Uri and Elvis Together Again
According to Uri Geller, in the 1970s he and Elvis Presley once performed in Las Vegas at the same time, and Elvis asked him to supernaturally bend a spoon with his mind.
Now the two '70s superstars are together again. Uri and two business partners have successfully outbid their competitors in an eBay auction to purchase Elvis Presley's first home in Memphis -- the one that The King moved out of when he moved into Graceland.
The white ranch house, which for tax purposes had been appraised at $261,000, was bought by Uri, along with a New York lawyer and an English jewelry-maker, for $905,100. This no doubt pleased the home's current owners, who paid $180,000 for it only eight years ago.
What do Uri and his pals plan to do with the house? The message is mixed. Uri, according to a Reuters story, wants to bring sick children to the home for tours, apparently in the belief that the home has healing powers. (Elvis didn't become unhealthy until after he moved into Graceland.) The Associated Press, however, doesn't mention Uri in its story at all -- an inexcusable journalistic oversight -- and instead quotes the New York lawyer who wants to restore the home to "a museum-quality piece of Americana" and open it for tours.
An earlier Reuters report, that Uri wanted to transform the 3,000-square-foot house into a museum with "all the bizarre things that Elvis Presley believed in," went unmentioned in the latest stories.
No estimate was given as to when the home, whatever it will be, will be open to the public.
June 3, 2006: Egads! Spoonbender foiled by accursed online auction legalities! The most recent report has Uri losing the house to music producer Mike Curb. Geller vows to sue.
[05/16/2006]- Address:
- 1034 Audubon Drive, Memphis, TN
- Directions:
- East side of the city, just east of the University of Memphis. I-240 exit onto Getwell Rd/Hwy 176. North about 2.5 miles until the road ends, then west on Park Ave. about a half mile, then south on Audubon Drive. House on left, low brick wall, #1034, before Haver Hill Rd. Private property - visible from street.