Linda Thompson Announced She Wanted to Marry Elvis Presley When She Was Just 6 Years Old
Linda Thompson was an essential part of Elvis Presley‘s life for over four years. She took on many roles throughout her relationship with the king of rock and roll. Linda was his partner, caretaker, friend, and always ready for the next adventure. However, little did she realize her future when she announced to her parents at six that she wanted to marry the entertainer.
Linda Thompson had a crush on Elvis Presley at the age of 6
Back in 1956, Linda Thompson, like most Memphis natives, knew who Elvis Presley was. He released his first recordings two years prior and was a local celebrity.
By the time Linda came to embrace Elvis’ music truly, he was already an international superstar. In her book A Little Thing Called Life, Linda admitted her deep feelings for the king of rock and roll as a child.
At age six, she reportedly told her parents that she wanted to marry Elvis when she was older. However, as she grew older, her passion for the king of rock and roll waned.
When she was a teenager, Linda admitted she “outgrew [Elvis] a little bit for The Beach Boys.” She did not reveal whether or not she returned to Presley’s music as a student at Kingsbury High School or when she attended Memphis State University, majoring in English and Drama.
However, she did tell Larry King, “He was an amazing — well, I grew up on him. You know, I grew up in Memphis, and I grew up listening to his music and going to his movies.”
Elvis Presley met Linda Thompson when she was just 22
It was July 1972 when Elvis Presley met Linda Thompson for the first time. Their mutual friend, William Browder (later country singer TG Sheppard), had told them that Elvis had rented the Memphain movie theater for the evening and wanted to know if they would meet him.
Thompson told Browder the women had a modeling job, but LeMay insisted they could find replacements. Subsequently, the women entered the movie theater late in the evening of July 6, 1972, not knowing what to expect.
Linda told Larry King, “He sat next to me. He came and sat next to me during — he just got up during the film and came back and plopped down next to me.”
She continued, “I thought he was — you know, being 13 emotionally, I thought he was still married, and I was very standoffish. And finally, during one of his nuzzles, he said, “Honey, you know I’m not married anymore,” to which I responded, “No, I didn’t. But, you know, I’m sorry that it didn’t work out for you, but you should have married a southern girl.”
Linda concluded of that fateful night, “You have no idea how honest that was and how truthful and right on that was. Because only if you grow up in the South do you understand that culture completely.”
“And he was very southern. And so I think we had an immediate kinship. We were like kindred souls right away.”
Shortly after that, Linda moved into Elvis’ Graceland home. She stayed there for over four years.
However, their relationship ended not because she didn’t love Elvis but because he couldn’t remain faithful. She wanted a stable life with children then but didn’t feel he could provide that during that period.
Linda Thompson’s grandmother once lived in the same housing projects as Elvis Presley
Their shared Southern upbringing gave them a lot in common. Thompson’s grandmother lived in the Lauderdale Courts federal housing project when Elvis was there from 1949 through 1953 when he attended Humes High School.
Linda revealed in her autobiography, “She used to see him on his doorstep, playing guitar and singing. So I had a sense of empathy for how he lived his life as a young boy.”
She later described her relationship with Elvis to Larry King as “like being with Prince Charming on many levels, because he was like Santa Claus every day. He was inordinately generous of spirit.”
Linda Thompson attended Elvis Week 2023 to honor the anniversary of the entertainer’s death at his Graceland, TN, home. This was her first appearance at the annual event celebrating the king of rock and roll, and she documented it on Facebook.
