Behind the glittering lights of Las Vegas, Ginger Alden’s memoir Elvis and Ginger reveals a deeply vulnerable, surreal, and at times bizarre side of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll during what would be his final months. Chapter 10 pulls back the curtain on a turbulent week marked by medical scares, uncanny mysticism, and rigid, inexplicable control.
The chaos kicked off on December 8th when Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley, collapsed backstage and was rushed to the emergency room with fluid in his lungs. For Ginger, seeing the man who “thought he could do anything” completely broken down—sitting in an empty wheelchair with tears in his eyes—was a sobering glimpse into the King’s hidden fragility. While they prayed anxiously in the hospital hallway, a quiet moment of bonding cemented Ginger’s role not just as a girlfriend, but as Elvis’s emotional anchor, earning the deep gratitude of entourage member Ricky Stanley, who pulled her aside to whisper, “Thank you for being here, Ginger.”
Yet, one of the most unnerving and mystical events unfolded right after they returned to the hotel. Suffering from an unsettled stomach, Ginger retreated to the bathroom in secret to practice self-healing on the carpeted floor so she wouldn’t worry him. When she walked back out, Elvis looked up from his book and casually asked, “Why were you lying on the floor?” Delivering a satisfied, knowing wink, he offered no explanation—leaving Ginger completely shaken and questioning whether Elvis truly possessed the supernatural “second sense” he so often claimed.
Equally bizarre were the controlling family dynamics during her family’s visit. Elvis flew Ginger’s entire family out to Vegas on his private jet, only to play a game of psychological chess with the showroom seating. Instead of letting Ginger sit with her own parents, he ordered her to sit with Vernon and Sandy. Matters escalated into supreme awkwardness when Priscilla Presley’s parents, the Beaulieus, attended a later show. Elvis forced Ginger to sit with the Beaulieus instead of the Aldens, keeping the families entirely segregated and baffling Ginger, who admitted she often couldn’t decode his erratic methods.
Tensions also flared behind closed doors when Elvis’s massive ego clashed with Hollywood royalty. Explaining why he flatly rejected Barbra Streisand’s offer to co-star in the blockbuster remake of A Star Is Born, Elvis revealed a savage dealbreaker: not only couldn’t he fathom a main character choosing suicide, but the film’s producer, Jon Peters, had yawned during their pitch meeting. Elvis coldly dismissed him, remarking, “Man, I just couldn’t see him directing it.” That low tolerance for boredom resurfaced later when an exhausted Elvis caught Ginger’s sister’s boyfriend yawning during a family suite tour, snapping, “Am I boring you, son?”
By the time Vegas wrapped up on December 12th—marking Elvis’s final live performance in the city—Ginger realized her reality had fundamentally transformed. In just a few short weeks, the King had morphed from a global icon into her mentor, protector, and lover, whispering of marriage and pulling her completely into his intoxicating, eccentric orbit forever.