

At this point in his life, the Las Vegas years, Elvis lived in fear for his life and that of his family. A note found under Lisa Marie's pillow was the last straw for him. The mob was after Elvis due to his involvement in a "sting operation" against them. He also wanted out of his contract, but to no avail. Colonel Parker actually put Elvis more in a dangerous predicament which Elvis soon came to realize. Elvis was sick, he was in pain, Dr. Nick continuously fed him prescription pills when, in fact, he should have let him be. Dr. Nick was eventually charged for over-medicating the star.

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