eo 18 — Friday, August 20, 1999 ~ North Shore News Talki Robert Aiken Contributing Writer DOTTY Harmony was her name, and we were, during the very early sixties, studying acting with Sanford Meisner at 20th Century Fox. She was my favourite girlfriend; sweet, perky, fun-loving — a combination of today’s Goldie Hawn and Meg Ryan. Dotty had been a peppy Las Vegas showgirl and one of Elvis Presley’s former flames, although she never talked much about thar. One day, at lunch in the commissary, she said “Let’s ga see Elvis!” He was on the lot, about to shoot something called Flaming Star. “But,” I said, “he’s so heavily guarded and surrounded by his entourage...” “No problem,” she inststed. I'd seen Presley in Lave Me Tender, which had been shot right there on the back Jot (where Century City is today), and MGM’s Jailhouse Rock and was bemoaning the extent to which Hollywood producers were toning him ~ down. His dressing room was more like a special, super private studio apartment. He was sur- rounded by a group of old pals trom Memphis. _I was introduced as “Ford Dunhill.” He said he like the Hollywood name. As Elvis and Dotty.reminisced, I noticed he was very shy and fidgety — lots of excess ner- vous energy. At one point, he glanced at me, rose abruptly, disappeared, then returned momentarily with heavy eve make-up on. : He spoke of some “silly scene” he was * preparing to shoot that afternoon. He winced, “Next, they*lt have me playing my guitar and ‘cnet while droppin’ out of the sky in a para- “chute.” ~ He Jaughed, The good ole boys laughed. When Elvis was serious, they suddenly became serious. Whatever his mood (and it shifted rapidly), they would ape it. | made some remark about “The Colonel... how great a salesinan... “Yeah,” he drawled, “He's crazy...” shaking his head and smiling crookedly, “But he’s smart!” Tt was several years before | would encounter Elvis again. 1 had landed a role in MGAGS View Las Vegas. My agents were urging me to date Ann Margret, the picture's co-star, even though the director, George Sidney, was madiv in love with her, and she was having a fairly public affair with Elvis. I did not play along with my manipulators very well. No blame. They were more interest- ed in my “career” than FE was. I was a professional astrologer by then, and was doing work for both the director and, fur- ther behind the scenes, Elvis. We had fun on the set. He had a great sense of humour about himself. His trademark side- burns had been “castrated” for the picture. George wanted hins clean cut. . One afternoon, berween shots, I presented Elvis with what I thought was a brilliant idea; that he should record Dem Bones. I started singing the old gospel song (ever so quietly)... “Dem bones, dem bones, dem...dry bones... Knee bone connected to the. thigh bone. Thigh bone connected to the...hip bone, etc. Pause. Dead silence. No response. Was it my singing? This would be a natural for Elvis Presley... he loved gospel music... he would do the greatest rendition, ever... really bring it to life. But, he didn’t see it. Elvis invited me to Graceland. He seemed to want to talk more about cosmic, natural laws, principles. He was far more spiritually oriented than the public ever knew, and, he desperately missed his beloved mother. Perhaps, away from the spotlight, he might have given Dem Bones a shot. PU never know. I didn’t go. — Robert Aiken, a former actor-screenwriter, isan internationally-known professional astrologer and therapeutic counsellor (926-4961). iS On Set Photo Wiltlam Morrow & Co. / The Merlin Group . ‘ ELVIS Presley changes the record player at home in Goethestrasse shortly after his arrival in Germany in the fall of 1958. The American teen idol was assigned to Company D, 1st medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor, Third Army Division. — Private Presley (The Missing Years: Elvis in Germany), published in 1993 by Witliam Morrow and Co., tells the story of his time in the army. ~ Launching a hip new CD-ROM Brady Fotheringham ' Contributing Writer “ THINK of a CD ver- sion of. Roliing Stone magaziné with multime- “ dia live music perfor- ~ mances and reviews and _— “you've got Launch, the. newest interactive CD-. “ROM disc that will ‘keep you captivated in : front of your computer. Live performances from bands like the Beastie Boys, _ ‘Wyclef Jean, Goo Goo Dolls, ‘Barenaked Ladies and the “Jovely Natalie Imbruglia are included. with each bi- “monthly compact disc avail- ~ able by subscription from -. “Many artists make special arrangements with Launch to be viewed live before being seen elsewhere on television, video or the Internet. 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