Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra were supposed to be making a movie.
Instead, they sometimes turned the MGM studio lot into their own playground.
While filming Speedway, Elvis had a tandem bicycle built for the two of them, according to Nancy.
Whenever they had time between scenes, Elvis would suggest they take it out.
Nancy later remembered him saying:
“Nancy, let’s go for a ride.”
Then the two stars would climb onto the bicycle and start pedaling around the MGM lot.
The problem was that Elvis Presley riding around a Hollywood studio was not exactly easy to hide.
Fans would sometimes spot them and rush over, meaning their peaceful rides rarely lasted long.
Nancy remembered that they might get only a few minutes before people descended on them.
Elvis and Nancy Sinatra in Speedway
The story became even funnier when Nancy revisited it in August 2026, marking the 49th anniversary of Elvis’s death.
She said Elvis had specifically arranged for the tandem bike to be made and that they rode it around the studio lot “much to the chagrin of the studio heads.”
Sometimes, they even appeared unexpectedly in front of visitors taking an MGM studio tour.
Nancy compared the two of them to “The Katzenjammer Kids,” a reference to mischievous troublemakers who were constantly getting into trouble.
That playful atmosphere matched the relationship Nancy later described.
Although rumors followed Elvis everywhere, Nancy said their flirting was platonic and remembered him primarily as funny, silly and enjoyable to be around. She also described Speedway-era Elvis as being at his physical and professional peak.
Speedway was filmed at MGM in 1967 and released on June 12, 1968.
Elvis played race-car driver Steve Grayson while Nancy played IRS employee Susan Jacks, who is sent to investigate his finances. They also performed together on “There Ain’t Nothing Like a Song,” recorded for the movie at MGM Studios in June 1967.
But Nancy’s favorite memories were apparently not about the cameras.
They were about everything happening between takes.
Two huge stars.
One bicycle built for two.
And studio executives apparently watching Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra pedal past when they were supposed to be working.
For all the pressure surrounding Elvis in Hollywood, Nancy remembered those days for something much simpler: they laughed, fooled around and occasionally surprised tourists by riding straight past them on a tandem bike.