A "Priceless Discovery" From Graceland

Above, publicity photo for Change of Habit. Universal Pictures photo.

In-between the Dick Van Dyke Show and the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary Tyler Moore appeared in Elvis Presley's last movie, Change of Habit.

The son and daughter-in-law of Mary's husband, Grant Tinker, paid a visit to Graceland and came upon a "priceless discovery" in one of Graceland's gift shops. Her husband balked at buying the item, citing its price, but they later found it was worth to them every cent, and more.

Tinker's daughter-in-law, Rhonda Rich, wrote a piece on the discovery in the Savannah Morning News. 

She begins with:

Whenever Tink and I visit Graceland, Elvis Presley's home, we enjoy traipsing through every gift shop on the premises. There are many.

On our last trip, we bought an "Elvis Live in Las Vegas" double album. It is a Graceland exclusive with colored vinyl – I love playing vinyl on a record player – that has one hot pink record and one bright yellow.

Later, we wandered through the biggest store, searching for "You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog" collars for our two hounds (there is no such thing, but it's a good idea). My attention was captured by a large coffee table book about three inches thick and featuring a vivid 1968 black-and-white image of a mod-looking Elvis with sideburns and longish hair.

It was an extensive pictorial and story-laden account of Elvis' last movie, "Change of Habit." Elvis' co-star in that movie – the final in a long line of beautiful love interests in his films – was Mary Tyler Moore, Tink's stepmother. It was an odd Elvis movie that didn't capture the fancy of audiences because, in an extreme stretch of fantasy, he played a doctor and Mary played a nun.

The discovery was made days later at home when they unwrapped the shrink-wrapped book.

To read more, go here.