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Elvis' Jets Up For Auction

Elvis' Jet, The Lisa Marie

First I find out that The Horseshoe Lounge is moving to a new location, and now there is news that  Elvis' two jets, The Lisa Marie and The Hound Dog II, are currently up for auction.  The will be sold together, and are expected to bring in $10-$15M.  Neither are airworthy.  The auction will also include the option to buy the land next to them, which is not owned Graceland.  

Tail Section of Lisa Marie

The Lisa Marie is a Convair 880.  The plane was built in 1960, and Elvis spent over $300K customizing the interior after he bought it in 1975 from Delta Airlines for a reported cost of $250K (leave it to Elvis to spend more on decor than an airframe and avionics).  Inside of The Lisa Marie, you'll find seating for friends/The Memphis Mafia, a bar, and a sleeping cabin for Elvis.  Elvis put a lot of thought into the decor, including having gold fixtures installed in one of the lavatories.  Elvis used the tail fin to showcase his personal logo:  TCB,  for Taking Care of Business.

Some of Elvis' legendary shenanigans took place on the Lisa Marie.  He was known to fly to Denver to buy his one of his favorite foods, the Fools' Gold sandwich.   At one point he bought 22, reputedly for Lisa Marie's birthday (though elsewhere I read he flew some friends to Denver and ordered 22 of the sandwiches in advance).

Interior of The Hound Dog II

The Hound Dog II is a Lockheed Jetstar, purchased by Elvis to use while the Lisa Marie was being prepared.  It subsequently became his back-up plane.  As you can see from interior photos, it has a very bright (Skittles-esque) color scheme.  It isn't quite as decadent as The Lisa Marie, which was outfitted explicitly to Elvis's less than modest specifications.

Front of The Hound Dog II

When I first read the news about the sale of the two jets, I was curious as to why.  I say that because when Sara and I went to Graceland in 2010, I thought The Lisa Marie was the highlight of the tour (Elvis' "Trophy Room" was a close 2nd).   Thus I was not sure why Graceland's owners, Elvis Presley Enterprises, would want to sell such an awesome tourist attraction.  After some reading I discovered that Memphis resident K.G. Coker owns the jets.   They have been on display at the tourist entrance to Graceland since 1985 (according to CNN, Vernon Presley sold the jets in 1978, but the Elvis estate negotiated the placement of them in 1984).   Since 1984, Coker has been getting a cut of the ticket sales to tour the planes (which I recall being about $4 on top of a $35 ticket).   The lease is up, with Coker and Elvis Presley Enterprises apparently unable to come to an agreement about renewal.  Thus, Coker has put the planes up for sale.

The auction ends on February 2, so if you want definitely to be able to see these jets for a low, low add-on price to your Graceland ticket then find a way to get to Memphis soon.  If you want in on the auction action, sealed bids are being taken now by Julien's Auctions.



All photos in the post by +Dave Floyd