Ann Margret Finally Addresses the Affair That Destroyed Elvis’ Marriage
As one of the most beloved Hollywood icons to grace the big screen with her talent and electrifying persona, the Swedish-American actress and singer Ann-Margret was a solid entertainer in every sense of the word. As bubbly as she was in her celebrity status, the actress kept a tight lid on her personal relationships. Now, at 83, Ann-Margret finally admits what we all suspected about Elvis after this happened.
as one of the most beloved Hollywood icons to Grace the big screen with her talent and electrifying Persona the Swedish American actress and singer an Margaret was a solid Entertainer in every sense of the word as bubbly as she was in her Celebrity Status the actress kept a tight lid on her personal relationships now at 83 an Margaret finally admits what we all suspected about Elvis after this happened before we get to what went down between Anne Margaret and the Relentless rumor that persisted throughout her life let’s start at the beginning born Anne Margaret Olen on April 28th 1941 in val job and Sweden she hails from a small town known for its lumberjacking and farming Industries her parents were Anna Regina and Carl Gustav Olsen and her father immigrated to the US first before returning to marry her mother in 1937 however her father wanted to immigrate with his family and during that time Germany had started to invade Norway in the end her father immigrated to the us alone after her mother’s initial hesitation but eventually both mother and daughter managed to join him in 1946 with the young Anne Margaret becoming a naturalized citizen by 1949 as a child she developed an interest in dancing which was Amplified when her parents enrolled her at the margerie Young School of Dance it was there that the future actress exhibited her knack for copying all the dance steps with such ease and accuracy and before she knew it her mother was already making handmade costumes for her during this time you could say that her mother became the breadwinner of the family when she stepped up after her husband suffered from a work injury and worked as a receptionist for a funeral parlor with Anne Margaret’s talents developing better each day she soon found herself making appearances in several segments like Don mcneel’s Breakfast Club and Ted Max’s Amateur hour the Young Anne Margaret was a teenager by then simultaneously attending her high school education at New Trier High School in Illinois while also starring in theater she also became a part of subtle tones a performance group that frequented the Dune Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas this was the very same venue where Tony Bennett and Al hurt headlined and ultimately where George Burns witnessed Anne Margaret’s mesmerizing performance George Burns had an annual holiday show and the young an Margaret tried her luck in the hopes of being able to be included in it well the rest is history because her soft shoe routine was more than enough for her to get on his show impressing burn with her overall talents and from there young Anne Margaret’s entry into the entertainment industry began with her sultry voice vibrant personality and stunning looks it was a no-brainer that Anne Margaret was destined to be a star she had the makings of one in 1961 an Margaret started to record under RCA Victor with the single lost love and in that same year she released her first album and here she is an Margaret which earned her a nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammys her first album was written by George Burns himself with him saying that the singer’s appeal was immediately apparent as she walked on stage for the first time when she auditioned for his talent show even before she opened her mouth the audience was Charmed by her natural beut Beauty and Poise Burns said of her then she sang and the people were captivated you can’t hardly beat that combination of talent and Beauty Anne Margaret has a very distinguished singing style a throaty contralto which her record label tried to capitalize on as female Elvis which can be compared to one of the king’s hits Heartbreak Hotel little did they know these two artists connection would be the talk of many years later but back to Anne Margaret’s music career the breakout singer continued to release albums and singles yet her only charting album was Beauty and the beard released in 1964 her contract with RCA Victor was a pretty short one ending abruptly at the same time the label did but it was enough to put her on the map after this she explored acting and it wasn’t until the late 1970s that she found herself in the recording studio again this time Anne Margaret found popularity on the dance charts with her 1979 release of Love Rush as her most popular one Anne Margaret had a low profile in the music industry for two more decades before she recorded God Is Love The Gospel Sessions in 2001 this album earned her another Grammy nomination and a dove nomination compared to before her intervals at releasing albums are far shorter because in 2004 and 2011 she released two more albums namely Anne Margaret’s Christmas Carol collection and God is love the gospel session 2 respectively mind you just last year she released a fulllength album called Born to Be Wild which included 13 tracks and features from several prominent artists like Pat Boon Pete Townsend the fuzztones and The Oak Ridge Boys to name a few for someone who has such a magnetic voice you’d think Anne Margaret would turn to singing as her bread and butter but she found International Acclaim once she stepped onto the big screen and can you even believe she even won an award for her first project keep watching to find out what it is while the singer was also busy recording at RCA Victor and Margaret was simultaneously working on other projects and this one screen test opened many doors for her you see the wouldbe actress waltzed into 20th century Fox’s Studio One Fine Day in 1961 after she was asked to come in for a screen test right then and there an Margaret knocked their socks off which earned her her a 7-year contract with them this project was pocket full of Miracles a Movie remake of Lady for a Day and for her performance she bagged a Golden Globe for new actress of the Year along with Christine Kaufman and Jane Fonda what else could we say the audience loved her and the judges were impressed by her performance the following year an Margaret starred in yet another remake and this time she got to use her singing talent because her project this time was the music State Fair joined by Pat Boon and Bobby Darren in this movie Anne Margaret originally auditioned for the role of the good girl Margie but the higher-ups thought that her appeal was far too sexy which is why she ended up getting the role of Emily the bad girl years later in her Memoir she detailed how these two female characters represented HER Real Life personalities Margie as the representation of her demure and reserved Persona off stage and Emily as she takes takes on a sensuous Vibe and electrifying performances whenever she’s in front of the camera her exposure to these two films dwarfed the popularity she received when she played Kim in the 1963 musical romcom bye-bye birdie years later bye-bye birdie is still widely regarded by many and it’s no surprise because the movie’s premiere at Radio City Music Hall was recorded as the highest first week grossing film to date at the venue once again an Margaret received a Golden Globe for best actress a testament to how good she was at acting aside from singing and dancing it’s also quite interesting to see how her popularity boosted so much that she was invited and asked to sing baby won’t you please come home at President John F Kennedy’s private birthday party in New York a year after Marilyn Monroe sang the famed happy birthday to you and do you know one other Telltale sign that you made it big in the industry it’s when you already have a cartoon version of yourself and for Anne Margaret hers was the character an margrock in the popular animated series The Flintstones as much as all of these contributed to her Fame an Margaret’s connection to a certain high-profile figure even boosted her already popular status stay tuned as we retell their story to you with her presence in the industry already established it didn’t come as a surprise that Anne Margaret got paired to work with the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley who was also a big shot at the time their portrayal of lucky Jackson and Rusty Martin in the 1964 rock and roll musical Viva Las Vegas has been cemented in pop culture while many others thrived on the behindth scenes rumors and incidents that happened throughout the filming of this project you know what they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and the two co-stars kept a tight lip on what transpired between them even though many have speculated about their onscreen romance that went beyond the cameras even after Presley’s death in 1977 at the young age of 42 stories and rumors of their link continue to haunt Anne Margaret yet time and again she only spoke of their friendship and experiences working on the set of Viva Las Vegas but first let’s address the elephant in the room an Margaret and Elvis Presley’s onset Romance when both actors filmed Viva Las Vegas Presley was already in a committed relationship with Priscilla Presley whom he met in Germany it was obvious the two had something going on seeing how they would play around on set while the cameras weren’t rolling the king called her Thumper the name she used whenever she called graceand while the actress liked to call him EP they shared a lot of common interests which was why their bond was so tight soon enough their Affair exploded Priscilla read about the gossip through the papers while she sat alone in Graceland ultimately Anne Margaret revealed in her 19 1994 Memoir and Margaret my story that she and Elvis shared a brief romance while filming the movie however it ended abruptly when the king thought that his co-star was selling stories to the tabloids that they were tying the knot furthermore she details how he was pressured to marry Priscilla who was influenced not only by the public but also by his manager despite their breakup the two continued to be good friends until the king died in 1977 they continued to be on good terms and there’s even word on the street about how Presley’s feelings for her never changed the king also didn’t keep it a secret about how he dutifully sent guitar-shaped flower arrangements to an Margaret’s dressing room on every opening night she had in Las Vegas after their split he continued to do so and never missed so when the flowers didn’t come on her opening night on August 16th 1977 she had a hunch that something was a Miss true enough her gut feelings were right because a little later she received a call from the singer’s home in graceand informing her that he had died she was one of the first ones to know about the tragic news way before it was publicly announced right up until the end Elvis Presley continued to show his love for her which Anne Margaret appreciated and continued to speak about even decades after his death during one interview with Larry King back in 2002 the singer and actress had had nothing but praise to say about the king he was so unique so special so talented and Margaret said he was the kindest most considerate man I have ever known generous loving he was a good man Even though some fans rooted for them to be together many others didn’t think that their Whirlwind romance would last Ben mantz from Turner Classic Movie weighed in his thoughts about the Viva Las Vegas stars and said that their romance probably couldn’t last however he admits that the two had a real meaningful connection deeply rooted in understanding and sharing the same background among many other things being a musical film Viva Las Vegas has its fair share of song and dance numbers but did you know there was supposed to be another song that never made it to the final production a YouTube video shared by country living made the rounds in 2017 showing a deleted scene in Viva Las Vegas showing lucky Jackson Presley’s character sitting on the piano as he sings the Romantic Ballad today tomorrow and forever a moment later an Margaret’s Rusty enters the scene looking at him with tenderness she starts walking toward him and now the two sing the duet in harmony just as a montage of their characters doing various activities like dancing and biking flashes on the screen it wraps up as the two tumble together on the floor laughing when they fumbled a step in their routine this duet was actually written for the movie and was released on its EP as for the reason why they deleted it from the movie we’ll never know but maybe the producers were scared that including it in the Final Cut would only confirm that the two lead Stars had an ongoing romance which would have been pretty scandalous at the time it could put a dent in the two’s reputation but there’s another good reason why the two wouldn’t work out in the end you’ll never believe the reason why so make sure you keep watching if you want to find out working for the movie may have caused the two Hollywood celebrities to fall in love with each other but according to director George Sydney there was one thing that didn’t sit right with the king the attention an Margaret got on set cydney revealed later on to the media how Presley didn’t want Anne Margaret to have any close-ups he wanted all the close-ups and he didn’t want her to have any numbers the director revealed later on for fortunately Sydney put his foot down and told Presley that he would direct the movie in his own way here’s another interesting fact about the movie the final scene was done with a split screen because the king wanted to appear in the Final Cut alone and didn’t want to share it with his Leading Lady as a result Sydney had to film Anne Margaret’s part separately and only piece it with Presley when they did the final edits an Margaret may be deeply tied to the king but the renowned Act ended up marrying the American TV actor and film producer Roger Smith she became the stepmother of his three children and the couple enjoyed their Union for a good 50 years the couple tied the knot on May 8th 1967 and were together until his passing on June 4th 2017 apart from Elvis Presley the only other man an Margaret dated was the American actor and singer Eddie fiser even though bye-bye birdie and Viva Las Vegas were both blockbuster hits and Margaret also suffered a few box office flops like kitten with a whip the pleasure seekers bus Riley’s back in town and once a thief to name a few fortunately she made a comeback with the 1965 American drama Cincinnati Kid in which she shared the screen with Steve McQueen at the start of the 1980s Anne Margaret started venturing into the small screen and kicked off her TV movie debut with middle-age crazy then there’s also I ought to be in pictures looking to get out the return of the soldier and who will love my children to name a few speaking of who will love my children the actress Barbara Stanwick gave a shout out for Anne Margaret’s performance in this project and called the latter a wonderful Entertainer during her acceptance speech at the prime time Emmy Awards throughout her life Anne Margaret had multiple prestigious Awards under her name such as five Golden Globe awards two Grammy Awards six Emmy Awards a Screen Actor Guild award and even two Academy Award nominations apart from pocket full of Miracles and state fair the actress is also known for her performances in the films carnal knowledge The Train Robbers Grumpy Old Men Any Given Sunday the breakup and going in style Anne Margaret was also awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Humane Letters by the University of Nevada Las Vegas on May 14th 2022 at 82 you’d think the Swedish American actress would be spending her leisurely time alone tending the plants and doing a lot of homely activities but Anne Margaret reveals she’s more active than ever during her recent appearance at the 25th women’s image Awards the actress revealed that one of the things that keeps her blood young is her harleydavidson in a separate interview with people she went on to describe how it’s got a lot of flowers adorned on it and how she love speed and not the drug it was my daddy who inspired me to ride she explained before he met my mother he had a couple of motorcycles one was an Indian and the other a BSA and my uncle my mother’s brother had a big motorcycle when I was 10 years old I would ride on the back of his bike with him he would take me to the Norwegian border and we would go into Norway there’s no way I could forget that motorcycle while it’s pretty common for many celebrities to succumb to the pressures and roles forced upon them by Hollywood an Margaret revealed that she didn’t get the same urge instead she maintained her Sunny disposition even to this day the actress thanks her parents for such great energy and she’s not powered up by alcohol or any substance what she speaks of instead is love and she claims there’s no room for negativity in her life with that said she continues to be grateful to her parents who instilled a lot of good values in her you don’t whine about things you just go out and do the things that you love and I just feel blessed with the life that I’ve been given