6 Facts About Elvis Left Out Of Netflix’s The Searcher

The two-part documentary The Searcher gave audiences an up-and-close look at the life of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock n’ Roll. The HBO production provided the context behind several aspects of his personal and professional life ranging from his childhood music passion to his military and acting career. Currently streaming on Netflix, his personal issues and self-destructive tendencies are also touched upon in great detail in the documentary.

At the same time, Elvis Presley’s larger-than-life persona is so massive that it is difficult to accommodate every aspect of his life in two documentary films. Despite its in-depth research, The Searcher does miss out on some key elements of his journey.

Content Warning: Mentions of grooming, and death.

6 The History Of Graceland

No story on Elvis Presley is complete without the mention of Graceland, the 13.8-acre mansion in Memphis, Tennesse, where the singer once lived. While the music documentary covered the basic details of Elvis acquiring the property, it could not include the history of the mansion.

Contrary to popular belief, Graceland was not named by Elvis. Instead, the name was derived from its original owner’s family. The mansion was once known as Graceland Farms and was owned by Stephen C Toof, a giant in the commercial printing business. Toof named the region Graceland in honor of his daughter Grace. There are other details around Presley’s tenure at Graceland that could not get included in the film. A case in point would be how his grandmother also moved into the place. She, along with Presley’s parents was also buried within the premises of Graceland.

5 Concert Footage From Latter Years

The film doesn’t include much of Elvis’s later concerts. It was during these years that he was developing a concerning drug habit and this became evident from his equally concerning physical appearance. Before he died at the age of 42, he went through a series of disastrous concerts that the documentary’s archival footage could not include.

The self-destructive phase between 1973 and 1977 can be best described in the words of Tony Scherman. “Presley had become a grotesque caricature of his sleek, energetic former self. Grossly overweight, his mind dulled by the pharmacopeia he daily ingested, he was barely able to pull himself through his abbreviated concerts.” Similarly, Peter Guralnick noted in his book Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley that fans began to grow disappointed with him but he continued to confine himself to his room and spirituality books.

4 Elvis’s Lover When He Was In The Army

During Elvis Presley’s military tour in Germany, he met the 19-year-old girl Elisabeth Stefaniak. As reported by Express, the two briefly dated and she also served as a secretary to him and his father. For unspecified reasons, the documentary has no mention of her.

She often answered his fanmail and even learned how to forge his signature. Interestingly, Stefaniak went on to strike a romance with The King’s best friend in the forces, Rex Mansfield. In fact, Mansfield and Stefaniak went on to share five decades of marriage together. Leaving Elvis was probably for good as Stefaniak revealed in the same report on how her ex-boyfriend’s mannerisms did scare her at times. She discussed his anger issues as follows, “I did see a little bit of his temper sometimes. Mostly when he would say some harsh things to you. I mean I never saw him throw things at me but he could say some hurting things.”

3 His Womanizing Habits And Underage Partners

It’s no secret that Elvis Presley did not really have the perfect married life. The Netflix documentary also makes this point obvious. However, it ignores some dark aspects of his romantic life as the artist was obsessed with several women way younger than him, one being merely 14 in age.

According to journalist Alanna Nash in her book Baby, Let’s Play House, Elvis Presley was obsessed with “virgins, beauty queens, tiny brunettes with china doll faces.” She added that in his 30s, he was dating girls as young as 14-15 years old. Whether such claims are true or not, the music documentary on Netflix did not include such aspects of Elvis’s behavior at all.

2 Controlling Behavior Towards Priscilla Presley

Two years after the documentary’s release, Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley released her memoir Elvis and Me in which she opened about some disturbing mannerisms of the singer. According to her, Elvis was a very controlling man and coerced her into not joining any profession after her graduation.

He also decided the kind of nails or haircut she should be having, among other things. In her book, she ends up referring to herself as “Elvis’s doll, his own living doll, to fashion as he pleased.” She also touched upon her divorce saying that she needed to leave him to explore the outside world. To put it in her own words, “I honestly did not have my own life. … So I really kind of lost myself.”

1 The Conspiracy Theories Around His Death

As The Searcher mostly relies on a fact-based approach, it is understandable why it missed out on most of the classic Elvis Presley conspiracy theories. And yet, his sudden death has left such an impact that his fans continue floating all sorts of theories.

A common one is that Elvis faked his own death. “Elvis sightings” are also common, adding to the fact that he’s alive. Time compiled the theories that range from believable to downrightly bizarre. For instance, some claim that Elvis appeared as an extra on the first Home Alone film. Others state that he died because of apparent connections with the Mafia, and so on and so forth. Needless to say, the musician has turned into an urban legend within himself. Some of his followers have even founded their own Elvis Sighting Society in order to find the real Elvis.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
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Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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