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THE SAD STORY OF SCATTER. ELVIS’S CHIMPANZEE

Everyone knows the love that Elvis felt for animals. He had many pets throughout his life, but one of them was very special to him.

It was Scatter the chimpanzee, who even becam e a member of the Memphis Mafia.

This is his story….

Scatter became a television star, on the local Memphis station WMC-TV on the Saturday morning show, “Spinning Images,” hosted by Captain Bill Killebrew.
Bill was also a cartoonist.

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In the program, children were interviewed, drawings were made and animated films were shown.
When Bill acquired the little chimpanzee Scatter, he began appearing on the show, quickly becoming the main attraction.

A slot was created in the show, in which Scatter was the star: “Scatter’s World“.

It became the best-known space on the show. Scatter became very popular and well-liked by children, even having its own “Scatter Club“.

The monkey became more popular than Bill Killebrew himself.

Bill told reporters that the monkey was smarter than many people he knew, and taught him all kinds of tricks.

One of his funniest tricks was taking Scatter for a drive around town. Bill hid in the front seat, while Scatter pretended to drive the wheel, causing everyone’s astonishment.

In the early 1960s, Bill decided to get rid of the chimpanzee and Alan Fortas, his friend and member of the Memphis Mafia, upon finding out, bought it for Elvis.

But being constantly surrounded by the guys from Elvis’s entourage wasn’t exactly the best environment for a growing monkey, and Scatter quickly developed bad habits.

Scatter became so special that he went out with Elvis and his friends everywhere. He had a very variable character and depending on his mood, he let himself be hugged like a small child, or he became surly and aggressive. He was a very intelligent monkey and was very well trained. Not surprisingly, Elvis loved his new friend and really enjoyed his company.

He lived at Graceland for several years and picked up some very bad habits there.
Elvis at his famous get-togethers, he used to wait until Graceland was filled with girls, and everyone was comfortable and having a good time. Then he would whisper: ”Okay, guys: let him out!‘ . The boys would open the door, and Scatter would come in screaming like crazy and scaring everyone.

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Scatter dressed as if he were a person, he was very funny at first, but over time his pranks would become more and more annoying to everyone.

He drank a lot of alcohol, mostly beer and whiskey, he chased girls and lifted their skirts, he bit everyone, he threw everything he found at visitors, and his behavior was already untenable.

One day he escaped from Elvis and snuck into the office of the producer, Samuel Goldwyn, destroying everything in his path. He had to be subdued and escorted by security services and taken back to Graceland.

On another occasion he bit Dee, Vernon’s wife. Elvis called Bill to ask if the monkey had been vaccinated against rabies.
And Bill replied… “Yes, he is vaccinated. And Mrs. Presley is vaccinated too?“

When a woman got up to go to the bathroom, Scatter would run and hide behind the bathroom door. And within a minute there was this awful scream and the girl was running out of there screaming.

Once, Patti Parry, a great friend of Elvis and noted as the only female member of the ”Memphis Mafia”, was in the house and Scatter entered. She thought he was going to attack her. He didn’t, but he was trying to peek up her skirt. She told him to stop, and then when he didn’t, she told him, “Do that one more time, and I’m going to knock you out.” They were both facing a sofa and Scatter tried again. Patti got up and hit him square in the chin, the monkey did a backflip and landed on the couch, dazed. Scatter looked at her like she couldn’t believe it and left with a big bump.

With all these incidents, they finally had to lock him in a cage.

Marty Lacker tells us that they came home one night on Bellagio Road and Jimmy the butler had been bitten by Scatter. Elvis was furious. Jimmy and Lillian were upset and were yelling and threatening to quit if Elvis didn’t get rid of him.

Scatter was also upset. They kept him in the basement, under the steps, and Alan tried to get him to go down into his cage, but he didn’t.

Elvis finally calmed down, and walked over to Scatter, the chimpanzee looked at Elvis with innocent eyes, and all Elvis did was stare at him, trying to keep a straight face.
Finally, Elvis said, “You little coconut-headed son of a bitch, you better go downstairs to your cage.” And you better not bite anyone anymore.”

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Scatter walked slowly down the stairs, hands folded, facing Elvis. They all followed them. Alan Fortas held out his hand for Scatter to take, but he didn’t. He had too much pride. He just went down to the basement and went right into his cage. They went up the stairs and Elvis fell to the ground laughing.

There are two hypotheses about the sad end of Scatter, who one day turned up dead. It is said that he eventually passed away due to liver problems related to alcohol abuse. The other possibility is that Daisy, one of Elvis’s maids, poisoned him because she was tired of being bitten. The Memphis Mafia guys always thought he was poisoned.

Information provided by ELVIS. El Chico de Tupelo.

Rosa Garcia Mora
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