Elvis Bodyguard Sam Thompson Recalls Elvis Presley's Humor
Elvis Presley is so iconic, it's sometimes hard to remember he was just a guy. And bodyguard Sam Thompson remembers Elvis as a funny guy. Elvis would quote Peter Sellers' lines from "Pink Panther" movies on tour, Thompson says: "Things would be going crazy, and he would look at somebody and go, 'Do you have rhoom?' " in Sellers' Inspector Clouseau accent. Or, "Does your dog bite?" The King loved "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," the Black Knight scene in particular. After a bad show, he would tell guys backstage, in character, "It's only a flesh wound." Thompson, who later became a lawyer, judge and music producer with David Foster, lives in Las Vegas. This weekend, he, local singer Nellie Norris and I judged Fremont Street's Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. (Winner: Las Vegan Johnny Fortuno.) Thompson regaled the crowd with a great story about Elvis' onstage splits. "Elvis would