Think about being the closest friend of the most famous celebrity in the world, protecting him for decades, and then suddenly getting fired by his father.
That is the tragic, real-life story of what happened to Elvis Presley’s most trusted bodyguards.
On July 13, 1976, Elvis’s father, Vernon Presley, officially fired three of his bodyguards: Red West, Sonny West, and Dave Hebler. These three men were simply not ordinary employees; they had been Elvis’s best friends for nearly twenty years.
They have been protecting him from wild crowds and sharing his deepest secrets. Sonny West later remembered the last time he saw Elvis, just eight days before the firing, when Elvis wished him a happy birthday. Sonny sadly recalled, “That was the last time I ever saw him. I never got to say goodbye.”
Dave Hebler “Why were You, Red and Sonny West Fired?” “Where were you when you heard Elvis passed?”
So, the question arises, why were they kicked out? The main reason Vernon gave was that the family needed to save money. However, there was a much darker story happening behind the scenes.
The bodyguards believed they were fired because they were the only ones brave enough to confront Elvis about his dangerous prescription drug use.
While other people around Elvis just smiled and said “yes,” these three friends were trying to save his life.
Furious and deeply hurt, the three men did something that stunned the music world. They wrote a shocking tell-all book called “Elvis: What Happened?” For the very first time, the public learned about the secret struggles, anger, and drug habits Elvis hid behind the locked gates of his home. Many fans felt this book was a terrible betrayal of friendship. But the bodyguards argued it was an urgent cry for help to force Elvis to see the truth before it was too late.
Sadly, the warning did not work in time. Just a few weeks after the book was printed, Elvis Presley passed away in August 1977. He never had the chance to make peace with his old friends. And now, fans are not sure whose story to believe. Let us know who you side with on this.