Elvis Aaron Presley was never actually investigated by the FBI. His name, though, appears in many different FBI files. The King was the target of many extortion attempts investigated by the Bureau and reactions to his music and stage presentation led concerned citizens to write the FBI suggesting that it investigate the star. At the start of Presley’s music career, his stage performances were considered racy and, by some, obscene. In a letter addressed to J. Edgar Hoover from 1956, a former member of the Army Intelligence Service stated that Elvis is a “definite danger to the security of the United States.” The Bureau also kept articles and letters that referred to Presley’s performances as “strip-teases with clothes on” and accused him of being a “possible drug addict” or “sexual pervert.” The Bureau never investigated these accusations of public danger, despite the number of letters received about the King’s performances. On December 27, 1959, Elvis, then in the military, hired skin specialist Laurenz Griessel-Landau to treat skin defects the star had incurred overseas. During the treatments, Presley accused Griessel-Landau of making sexual passes at him and some of his friends. After alerting the U.S. Army, Griessel-Landau attempted to blackmail Presley and ruin his career by threatening to expose photographs and tape recordings of Elvis in “compromising situations.” Upon investigation, it was uncovered that Griessel-Landau was not a medical doctor and had no such tapes or photographs. In addition to public outrage and extortion, the King was subject to death threats, blackmail, paternity suits and allegations of theft. Despite the Bureau’s hundreds of pages on the rock icon and Presley’s desire to meet J. Edgar Hoover, the Director refused to meet with Elvis, even just after President Nixon hosted him in the White House.
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