Presley's Stylist Shares Some Cuts From The Past

In the Deep South, the hairdresser is a healer. That person who places hands on your head is a trusted confidant.

It was true for Lawrence "Larry" Geller and Elvis Presley, two very different celebrities who became friends. Elvis' career is the ultimate public metaphor; Geller's, though less well-known, is also riveting.

Geller started dressing hair early in the 1960s - a watershed time for the profession. In those days, as he notes, "men had no salons. Everybody just went to a barber shop. And they were segregated: all-white or all-black."

Change, for Geller, came by happenstance. Strolling down an upscale Hollywood boulevard, he was mesmerized by a stained-glass window housing an ankh, ancient Egypt's symbol for life. Geller, who had some interest in "spiritual studies," wandered in and met the owner: Jay Sebring.

Sebring was the ultimate "society hairdresser." He is now best known as one of Charles Manson's victims, slain inside the home of actress Sharon Tate. But, at Sebring's acme, Geller was his business partner.

"I was 20 years old," he remembers, "and I mingled with all kinds of stars. Roy Orbison, Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Kirk Douglas. Frank Sinatra! These were my regular clients."

Geller worked up separate styles for each - and he did the same for Hollywood's black stars. "That was a real breakthrough, working for men like Sam Cooke." But on April 30, 1964, things changed.

Geller was trimming the sideburns of singer Johnny Rivers when his wall phone rang. The caller had a special request. Would he drive to a Bel-Air home and style Elvis, then at work on the movie "Roustabout"?

Geller set off right away for the rented mansion, one surrounded by guards and screaming fans. "Elvis said hello and took me straight up to his bathroom. I expected to see some fancy equipment. But he just dunked his head in the bathroom sink. Then he reared up, and sprayed us both with water."

For the next 45 minutes, Geller worked his magic. "Naturally, Elvis' hair was a sandy blond. So I dyed it black and then started styling it. It was baby fine and therefore rather limp."

As Geller worked, Presley began to question him. Geller had been recommended by actor Sal Mineo, who knew Geller, but not very well. What, asked Elvis, was Geller "really into?" Geller: "At the time, that question blew my mind. It embarrassed me, but I told the truth. I said, well, it might sound pretty corny, but I'm into stuff like yoga and meditation."

To his huge surprise, Elvis opened up. "I need to hear this!" he told Geller excitedly. In only moments, Presley was sharing his background - with which, Geller soon learned, he was obsessed.

"I was watching Elvis in the mirror and the tears were just rolling down his cheeks. And I was amazed by what he told me. I had no idea he was so poor! He was born at home, the twin of a brother who died. He told me his mother never got over it; he kept saying she over-compensated. He went into it again and again."

Geller listened for three hours. Finally, he ventured, he should head back to work. Elvis came up with a different plan: "Go back to your shop and say you quit. Tell 'em you are gonna work for me."

That day, Geller joined the Elvis entourage.

The next day he brought the King some books, everything from yoga to nutrition. "In job terms, the Elvis image was paramount. But on a personal level, things were different. A lot of stars, you know, are insecure. Doing hair is almost like being a psychiatrist."

Elvis, he says, was constantly questioning "Elvis." Why was he the one? What could it possibly mean? Was his fame some proof of an unseen hand? Or an arbitrary act of fate?

As he tried to help, Geller learned his client had other problems. "Elvis really was a very genuine person. He was down-to earth and he helped a lot of people. But his personal blind spot was his own body. He ate all the worst foods, at the worst possible times."

On top of this were drugs - a sore point with Geller, who was trying to promote clean living. "He had five doctors, one who traveled with us. They just wanted Elvis under control. Often, I would simply be excluded."

"They" included Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, and a number of close Elvis associates. None, however, cured the King's self-loathing.

Geller: "Elvis just grew more and more miserable. He felt sure he had real acting talent. Even people like Lee Strasberg said so. Yet he was just packaged and trapped in these movies. He knew everyone made money off him. He just wanted to start over again."

Geller felt things were going very wrong. Eight years later, his fears for Elvis were born out. Only hours after he visited Presley, he was again led through a crowd of fans - this time, into a Memphis mortuary. "It was a hot summer day, Aug. 17. But that place was cold. I was led down a long, cool corridor. And there I saw Elvis, just lying under a sheet. At first I thought, `This has to be a joke.' I thought he would just sit up or speak."

The harsh moment was broken by a shock. "I saw all the regrowth on his hair was white! And I hadn't brought anything along to dye it. Just by luck, I found a female mortician, and she had a case of black mascara." Inside the morgue, with mourning fans all round him, Geller "faked it with that little brush." For two hours, he labored over the King's last pompadour.

After Elvis' death, Geller's life became much quieter. He co-wrote several books (including "The Truth About Elvis" and "If I Can Dream") and returned full time to the world of hair care. He became a Svenson International spokesman and continued researching holistic health.

Recently he finished another manuscript, which details all he's learned in his years of hair care. .

But Larry Geller has returned to Elvis. On his new Dream Productions World Wide Web site, he has offers for "Elvis' secret diary," readings on tape or CD of notes he made. They cover some of Presley's "thoughts" and Geller's feelings. It goes public this week. For Geller there be other Kings. "If you read anything on Elvis and me, you'll see I tried. But, as human beings, we don't change each other. My work was seen around the world through Elvis. If I did a bit to help him, I'll be happy."

Larry Geller's Elvis Web site is at: http://www.dreamproductions .com/