Elvis lives through his letters!

Have you ever wanted to write a book or pursue a dream but felt the challenges would be too difficult to overcome? Also, did you know a celebrity lives here in Chanhassen? No, it’s not Elvis! However, a humble man we consider a celebrity, is a Chanhassen resident. His name is Gary Lindberg, an award-winning filmmaker, bestselling author of four previous books and a publisher. In addition, he has overcome multiple challenges to write his exciting new book, Letters from Elvis.

We asked Gary how he came up with the idea to write about Elvis and why it was so important to him. Gary answered, “Thirty years ago I was put in touch with a collection of 265 hand-written letters that were written by Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando and Tom Jones, all to the same individual, their spiritual guide.”

What can you tell us about their spiritual guide? Gary said, “The letters were all written to a woman named Carmen Montez, who is kind of a mysterious figure. She was a very charismatic woman who came to the United States from Spain. She worked in the movie industry, then had a terrible accident which changed her life. She dedicated her life to God. She became an ordained minister and she set out to help people in the film industry. She first got in touch with Harry Belafonte, who introduced her to Marlon Brando, who introduced her to Tom Jones and eventually she found Elvis Presley. She insisted that all of these gentlemen communicate with her through hand-written letters, rather than by telephone or in personal meetings.”

That’s exciting! We wanted to know what’s in the letters. Gary told us, “The letters, as you can imagine, since they were written to a spiritual advisor, are confessional, in some sense. They get into the souls of these people, what they were thinking and feeling and the problems they were having, the business travails, the guidance they were seeking. But they also catalogued some amazing events that occurred in the lives of these individuals, primarily in the life of Elvis Presley.”

We asked Gary to tell us a little about one of the events revealed in his book. He said, “Almost everything in this book is information that nobody has ever heard of before because it comes from these very private letters. One of the most interesting events that took place occurred in 1968 when Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley were moving some boxes of personal belongings from one home that Elvis had to another. Elvis’s home was invaded and the two men were kidnapped by a gang of ten thugs. After the men dropped off Marlon at his home and locked him in his bongo room, in his mansion on Mulholland Drive, they kept Elvis and for over twelve hours they viciously attacked him and tortured him.”

With new understanding of Elvis’s life, we asked Gary if he now views him in a new way. Gary shared, “I was always an admirer of Elvis Presley. I loved his voice, I loved his music but I wasn’t a crazy fan. I saw him as a very talented performer. After reading these letters and seeing what he was going through during this period, this five year period during which he wrote the letters, I really have to say I became a fan. I became a fan of Elvis, the human being, Elvis the person. He endured more than anybody to date has ever realized. The details of what he endured and what he suffered are all included in this book.”

In writing the book, Letters from Elvis, what are some challenges you had to overcome? Gary explained, “It has taken 30 years to resolve the tangle of legal issues regarding copyright and rights to privacy and you name it. It’s been a real battle, but we’ve finally found a way, we believe, of legally communicating all of this information to his fans and to the wider world.”

“We’re launching the book and it becomes available to the public on November 1st, 2018, and on November 2nd we’re having a big celebration and a book signing at Barnes and Noble at the Galleria, in Edina. It’s for the public at 7 pm Friday night.”

We congratulate Gary for overcoming challenges to fulfill a dream and also helping Elvis to live on through the letters.

How about you? What’s your dream?

Here’s some encouragement: Pursue your dream and don’t give up! Get the help you need to overcome challenges and fulfill your dream, so it can become a reality!

Chanhassen residents Doug and Lynn Nodland are Success Coaches and owners of The Balance Center. They can be contacted at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2018 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.