Jerry Schilling Remembers Lisa Marie Presley 1 Year After Her Sudden Death: ‘There’s a Huge Vacuum’ (Exclusive)

Jerry Schilling knew Lisa Marie Presley her entire life, from the day she took her first breath to the moment she took her last breath. It’s been a year since Elvis Presley’s only child died suddenly at the age of 54, but an 81-year-old close family friend says he’s still “surprised” she’s gone.

“To be the bearer of the shroud [at her funeral], I know that she is gone and that I am with her in the hospital at the last moment,” Schilling told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “But day to day, a lot of times I’ll think, ‘I wonder what Lisa will think about this.’ Then I say, ‘Oh my God.’ There’s just a big vacuum.”

Lisa Marie Presley with her parents Elvis and Priscilla in 1968. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Schilling was a constant presence – along with her mother Priscilla Presley – in Lisa Marie’s life. The man who met Elvis in 1954 when he was 12 and the singer was a star on the rise, later became a key member of the Memphis Mafia, Presley’s favorite group of friends. He recalls being in the hospital waiting room with Elvis as Priscilla gave birth to the couple’s daughter on February 1, 1968. And, almost 55 years later, he was with the family in Los Angeles when she died hours after being found in her home in cardiac arrest. .

“I never thought I’d miss her,” says Schilling, reflecting on Lisa Marie’s death. – Logically, it should be the other way around.

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Six months after her death on January 12, 2023, an autopsy revealed the cause was “small bowel obstruction,” a complication that developed years after the mother of four had bariatric surgery. But Schilling, who walked Lisa Marie down the Golden Globes red carpet just two days earlier, said there were no signs she was unwell. In fact, he says she was “in good spirits.”

“Since losing her son, Ben Storm, Lisa hasn’t been out,” she says, referring to the singer’s only son, Benjamin Storm Keough, who died by suicide at age 27 in July 2020. (Lisa Marie was also mom to actress Riley Keough with her ex-husband Danny Keough and twins Harper and Finley with her fourth husband Michael Lockwood.) “I didn’t know she would… survive [Benjamin’s death]. She survived that for two years thanks to the love and care for her three daughters.”

Lisa Marie Presley with son Benjamin Keough who passed away in 2020. Copetti/Photofab/Shutterstock

What brought Lisa Marie back into the public eye, says Schilling, was helping to promote director Baz Luhrmann’s biopic about her father, Elvisstarring Austin Butler.

The talent manager recalls, “When we were flying back to Memphis for the screening, I met her at the airport. I haven’t seen her since Ben Storm’s funeral. She told me, ‘Jerry, I’ll never be the same.’ She looked fragile. But she really tried. I think the movie and the love Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann and everyone else showed her started to pull her out.”

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On January 8, 2023, which would have been her father’s 88th birthday, Lisa Marie asked Schilling to accompany her to the Golden Globes to support the film, which received three nominations. Earlier in the day, she celebrated her dad’s birthday with his fans at the annual event at Graceland in Memphis and flew back to Los Angeles to celebrate at The Formosa Café.

“That night she said, ‘Jerry Schilling’ — she always called me that [that] — ‘I’m going to the Golden Globe Awards alone. Will you walk me down the red carpet?’ I said, ‘Sure, I’d be honored.'”

For millions of TV viewers around the world, the ceremony was the last time they saw Lisa Marie alive. Clinging to Schilling’s hand as she gave interviews on the red carpet, she looked gaunt and at times appeared to be leaning on him to steady herself.

Jerry Schilling with Lisa Marie Presley, age 19, in his office on Sunset Boulevard.

Courtesy of Jerry Schilling

“She had a great time, and I thought she was great,” says Schilling, who was Lisa Marie’s manager decades earlier when she pursued a music career. “The only concern I had was that she had these big high heels. People talk about when she holds my hand. Her mother did it. In fact, her mother almost tripped later that evening.”

He adds: “Everyone can say what they want, but I was with her.” She didn’t do drugs. She had problems, but she was honest about it. But apart from being extremely thin, going through the loss of her son, she was really trying to come back and support a film about her father that she was happy with.”

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That night, after attending the Golden Globes and Luhrmann’s party, Schilling says he walked Lisa Marie to her SUV. He remembers her last words to him as they bid him goodnight. “She said, ‘Jerry Schilling, I love you.'”

The next time he saw her was the day she died. He says: “Two days later I get a call to rush to the hospital. I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t.”

Lisa Marie Presley with her four children, Riley and Benjamin Keough and twins Harper and Finley. Lisa Marie Presley on Instagram

In the year since Lisa Marie’s death, much has happened to preserve her legacy and that of her father, Elvis, who died in August 1977 at the age of 42. Her daughter Riley, 34, reached an agreement with her mother ( Zola star’s grandmother) Priscilla. It earned the 78-year-old a $1 million payout from Lisa Marie’s $25 million life insurance policy. Part of the agreement allows Priscilla to be buried near her ex-husband Elvis at Graceland, where Lisa Marie and Benjamin are buried.

Meanwhile, in June, Riley became the sole executor of her mother’s estate. She produced in December Christmas at Graceland A TV special that featured musical performances by John Legend and Post Malone. And on Thursday, she announced that she is managing the posthumous publication of her mother’s untitled autobiography, which will hit shelves in October.

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“She’s a very bright, loving human being who made sure the family stayed together,” Schilling says of Riley, who earned a 2024 Golden Globe nomination for her performance on the Prime Video series Daisy Jones & The Six.

Behind the scenes, Lisa Marie’s loved ones are still grieving – including Riley’s father Danny, 59, who found his ex-wife in cardiac arrest in the home they shared. “I’m worried about Danny. He’s so hurt and he was so hurt with Ben Storm and then Lisa,” says Schilling. “He has a big heart. I feel like his daughter Riley really shows him a lot of love and care, and I think that helps Danny move on.”

Lisa Marie Presley as a child in Hawaii with her parents Elvis and Priscilla. Agency Magma/WireImage

As for his friend Priscilla, she is “coping as best she can” after a back-to-back tragedy involving the loss of her “grandson, who she was very close to,” Schilling says. “She’s tried to move on and she’s doing well at it, but inside she’s emotionally torn.”

Schilling has a lifetime of memories of Lisa Marie, also known as the girl he nicknamed “Memphis,” who once worked as his assistant in his office on Sunset Boulevard.

“I miss hanging out with her late at night, especially in Hawaii, and her laugh and that little smile and some of our fights…” he says. “Now that I don’t have the chance to spend time with her, I didn’t know how much I would really miss her. I’m still dealing with it.”

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Source: HIS Education