Jerry Schilling, a near-lifelong friend of the Presley family, remembers being in the hospital when Priscilla Presley gave birth to Lisa Marie Presley, her only child with husband Elvis, in 1968. Schilling, 81, also remembers Lisa Marie’s last words to him, on Jan. 10, 2023, just two days before she died at age 54. “She said, ‘Jerry Schilling, I love you,’ ” the talent manager recalls of their final night together, a trip to the Golden Globes to support the Baz Lurhmann biopic Elvis. “I can’t believe [she’s gone].”
Lisa Marie’s loved ones have learned to live a new normal in the year since her shocking death, which officials said in July was caused by a small-bowel obstruction. Her daughter Riley Keough, 34, reached a settlement agreement in May with grandmother Priscilla, 78, over Lisa Marie’s estate, making Riley the sole trustee, and the pair showed off their strong bond at the Emmy Awards on Jan. 15, when they walked the red carpet together. (Lisa Marie was also mom to twin daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood, 15, and late son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020.) While Schilling praises Riley for making “sure the family stays together” amid tragedy, he adds that the loss has been tough on Priscilla: “[She’s] coping as best she can. . . . She has tried to continue on and is doing a good job of doing that, but she’s emotionally torn up inside.” Even though Lisa Marie has been gone for a year, Schilling is in disbelief at times. “I miss . . . her laugh and that little smile,” he says. “There are a lot of times I’ll think, ‘I wonder what Lisa’s going to think of this.’ Then I go, ‘Oh my God.’ There’s just a huge vacuum.”
—RACHEL DESANTIS WITH REPORTING BY MARISSA CHARLES
Riley Announces Lisa Marie’s Memoir
At the time of her death, Lisa Marie had been hard at work on an autobiography—and on Jan. 11 daughter Riley Keough revealed that the book will be released on Oct. 15 by Random House. “Working on preparing her auto- biography for publication has been a privilege, albeit a bittersweet one,” Keough—who helped finish the memoir from her mom’s recorded tapes—said in a statement.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: TODD WILLIAMSON/NBC/GETTY IMAGES; FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES; JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE