Jewish Elvis - In the fascinating book "Elvis and Gladys" by historian and biographer, Elaine Dundy discovers the Presley and Smith mixed bag of ethnic lineage from Native American Indian to Elvis' Jewish heritage. To be of Jewish heritage is maternal acquisition because there is no mistaking who is the mother of a child. Now because Elvis Jewish heritage ran uninterrupted down through his maternal grandmothers according to Jewish law Elvis Aron Presley would be considered Jewish. 

This is what Dundy discovered in her research: "... Nancy Burdine was married to Abner Tacket. Nancy was of particular interest to Gladys for her Jewish heritage, often remembering Nancy's sons for their Jewish names Sidney and Jerome. Nancy and Abner had a daughter Martha (Tacket) who married White Mansell. The daughter which they named Octavia nicknamed Doll who was Elvis' maternal grandmother."

Doll and Robert had nine children. Gladys Love was the fifth daughter born followed by three brothers and a sister. Gladys' sister Clette Smith married Vester Presley making Patsy Presley a double cousin to Elvis. Patsy Anderson worked at Graceland in Elvis Fan Club liaison.

After his mother died Elvis personally sought to design his beloved mother’s gravesite which included a Star of David on Gladys Love Presley's tombstone. The decision was made by him in honour of his Jewish heritage. Something his mother was proud of and acknowledged to Elvis at a very early age.

[Due to the bizarre August 29,  1977 " break in" to steal Elvis's body -  on the evening of October 2, 1977, Elvis and his mother's bodies were moved from their original places of burial at Forest Hill Cemetery and reburied side by side in the grounds of Graceland in an area Elvis had named the Meditation Garden.]

Later in life, when Elvis discovered the teachings of Judaism, Zen Buddhism and the occult teachings through his hairdresser Larry Geller he became familiar with the Hebrew alphabet and its symbols.

Throughout 1977 Elvis wore a "Chai" necklace. When Charlie Hodge asked Elvis why this particular piece of jeweler was so important, without missing a beat Elvis retorted  "I don’t want to miss out on going' to heaven on a technicality."   The "Chai" symbol is simply the Hebrew word for "Life" with the two Hebrew letters Chet & Yod attached together. It refers to Living with G*d. In Judaism the word Chai has great significance. The typical Jewish toast is l'chayim (to life) Gifts to charity are routinely given in multiples of 18 (the numeric value of the word Chai)

FOOTNOTE: Unfortunately the remark Elvis made about not wanting to miss getting into heaven on a technicality has often been represented in a trite way when in reality Elvis open spiritually & respectful of other beliefs that he really did intend it as an acknowledgement of the legitimacy of other religious cannons.

Up-Date: The book In Search of Elvis Presley's Jewish Roots outline numerous aspects of Elvis' Jewish identity, including the fact that his mother, Gladys, was part Jewish and part Indian. William Mansell married Morning White Dove, a full blooded Indian. They had several children, one of which was John Mansell, who fathered White Mansell. White Mansell married Martha Tackett. Martha's mother Nancy was Jewish.

Elvis was well aware of his Jewish ancestry, as a child was instructed not to advertise the fact because "people didn't like Jews" according to his parents. Yet, Elvis, who lived in an apartment below a Jewish rabbi, would often visit. The widow of the rabbi talks about Elvis. She recalls how, Elvis would visit their house on Saturday in order to turn on lights and do things they weren't allowed to do. Elvis carried a yarmulke in his pocket. He was fascinated by Jewish music. As an adult, she remembers how Elvis donated to several Jewish organizations. 

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From the book: "Oh yes. One day the Memphis Jewish Welfare sent a delegation to Graceland to see him and ask if he could contribute. At Christmas every year he would donate $1,000 to a number of Memphis charities and one of them was the Memphis Hebrew Academy, and so they thought maybe they could get something. They explained what they do, taking care of poor Jews and orphans. Elvis excused himself for a minute. When he came back, he handed the leader of the delegation a check. They didn't know what to expect. They thought $1,000 would be nice. When they looked at the check, it was for $150,000. The equivalent of more than a million dollars today. The man said, 'Elvis, you must have made a mistake.' Elvis said, 'I didn't make a mistake, I know what I'm doing.' Later on, he also donated a room to the old Memphis Jewish Community Center." More Famous Jewish Actors