Presley had been given an early break by fellow DJ Dewey Phillips, who Martindale approached to ask him and Presley to do a joint interview on Martindale’s TV show “Top Ten Dance Party” in 1956.
Presley consented to the appearance as he was already a well-known figure.
Over the years, Martindale and Presley kept in touch, and in 1959, while Presley was serving in the Army in Germany, he conducted a transatlantic telephone interview with him. Sandy, Martindale’s second wife.
Met Presley on the set of “G.I. Blues” in 1960 and they had a brief romance.
Martindale relocated to Los Angeles in 1959 to host a KHJ morning show. His cover of “Deck of Cards,” which sold over a million copies, peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year.
He told the religiously charged spoken word wartime tale on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
