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We are smack in the middle of Elvis Week in Memphis -- not only a great time to enjoy the icon's musical legacy, but also to appreciate him for being a first-class eccentric.

If Elvis had been around during our era of 24-7, all-access celebrity reporting, accounts of his love life, pill-popping, extreme dietary habits and explosive relationship with guns and appliances would have made Pete and Jordon seem woefully underexposed.

Since Elvis died 32 years ago, however, many of the best rumours and innuendo concerning the legend haven't received the attention they deserve.

After the jump, we list five of our favourite tales about the once and forever King.


Elvis had a molester of a monkey
Michael Jackson wasn't the first pop superstar to pal around with a pet chimp. Elvis had Scatter, a 3-foot-tall simian terror who had been trained to drink whiskey and lift up girls' skirts -- which Elvis was especially fond of encouraging. Once, he even let the ape into the room where a member of the Memphis Mafia was getting carnal benefits from a groupie. Allegedly, Scatter jumped right in, eliciting screams and fury from the human participants, and laughter from The King.

Elvis was an erratic boss
Elvis was an erratic boss who would often lose his temper and fire members of his inner circle, only to change his mind hours later. One time, after being unceremoniously axed, Elvis's cousin Billy Smith left to catch a plane home. But Elvis had decided he wanted him back, so he relayed a message to the airport that Smith had stolen something from him, and security had Smith arrested. This allowed Elvis the time to send his guys to pick his cousin up and bring him back to his employ. Needless to say, Smith was furious about the whole ordeal.

When Robert Goulet appeared on a TV, Elvis would shoot it
We have definitive proof that Elvis did shoot at least one television -- a 25-inch RCA he put a bullet in as Robert Goulet performed, and which is now on display at Graceland. Marty Lacker, one of Elvis's oldest friends and confidants, has confirmed Goulet's involvement was no coincidence and that Elvis had it in for the crooner ever since Goulet implied he slept with one of Presley's girlfriends. Thus, Elvis would cruelly execute any television which dared broadcast Goulet's smug mug.

Elvis let nothing get in the way of his gluttony
One evening, Elvis had a hankering for a Fool's Gold Loaf, a stupidly enormous sandwich made up of a hollowed-out bread loaf stuffed full of peanut butter, jelly and a pound of bacon. Since this monstrosity was only available in Denver, Elvis could only fulfill his craving by having his private jet fly him straight from Memphis to Colorado, where he and his buddies were met with 22 Fool's Gold Loafs and a case of Dom Perignon. The group chowed down in the hanger and then flew right back home.

Elvis May Have Shared a Lover With James Dean. A Male Lover
Although James Dean, whom Elvis greatly admired, died before Presley made it out to Hollywood, Elvis was able to forge an intense friendship with Nick Adams, an actor best known for having been Dean's close pal. While there is a great deal of evidence suggesting both James Dean and Nick Adams were bisexual, any implication Elvis went both ways is highly speculative. But it's been whispered throughout entertainment circles ever since Presley and Adams struck up their relationship in the '50s.


Heard any other crazy stories about Elvis? Let us know in the comments.