Memphis Mafioso Richard Davis was struck by love at Elvis Week
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Memphis Mafia alum Richard “Broom” Davis [1939–2004] started working officially for Elvis Presley on the Seattle location shoot of It Happened at the World’s Fair on September 5, 1962, and remained on the payroll until the rock icon’s father Vernon coldly dismissed him in a cost-cutting move on November 15, 1970 [Elvis was playing the San Diego Sports Arena and had two subsequent shows to fulfill on his brief eight-city West Coast tour]. Davis juggled multiple job responsibilities — wardrobe manager, gofer, bodyguard, stuntman, stand-in — and remained on good terms with Elvis, even receiving a brand new 1975 white Cadillac convertible. Landing promotion gigs with Stax and Warner Bros. Records, Davis was managing rockin’ 50s deejay and fellow Mafia pal George Klein when his unlucky love streak permanently vanished. In spite of their age difference, Kim Hughes “made him a better man than he ever thought that he could be” and exclusively chronicles their serendipitous meeting for the first time.
The Kim Davis Ward Interview
When did you become an Elvis Presley fan?
I was six years old when Elvis passed away in 1977. I was playing with Play-Doh, and my mom came…
