Elvis Presley Wrecked His Chance With Natalie Wood by Being Overly Affectionate With His Mother

Natalie Wood and Elvis Presley dated in 1956, when they were two of the hottest stars in the world. Elvis was already a major recording artist and was about to launch his film career with his debut in, ‘Love Me Tender’. Natalie, meanwhile, had by that point received her first Oscar nomination the year before for ‘Rebel Without A Cause’, alongside James Dean. While Elvis, then 21, was known to be a ‘lady killer’, it was Natalie who approached him for a date, at the time a teenager, just 18 years old.

Wood had asked her co-star Dennis Hopper to introduce her to Elvis, and the rock ‘n’ roll star treated her to a date. He bought out an entire cinema, something he would continue to do for the rest of his life. Natalie’s sister, Lana Wood, said that it dazzled the teen. She said: “To go to the movies, he bought out the theatre. “That’s not what she was used to.” Elvis was equally as starstruck by Natalie. The singer invited her home to impress his parents, but his mother Gladys soured on the actress quickly. Mr Connolly claimed: “Natalie wore a very flimsy nightgown around the house. “Gladys was like, ‘Not in my house!’” The pair later met in New York in November 1956 where Elvis took Natalie riding on his new Harley-Davidson motorbike.

Their relationship seemed bulletproof, a serious romance in the making. But, as Lana recalls in her book, ‘Natalie: A Memoir by Her Sister’ it was not to be. Writing of the first meeting with Elvis’ parents, she noted: “They met, and Elvis flew Natalie to his family in Memphis. “They were to be gone almost a week, but just two days into the great adventure, Natalie called. “‘Gladys has wrecked everything,’ Natalie said, referring to Elvis’ domineering, jealous mother. “‘I don’t have a chance. Get me out of this, and fast.’ “It was agreed that Mother would call Natalie back and ask her to come home because of some family emergency. “Natalie’s romance with the king of rock fizzled out. “‘God, it was awful,’ Natalie told her sister Lana later. “He can sing, but he can’t do much else.’”