Jerry Schilling answered this question in his interview in the September 2007 issue of Record Collector magazine. Jerry said:
The actor Jack Lord [star of Hawaii 5-0] comes to mind. We'd finish the first show in Vegas and Elvis would say, "Would you take Mr & Mrs Lord up to the suite? I'm gonna have dinner with them."
He always spoke softly, because they were real classy people. He really had a reverence around Jack Lord. It was amazing.
The only other people that I saw Elvis have that kind of respect for were Priscilla's mother and father. They're wonderful people.
Source: Record Collector magazineJack Lord�s Special Memory of Elvis
By Marcia Borie
Elvis Presley had the ability to touch others�
lives as few human beings ever could. Just as
people were magnetically drawn to him, so too,
he had an almost fan-like devotion to those he
admired. Among that group was Hawaii 5-0�s Jack
Lord and his wife, Marie. Theirs was a
relatively brief but extremely intense
friendship so illustrative of the rapid
magnet-like attraction Elvis had for those
comparatively few people he ever really got
close to once fame had crowded in on him.
A few hours after the shocking news of Presley�s
death, I called Honolulu. I had known for
several years of the personal relationship which
existed between the Lords and Elvis. They had
never wanted to talk about I publicly, but now,
I thought they might want to share their
knowledge of Elvis with those of us who care.
Mare answered the phone. Cautiously, I asked her
if she�d heard of the latest news. There was a
pause; then she said, "You mean about Elvis?" I
could hear the shock in her voice; she went on,
"Yes, we heard. It�s so ironic because Jack was
just sitting here writing Elvis a letter and
getting ready to mail him a package when his
secretary came in and told us the news. He was
so stunned. So am I. It just doesn�t seem
possible." Her voice faded, her words seemed to
hang in the air.
I told her of this special memorial issue to
Elvis, and she and Jack readily agreed to allow
me to include something that I�d know about for
several years but had never written before.
Early in January, 1973, Elvis Presley was due in
Hawaii. There, on the 14th, a little past
midnight, he was to appear live at the Honolulu
International Centre in a concert that would
simultaneously be beamed by satellite all around
the world live except for the United States.
Shortly before the day of the concert arrived.
Co. Parker had personally come to the
condominium where the Lords live. By way of the
manager, he had left a message inviting them to
be Presley�s guests at the concert.
The following day Elvis� road manager had called
the Lords to re-emphasize how much it would mean
to Elvis if they could come. As Jack had told me
several years ago, "Ordinarily, Marie and I live
like monks during the time I�m shooting. Both of
us are up by five in the morning, so we never go
out late during the week. But the invitation was
so gracious that Marie and I just couldn�t turn
it down."
The Lords went to the concert and were seated in
the special section along with the rest of the
Presley party. Midway in the show, after Elvis
had introduced everyone of the members of the
band and vocal group, he said, "My favourite
actor in the world is sitting in the audience
and I want to introduce him."
Then he called Jack by name. The Lords,
celebrities that they are, told me that as if
they had been floored by the introduction and
that it had been an almost unbelievable tribute
from one artist to another. So Jack stood up and
taken his bows, live for all the world -�except
the U.S. � to see. Afterwards, they had gone
backstage and met Elvis up close for the very
first time. But as Jack would later say, "The
moment we met and shook hands it was as if we
had known each other all our lives."
Elvis then told Jack and Marie that he�d love to
see them before he left Hawaii and asked if they
could have dinner together. Marie, at the time,
had said, "Well, I�m sure you don�t go out to
restaurants." Elvis had smiled back and said,
"Well, no, but I could come to your house."
The next days were busy ones for Jack on the
set. Quite frankly, he and Marie had almost
forgotten about seeing Elvis again � perhaps
subconsciously thinking that with Presley�s
schedule and Jack�s, a second meeting would
never come off anyway.
Still, one evening a few days later, according
to Marie: "I was in the kitchen fixing us an
early dinner. The phone rang. Jack answered and
then came in and told me it had been Elvis. It
was his last night in Hawaii, and he�d said that
most of his group had already gone back to the
States but he asked if he could come over and
say good-bye to us. They had arranged it for
eight o�clock."
Promptly at eight o�clock, the doorbell rang.
Marie called out over the intercom and asked who
it was, and a voice answered, "Elvis." Marie
opened the door and he was standing there � "a
slim Adonis, looking gorgeous in a white suit
with a white silk shirt that had a ruffled
collar and cuffs." He kissed her as he came in �
bringing seven members of his party!
As soon as Elvis sat down, Marie offered them
drinks. Then, much to her horror, she discovered
that none of the Presley group touched hard
liquor! It was ironic because neither she nor
Jack drink except on rare occasions. So,
fortunately, their icebox was also full of diet
sodas. A few of the guys did have beer, Marie
said, but the six-pack was gone in a minute, so
all of them sat there sipping soda drinks � and
Marie could have dies. But Elvis didn�t seem to
mind; he just seemed happy being there.
After about 15 minutes, he said to Jack, with a
kid-type smile on his face: "I brought you a
present, Jack. I tried to think of something to
bring you that you don�t have. The only think I
could think of was this." Inside the box he
presented to Jack was a solid gold Walther
revolver. Elvis explained that he had ordered a
matched set from Germany a year before but that
they had just arrived. "But I don�t need two
guns, so I want you to have this one," he said
to Jack, "plus six bullets � just in case you
ever need them!"
Jack and Marie were speechless. The golden gun
was a pure work of art. While Jack was still
recovering from Presley�s generosity, Elvis had
turned and said, "And I haven�t forgotten you
either, Marie." He then handed her a tiny jewel
box and watched eagerly as she opened it. There,
sitting on a mount of velvet, was a gorgeous
ring. Elvis took it out of the box and slipped
it on her finger. As a former fashion designer,
Marie knew only too well what the status of the
gem was, but Elvis, like an eager kid, told her,
"Those are emeralds and diamonds." She was
absolutely floored.
Half an hour later Elvis asked if he could see
the rest of their home, and Jack took him on the
grand tour.
"over the years, Jack and I had a collection of
rare musical instruments from all over the
world," Marie had told me. "When we first moved
to Hawaii, we had given most of them to the UCLA
Music Department. Jack had only kept a few,
which he considered real treasures. One was a
rare six-string banjo which had been tuned to
play like a guitar. The moment Elvis saw it he
sat on Jack's bed strumming it. Marie was in the
living room when Elvis suddenly ran in shouting,
"Marie, Marie, Jack gave me a six-string banjo!"
His eyes were wide again like a kid, and he just
couldn�t get over it � as though he, himself,
wasn�t the world�s most generous person and as
though he hadn�t just given Jack the golden gun
and Marie the emerald and diamond ring.
Before Elvis left that night, shortly before
midnight, he asked Jack and Marie to please be
sure to come and see him in Las Vegas whenever
they could or to come to his home and stay there
anytime as his guest.
One month later and a short break from the
Hawaii 5-0 series, Jack and Mare were headed for
San Francisco and Los Angeles and, by
coincidence, they learned that Elvis was just
about to open in Las Vegas. So, they called
Colonel Parker and told him they would like to
come.
The day they arrived in Las Vegas was one that
neither the Lords will ever forget. As they
walked off the plane, there, standing at the
foot of the ramp, was a tall Hawaiian man
holding garlands of fresh flower leis. Colonel
Parker had called him, and he was flown in
especially from Hawaii with the flower, just to
be at the airport to greet the Lords. Then, when
they arrived at their hotel and walked into
their suite, Marie remembers that they could
hardly moved around for all the flower baskets
that surround them. It was an unforgettable
moment.
That night the Lords sat at Elvis� table and the
lights went down and Presley came on stage. The
curtains opened and there, on stage centre, was
the six-sting banjo that Jack had given Elvis,
on display, a spotlight beaming down on it.
Then, as he had done at the concert, half way
through the show, Elvis introduced his group.
"I was in Hawaii recently and this great star
and his wife took me into their home," he said
the. Marie commented later: "He said it like he
was some poor little orphan we had adopted. Then
he called out Jack�s name, and Jack stood up.
The applause was tremendous. Elvis grinned and
said, �Sit down, Jack, you�re getting more
applause than I am.� Everyone laughed."
After the show, The Lords went backstage with
Elvis and then up to his suite where he had his
own chef prepare a low-calorie dinner which he
always ate between show. During the meal he
looked at them sort of wistfully and asked if
they would come and see his midnight show.
The Lords corresponded often with Elvis
The Lords, still on their TV series schedule,
were early-to-bed people, but for Elvis they
couldn�t resist. After the late show, they again
met with Presley, and he coaxed them to stay on
the following day and come to see his show again
that night. The Lords would end up staying three
extra days and seeing the Presley show six
times! They never left Elvis or their hotel. It
was as though neither could get enough of the
other, and for hours on end Jack and Elvis had
talked like old boyhood chums.
On the last evening, Jack and Marie were in
Elvis�s dressing room when they had previously
seen Presley�s fantastic array of handmade
costumes on one wall and, lining the other,
hangers full of custom-made jewelled belts like
the hi-huggers that Elvis wore over each of his
jumpsuits.
One of those they had seen had been a special
belt that did not match any outfit. Elvis had
explained that this costume designer had spent
years making this particular one, though it
didn�t go with any of his outfits, but he always
carried it with him because he loved it so. "It
was an unbelievable thing," Marie said, "all
embroidered with coral and jade and turquoise
and amethyst."
Anyway, on their last night when the Lords
walked into Presley�s dressing room, Elvis stood
up and in his hand he had the special belt which
he now held out to Marie. She began to protest,
but Elvis cut her short. He explained that he
couldn�t wear it because it scratched him, and
he even showed where there was a gash on his
hand.
But the Lords knew that Presley was just saying
that as Marie had personally seen a girl at the
last show grab for Elvis� hand and then bite it
in her enthusiastic joy at being so close to her
idol. But Elvis wouldn�t take no for an answer.
Marie now has that very special Elvis Presley
jewelled hi-hugger framed on black velvet and it
hangs in a special place of honour in the Lord�s
home.
There were subsequent meetings and exchange of
correspondence between the Lords and Elvis.
There were phone conversations and yet, when you
totalled it all up, they really only knew Elvis
for such a brief few years. In fact, once he
said rather longingly, "Gee, Jack, I wish I�d
met you many years ago."
No he�s gone. Elvis Presley that rare, talented,
beautiful generous and yet lonely man. Lonely as
only a few people are who ever reach such
dizzying heights. A prisoner of fame and fortune
and of a self-made legend surrounding him, but
for those brief few years � especially during
those times when Elvis, Jack and Marie Lord were
together � when they were able to share the
special area reserved for the famous. Inside it,
together, none of them were lonely.
There will never be another Elvis Presley, and
Jack and Marie Lord feel his loss so deeply.
They will never forget their special friend �and
neither will any of us.
Elvis
acknowledged Jack Lord's presence in the
audience during the 1973 "Aloha From Hawaii"
broadcast. You can hear this on the new
BMG CD release.
� Copyright by Elvis Australia
Posted: 7th. December 2007