Elvis Presley and Natalie Wood had been two of the most important and most lovely stars on the earth in 1956.It appeared a match made in Heaven.

Like Priscilla Presley and so many Elvis girlfriends earlier than, throughout and after her, Wood was precisely the type of apparently virginal, candy and often brunette woman who drew The King’s eye.

She was the larger star in Hollywood, with a current Oscar nomination for Rebel Without A Cause, whereas Elvis was about to launch his movie profession in Love Me Tender.

In later years, Elvis would set a sample of pursuing, wooing, typically proposing to, after which all the time discarding his co-stars and different girlfriends.

But he was nonetheless the shy younger boy from Tupelo, Mississippi, on the time and Wood made all of the strikes – and wasn’t thrilled with what she discovered.

Natalie Zacharenko was born 85 years in the past right now, on July 20, 1938. By the age of eight, she already had starring roles in movies like Miracle on thirty fourth Street.

When she met Elvis at 18, he might have been three years older however she was already a seasoned star and glamorous, refined Hollywood main mild.

Wood requested her Rebel Without A Cause co-star Dennis Hopper to introduce them: “I saw his picture in the paper before he got very popular and I liked his eyes. I thought then I just had to go out with him. He’s really great and the most totally real boy I’ve ever met. He’s a real pixie and has a wonderful little boy quality.”

In a gossipy scoop with the San Francisco News she added: “He’s very courteous and polite and so sweet! He’s the nicest boy I know. A wonderful dancer – and he sings all the time to me. All the girls in the country are in love with him – so why should I be any different?”

Elvis already had some methods up his sleeve and purchased out a whole cinema for his or her date, one thing he continued to do for the remainder of his life.

Everything was healthful on the floor. On September 1, Wood commissioned two particular handmade shirts in pink and blue velvet and despatched them to her new beau on the Love Me Tender set.

Things acquired critical on November 1, when Elvis flew house to Memphis after filming the Ed Sullivan TV present in New York and Natalie travelled to fulfill him there and spend time along with his household – one thing none of his future movie star affairs had been to do other than Anita Wood.

The King shared one in all his different nice loves and took her using on his new Harley-Davidson bike and within the night they had been pictured collectively at a glamorous occasion on the Hotel Chisca. One publication ran a shot of the smiling pair saying it “is almost certain to fracture the hearts of countless teenage American girls.”

Both thought it could possibly be the beginning of one thing critical, however one girl stood of their approach.

Natalie’s sister Lana recalled in her guide Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister: “They met, and Elvis flew Natalie to his family in Memphis. They were to be gone almost a week, but just two days into the great adventure, Natalie called. ‘Gladys has wrecked everything,’ Natalie said, referring to Elvis’ domineering, jealous mother. ‘I don’t have a chance. Get me out of this, and fast.’

“It was agreed that Mother would name Natalie again and ask her to return house due to some household emergency. Natalie’s romance with the king of rock fizzled out.

“‘God, it was awful,’ she told me later. “He can sing, however he can’t do a lot else.’

A special facet of the image was painted by Ray Connolly, writer of Being Elvis: A Lonely Life: “Natalie wore a very flimsy nightgown around the house. Gladys was like, ‘Not in my house!'”

Lana additionally remembered Natalie describing how Elvis, who had a notoriously shut relationship with Gladys, would sit on his mom’s lap: “They were very affectionate, and it bothered Natalie. She called and asked our mom to make up a story about why she had to come home.”

Gladys was additionally pressuring Elvis to drop Natalie, believing she was a “gold-digger.”

It was throughout, and the subsequent time Natalie was requested by the press if issues had been critical with Elvis, she merely mentioned: “Not right now.”