Elvis Presley Divorce Papers Auctioned For Nearly $9,000

Call them the king of all divorce papers.

Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley's 1972 settlement documents were sold by Heritage Auctions Tuesday for $8,963 to an undisclosed buyer. The auction, which took place both in Dallas and online, placed the initial starting bid at $7,500.

The 12-page agreement, dated Aug.15, 1972, and signed by both Elvis and Pricilla, granted Priscilla ownership of a 1971 Mercedes Benz, a '69 Cadillac El Dorado and a '71 Harley-Davidson motorcycle in addition to $100,000 in cash and half the income from the sale of their three houses in California.

Why would someone pay so much for the disso docs?

"They give us an insight into their divorce," said Margaret Barrett, Heritage Auction's director of music and entertainment departments. "They were a very famous married couple; he was the biggest rock and roll star ever at the time and probably still is, and you can see what was happening as their marriage was coming to an end. What Priscilla wanted, what she got, the money she was asking for which now seems like nothing for our standards today. But at the time she was really asking for a lot of money. He was a wealthy man."

The famed couple called it quits in 1972 after six years of marriage, though their divorce was not finalized until October 1973. It's been reported that Priscillareceived $1.7 million in the final settlement -- much more money than these documents indicate she was awarded.

"I think she did get more. She got a lot of property, she got a lot of the cars," Barrett said. "She kind of took him to the cleaners. But that happens with these big Hollywood divorces, they are always a bit contentious."

Priscilla's 1986 memoir "Elvis And Me" details both Elvis' and her own affairs during their marriage, which ultimately led to the split. The divorce documents offer a more simplistic explanation for the marriage's demise:

"Unfortunate circumstances and unhappy differences have arisen between the parties by reason of which they have lived separate and apart since February 23, 1972, and by reason of which they intend to dissolve their marriage."

Check out the divorce documents below and weigh in: Would you shell out for Elvis' divorce memorabilia?

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Comments

[heyokas-advocate]

11:53 AM on 12/15/2011

Elvis Presely's divorce papers are a more important historical document than the Declaration of Independence. They say much more about our cultural values,our priorities, and what happens when working Americans actually get a chance to live out their dreams.

[Alisa Neely]

01:17 AM on 12/15/2011

i'm a long time ELVIS fan....and i truely believe, that elvis and priscilla LOVED each other until the day he died....i DON'T believe, that he would have married ginger alden as she claimed they would.....i DON'T believe for 1 DAMN minute that cilla was a gold digger....imo, that goes to ginger.....being that she & her family SUED the presley estate after he died.....over a promise he'd made to pay off her mother's house.

tcb,
alisa

[buccaneerdman]

09:05 PM on 12/14/2011

The last I read about Elvis, when he died he was worth aprox 20 million bucks of which most went to his daughter. His estate or the benefactor of his estate still receives over 20 million a year from profits, Yes profits of his music and other items that still sale worldwide in the millions. 20 million in the 1970's was a whole bunch of money. It seems like very little by todays standards but I think I was paying about 29 cents for a gallon of gas in 1975 and the house I grew up in my Dad would complain about the $70 a month mortgage payment on a 5 br 3 bath with pool and 1 acre of land near a beach. Times change.

[Hairextn]

08:55 PM on 12/14/2011

I have the super 8 with sound of a press conference and his wedding along with many other collector Elvis Items that Heritage Auction was intrested in auctioning off but decided to hold on to for a bit longer.

[USA10]

08:11 PM on 12/14/2011

ELVIS will never be copied or passed. He was and is the biggest act that will ever be. Divorce papers I don't think so but they are an original treasure to one that cannot be duplicated? As bad as he wanted to entertain I do not believe he himself ever realized he could reach such heights and popularity. What a toll it took. Imagine not being able to walk into a Wal Mart alone? Well, then again if he did everyone would think he was an imposter / look alike :-) Anyway, I'll take his Lions-head Ring as a keepsake any day. When is the auction?????????

[tkizzycat]

07:22 PM on 12/14/2011

Its amazing what people will pay for usless trash

[Coyote Blond]

07:11 PM on 12/14/2011

Why are any of you surprised? We're talking about the human race. The same one that sees jesus in potato chips.

[a54b]

06:25 PM on 12/14/2011

my divorce papers cost more than that.

[TCBmyway55]

06:10 PM on 12/14/2011

I have a set of the Elvis Trading cards.....minus a few I think. Wonder what they are worth? lol

[gfgarv]

06:10 PM on 12/14/2011

I wonder what Kim Kardashian wants for hers?

[undaunted8]

05:34 PM on 12/14/2011

Elvis........in America anything is possible, you can be almost anything you want to be. You see it everyday, all these talentless trashy people with reality shows are considered "celebrities"....disgusting.....then there's Elvis.....truth be told? Elvis was AWVUL.....and the king died upon his throne......

[Joan Simon]

05:29 PM on 12/14/2011

How sad that something so personal has become social folly.

[Rosemary Hirsch]

05:04 PM on 12/14/2011

Some people have more money than brains to shell out big money for Elvis's divorce papers. It would have been better to give that money to charity.

[Don Mathews]

07:24 PM on 12/14/2011

Nice of you to suggest what people should do with the money THEY earn. Maybe this person has given a ton to charity and has chosen this occasion to do something for himself. Maybe you should become rich so you can donate the money YOU earn to whatever charity you like. Or better yet, how about people just taking care of themselves and their own family members so we can eliminate charity completely.

[hbazzi7359]

03:11 PM on 12/15/2011

And, may be that person might sell it for higher price and donate the money to charity. Huh, funny how people come to diffirent conclusions. Right on.

[zblondieone]

03:50 PM on 12/14/2011

I have a Paramount Parade magazine from January 1957. On the front is a picture and small article with Elvis and Barbara Katsaros -daughter of Jimmie the Greek who she is the president of the largest California Elvis Presley Fan Club "Hound Dogs" at that time. I wonder if its worth anything?

[Okey Umez]

03:42 PM on 12/14/2011

This story belongs in the Weird News section of HP. Whoever paid 9 grand for this piece of paper has some serious issues to address. Is there a market that trades famous divorce documents?. I know that people buy junk all the time, but celeb divorce paper is the worst kind of junk. Unfreaking believable.

[Don Mathews]

07:26 PM on 12/14/2011

Take a breath - relax - chances are he paid $9,000 for the authenticated signature which is worth quite a bit of money. In this case the value of this document will triple in thirty years both for the signature and the story behind it. It could turn out to be a wise investment that can be sold again for substantially more money when someone needs it the most.