I Was ELVIS' Leading Lady

To Marlyn Mason, the King was just a fun guy who had to ruffle his hair a little…

- Douglas Mcpherson

Filming The Trouble With Girls turned out to be the most enjoyable 10 weeks of my career.

The film was about a travelling theatre company in which Elvis was the manager and I was trying to get the other performers to join a union, so our characters were at odds throughout the movie. Off camera, though, we became best buddies.

I was prepared to not like Elvis. I thought he was going to be full of himself, but within 30 seconds of meeting him I knew he was going to be wonderful to work with.

He was just so funny and talented. He took the work seriously, but he made it fun.

One of the first things we shot was the parade scene. The Warren Beatty film Bonnie And Clyde had just come out and I said, “We look like Bonnie and Clyde.” Elvis said, “Yeah, we do,” so he called the prop guy and said, “Get us two Tommy guns and two cigars.”

We had a great photo taken with me doing Faye Dunaway’s pose and him doing Warren’s.

Elvis had a reputation for making silly movies and I was pleasantly surprised to find out what a talented actor he was. He loved working, and we loved working together. He was always calling me into his dressing room to rehearse the dialogue.

I couldn’t wait for Saturday and Sunday to go by so I could get back to work. Elvis was the same.

I would go to the studio on days when I wasn’t shooting, because I just liked being around the set, and here would come Elvis, driving his Lincoln with all his entourage in the car with him.